Ducati dropped the dubiously-named draXter idea on us eight years in the past. An audacious design primarily based on the favored Ducati XDiavel, it took cues from drag racers, sportbikes, and muscle automobiles. And though it by no means made it to market, it did handle to encourage one Ducatista particularly.
When the proprietor of this 2016-model Ducati XDiavel S dropped his bike off at MFix Workshop, the draXter was foremost in his thoughts. He needed the Vietnamese customized store to imbue his XDiavel with the same vibe—whereas additionally including a couple of left-field concepts of his personal.
In inventory kind, the Ducati XDiavel S has the center of a superbike and the physique of a cruiser. The mix of ahead pegs, a scooped seat, and a 156 hp L-twin motor makes for a riotous, albeit bizarre, using expertise.
This construct referred to as for radical adjustments to the bike’s stance and ergonomics, so MFix began with the rear journey top. The OEM rear shock was traded for the Öhlins unit from a Kawasaki ZX-10R, full with a billet aluminum preload adjustment wheel. Subsequent, they CNC machined a swingarm linkage, with a customized titanium axle, to accommodate the longer rear shock—a difficult process, given the restricted area out there.
With the stance sorted, MFix turned its consideration to the controls. In what is sort of probably the most important foot peg relocation we’ve ever seen, the pegs had been moved from their unique ahead place to alongside the rear wheel hugger. All of the requisite elements—from the foot controls to their new mounting brackets—had been designed and CNC-machined from scratch.
On the reverse finish of the bike, MFix ditched the XDiavel’s riser bars for low-slung clip-ons and changed the highest yoke with a burly billet aluminum half. Because the Ducati’s fashionable electronics made it almost unimaginable to swap out the OEM dashboard, MFix opted to relocate it as an alternative. It now sits in a 3D-printed bracket, putting it nearer to the rider.
As soon as these huge ticket gadgets had been ticked off, MFix began tweaking the Ducati’s finer particulars. ISR clutch and brake levers had been fitted to the bars, with recent Brembo calipers gripping the brake discs. Carbon fiber air ducts from Fullsix cool the entrance calipers, whereas a CNC Racing dry clutch rattles away in true Ducati vogue.
Bits just like the rear wheel middle lock nut, sprocket nut, and facet stand had been changed with swish CNC-machined gadgets. MFix additionally threw a ton of titanium fasteners on the bike, as a result of, as they inform us, “why not?”
The crew picked titanium for the bike’s curvy exhaust system too. The pie-cut headers snake their manner ‘by’ the XDiavel, after which cross over earlier than exiting simply in entrance of the rear wheel.
There’s a full quiver of carbon fiber stuff on this construct too. Fullsix equipped a carbon fiber entrance fender, rear hugger, radiator cowl, stomach pan, and passenger seat eliminator. The radiator and oil cooler guards are from Evotech.
With a monochromatic paint job and a success of leather-based on the seat, the Ducati XDiavel S was all however able to log off on—till the shopper threw a spanner within the works. “He regarded on the accomplished bike for some time and advised us ‘We’d like extra… muscle groups’,” says our contact at MFix, Giang Nguyen.
“After fairly a little bit of head scratching and pondering, he pointed on the engine and requested, ‘Can we make it appear like a V-Rod?’ Clearly he wasn’t glad with the skeletal look of the Ducati engine covers.”
MFix went again to the drafting board, utilizing Photoshop to superimpose a set of Harley-Davidson V-Rod engine covers over the Ducati’s L-twin motor. The shopper appreciated the thought, and the store spent the following 4 months prototyping and machining a set of customized engine covers.
“It was a meticulous course of with numerous trial and error, numerous head scratching and kicking random stuff across the workshop out of frustration,” says Giang. “However ultimately, we nonetheless had enjoyable doing it.”
“The ultimate contact on the bike was the customized V-Rod headlight from HogLights, only for the heck of it. And to drive the irony dwelling, the proprietor jotted down his personal writing, ‘no faux sh*t,’ on the ‘Duca-Rod’ engine covers.”
MFix Workshop on Fb | Instagram | Pictures by Tony Pham
