There are a plethora of places online to view cool bikes online but one that never fails to deliver is BikeExif.com. Their keen eye to detail and showcase of quality machines propels them to the top of the charts for great new bikes. We also can't thank them enough for featuring our Cafe Bike last year.
We saw this particular Ducati a few weeks back and several things caught our attention, first and foremost it was from a local builder in our neck of the woods and second is the absolute precision detail on this bike. Our new Buell street fighter and land speed racing build is slow going due to how busy we are with the music label but this bike is quite inspiring. Read on for the details on this ride and definitely check out more on Johann Keyser of CAV America as damn if he doesn't have some great things cookin' here in the south.
Johann Keyser runs CAV America, one of the leading builders of Ford GT40 replicas. He’s also the only GT40 builder with the rights to replicate the official Gulf Oil livery. Keyser is a motorcyclist too, and describes his custom Ducati as “a bike that I had to build … It had to be very mechanical looking, naked and lightweight.” It’s hard to pin down the exact lineage of this aggressive-looking machine, because the donor parts came from several different bikes. The frame is from a 749S—modified to accommodate a torquey, air-cooled 900ie motor—and the single-sided swingarm is from a Monster S4R. The engine is running K&N air filters, an open clutch and Speedymoto covers, and it’s hooked up to a custom two-into-one system terminated with a lightweight SS muffler.
The forks are from a 916 SPS, upgraded with new springs and valves, and the wheels are also from a 916—but painted to mimic the BRM wheels fitted to GT40s back in the day. The brake system is Brembo and sprinkled with superlight titanium parts; the seat and seat frame are from Radical Ducati in Spain. The tank is a modified 999 fitment and the fairing is a modified glass fiber SS upper.
With just over 300bhp, the road going version of the GT40 could hit 60 mph from a standstill in around 5.3 seconds. I’m betting that this machine could knock at least a second off its bigger stablemate’s time.
PS: A big thanks to one of our favourite clothing brands, Aether Apparel, which has just come on board to support Bike EXIF. They have a terrific blog too: check it out here.
More images from the work of CAV America
