Toshiyuki Kozaka doesn’t have an enormous profile outdoors of Japan. However within the Land of the Rising Solar, he’s established himself because the go-to man for engaged on classic bevel-driven Ducatis. this achingly stunning Ducati 900 SS restoration, it’s straightforward to see why.
Kozaka-san runs his enterprise, Swap Stance Driving, from a small workshop in Amakusa. It’s a metropolis within the Kumamoto Prefecture that’s unfold throughout a number of islands off the coast of Japan’s most southwesterly island, Kyushu. And the one purpose we all know who he’s is as a result of we have now a mutual pal; the German photographer, Marc Holstein.
“I’ve recognized Toshi since we met at Wheels and Waves a couple of years in the past,” Marc tells us. We grew to become buddies, and since then we’ve hung out visiting one another, going to motorbike festivals, using, and browsing collectively.”
The final time Marc visited Swap Stance Driving, Toshi had simply completed up the Ducati’s year-long restoration. Which turned out to be serendipitous for us, as a result of Marc was capable of {photograph} it and fill us in on its backstory.
Again in 2016, a devastating earthquake hit Kumamoto—inflicting important human casualties and leaving trillions of yen value of property harm in its wake. It additionally did a quantity on this late-70s Ducati 900 SS, wrecking the bike’s fairing, aspect covers, gas tank, tail cowl, and muffler within the course of.
Just a few years handed earlier than the beat-up 900 SS ultimately made its strategy to Swap Stance Driving. Toshi was tasked with returning it to its former glory—however we’d argue that he took it a step additional. The traditional Tremendous Sport seems higher than manufacturing facility, with not a touch of the state it was in when Toshi began.
Toshi began by stripping the Ducati right down to its nuts and bolts and giving the whole lot a radical clear. “We targeted on each single element on this bike,” says Yoshi, “even right down to the screws used. And we tried to enhance the general situation by solely utilizing real elements.”
A part of Yoshi’s job was discerning which elements might be saved, and which needed to be binned. He managed to restore the fairing, aspect covers, and tail cowl, however the gas tank was too far gone. So he sourced and fitted an aftermarket aluminum Imola-style unit as an alternative.
Quite a lot of the elements that you just’d assume are model new are simply unique bits which have been meticulously restored. That features the shiny Conti mufflers, which have been repaired, re-chromed, and re-fitted. Toshi refurbished the OEM suspension too, however he swapped the wheels out for the alloy hoops from a later mannequin Tremendous Sport.
The engine was rebuilt to its manufacturing facility spec, with a brand new wiring harness to make sure reliability. The lights, flip indicators, and controls are all interval appropriate.
For the paint job, Toshi referred to as in Orvis One—a Kumamoto-based paint store that focuses on classic bikes. They slathered the bike in an impossibly deep jet-black end, with hand-painted gold graphics all through. Toshi picked one of many classic Tremendous Sport’s much less frequent liveries, however one that’s nonetheless indicative of the period.
“The colours have been blended to tone down the general exterior look and provides it extra of a uniform look,” he tells us. “The body was painted matte black, offering contrasting black tones to create a way of playfulness.”
Mitsunaga Auto Inside Design upholstered the seat, replicating the unique stitching design, however choosing a closely textured cloth that has a extra luxurious look. A model new seat zipper does responsibility on the again and each final fastener has been cleaned and re-plated.
The entire thing actually is clear sufficient to eat off of, with simply the tiniest little bit of patina to remind you that that is, in truth, a traditional motorbike.
“It’s a well-built machine that focuses on taking conventional design to the acute,” Toshi confidently provides. “We hope that it’ll recreate the kind of pleasure that may make you need to purchase the Tamiya fashions out of your childhood.”
Since we will’t personal the actual factor, we would simply have to do this.
Swap Stance Driving | Fb | Instagram | Photographs by, and with because of, Marc Holstein
