When Ducati’s 350 cc and 500 cc parallel twins could hardly be called a marketing success, their fabulous engineer Fabio Taglioni set tout to develop a replacement.
The Pantah 500 originates from the last of the GP500 racers of 1973. The Pantah and many bikes afterwards, have shown that, a twin-cylinder motorcycle can compete successfully against bikes with a four cylinder engine. This is contrary to all expectations and that’s where the greatness of Taglioni lies.

The Panthah was first introduced during the Milan Bike Show (now EICMA) in December 1979. It was quite revolutionary as it had a trellis frame, contrary to earlier Ducati motorcycles. The engine is suspended in the frame acting as a stressed member of the whole. It was the first Ducati not fitted the old bevel-gear OHC design. Instead it had belt-driven cams. That, and the trellis frame, would turn the bike into the spearhead for the brand for generations of V-twins for years to come.

Although the 500cc engine was already endowed with impressive power, Ducati decided to amp it up a bit in 1981 by introducing 600cc engines, later to be increased to 650cc and even 750cc. The single overhead camshaft was driven by toothed rubber belt and primary transmission was via Morse chain. The Pantah’s performance gloriously surpassed that of the ill-conceived 1976 parallel twins.

Madrid Calling
Enough history for today.

Whenever we get a phone call from Madrid our hearts skip a beat. More often than not Pepo Rosell manages to get us excited straight from the starting line when new build roll through the doors of his workshop.
This time was no exception. The ‘La Guapísima’ (‘The Beautiful One’) is in your face from the moment you feast your eyes on her.
There is so much beauty and excitement going on with this machine, you just want to get on it and twist the throttle South!

Irons Café Racer
We are quite familiar with this shop in Madrid, even though we are yet to set foot in the door ourselves in person.

As BikeBrewers are involved with the innovative European rental platform MotoShare also, we used this location to launch Tamarit built ‘The Gotham’ earlier this year.

This shop, which sells motorcycle clothing and accessories, is obviously run by oil-blooded motorcycle afficionados. It is clear why they commissioned their next door neighbour to come up with this magnificent machine.

Upping the ante
The donor bike used is a 1986 Ducati 600TL Pantah. A nice machine already but Pepo would not be XTR Pepo if he did not do some magic on the engine before mounting it back in the frame.

He installed a Cagiva Elefant 900 Marathon motor with high compression pistons added. The heart of the beast has ported heads a ‘SLIENT HETKIT’ ignition kit with 16 maps and a lightened fly wheel for more immediate responsiveness.

While we are on the subject of technicalities; breathing in arranged by adding two Keihin FCR 39 carburettors with DNA filters, while the exhaling is done via a two-in-one Wolfman exhaust.

A Ducabike antihooping clutch is mounted to keep the horses at the rear wheel under control, but riders may skip that part as a quickshifter is also part of the package.

And that on a 1986 machine!

More technical stuff
There is much that meets the eye when you look at this apparatus. But the list of (sometimes invisible) modifications just never stops!

As we are more about the bike and what it does to your hormone levels when riding it, we will just sum it up below. But before moving over to that, we point out the front fairing.

This is a particular piece of the bike that makes it stand out we think. It is nice and streamlined with a feel of those 70’s and 80’s dragracers we grew up with. This element is produced inhouse by XTR, while the cool paintjob is done by their friend Pintumoto.

Modifications:
(inhale deeply)

PANTAH modified frame
Engine : CAGIVA ELEFANT 900 Maraton , high comp , ported heads, SILENT HETKIT ignition kit with 16 maps , lightened flywheel,
DUCABIKE antihooping clutch , quickshift , KEIHIN FCR 39 carburators , DNA air filters.
RC racing oil radiator
Exhaust : 2 in 1 WOLFMAN.
Swingarm : CAGIVA ELEFANT 350
Rear suspension : OHLINS
REGINA gold chain
HYOSUNG GT 650 Front fork, lightened yokes, wheel ,NG rotor and brake caliper with BREMBO pads
BREMBO front brake pump with XTR regulable and foldable lever
BREMBO rear brake pump
FRENTUBO front and rear brake line
BREMBO Clutch pump with XTR regulable and foldable lever
FRENTUBO clutch line
XTR front mudguard
XTR clip-ons
RIZOMA Nex brake fluid reservoir
RAV footrests
AVIACOMPOSITI Dashboard (rev counter)
DOMINO quick open gas throttle and grips
DOMINO starter commando
FULBAT LIPO battery
4,5 x 17 inches alluminium rear rim
OSADO lenticular covers
CONTINENTAL Conti Sport Attack 4 front and rear tires.
XTR front fairing and bracket
XTR fuel tank
CNC racing fuel cap
XTR MK2 solo seat
XTR upholstery
XTR carbon fiber bellypan
PINTUMOTO painting

(…aaand exhale!)

Finish line
As usual we wish we lived in Madrid to be close to the man and his work. Searchin online we noticed a video with a very lucky lady rider hitting the throttle on this Duc!

As we understand the bike was supposed to be at the starting line of the Sultans of Sprint in Glemseck this past season. Unfortunately COVID came in between and we can only imagine what this ‘Guapísima’ would smell and sound like in real life.

We hope to meet her in the flesh one day.

Builder details:
Builder: XTR Pepo
Instagram
Photography: Ruben del Valle Producciones

The post Madrid calling – Ducati ‘La Guapísima’ by XTR appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.

Born to be a builder

Modern over Classic
A true petrol-head at heart, Luuc got his license when he was 19 years old. His 1^st bike was a Honda VT600 Shadow. Rest assured it never stayed stock. As a matter of fact, Luuc turned it into a bobber. None of all the 8 other motorcycles he has owned since have stayed stock for long. Once, he even won the bid during an auction on a Honda CX500, with a quirky transverse v-twin. The CX500 didn’t stay stock either, and got turned into a racer and got sold to a man in Sweden, who still owns it to date. Although Luuc doesn’t have a specific brand preference, he must admit that he likes modern machines the most. Basically, anything made after 2010 with EFI. However, he does have a tiny week spot for Indian and KTM/Husqvarna.

Design Contest
In 2019, Luuc participated in a design contest. The task was simple: design a marketing bike for Indian Motorcycles based on their Scout Bobber. He submitted his design and a panel of judges decided that Luuc and 2 other contenders won the assignment. A final poll online showed that the people loved his design, marking him the winner of the contest. This meant a nice trip to London, and while at it, he also went to visit the Bikeshed MC, which was great! This also meant that he now had to build his designed bike for real. No pressure…

Board Tracker
The vision Luuc had for the bike’s overall design was based around a question: what would the Indian Scout look like if motorcycle design remained the same for 100 years, but technology didn’t? An interesting proposition indeed. It is clear that the original 1919 Indian Board tracker served as an inspiration for him. The first step of the design process was to create a digital sketch, followed by a detailed 3D render, in which each part of the bike was carefully measured and recorded. A time-consuming ordeal that required a ton of patience. As a matter of fact, this whole project took about 20 weeks to complete, while he was still working his day job! How does that look like? Work in the office from 9AM to 6PM, work on the build from 6PM till well over midnight, go to sleep, and repeat. Luckily his girlfriend, family and friends all supported him.

Digital Design
We have met with a number of bike builders, none of which have ever pulled off a build like this in a mere 20 weeks, let alone while working in the evenings and weekends alone. Luuc’s secret? Remember he designed this whole motorcycle in 3D, carefully measuring and recording all dimensions? This actually made all the difference. Since the entire project was recorded digitally, it was very easy for Luuc to outsource certain jobs such as frame components. This meant that most of the time could be spent on perfecting the welds and sticking the parts together like a giant LEGO. The gas tank posed a unique challenge on its own. Hard to see from the picture, but the tank actually houses the M-unit, a fuel cell, wiring, air intake, and is even a part of the frame. No digital wizkiddery here, but old school sheet metal shaping by hand.

Bling Bling!
The Indian is full of special parts. The front suspension, for instance, was made by CeraCarbon racing. CeraCarbon racing make some of the worlds lightest motorcycle parts, designed for performance. Then the electrics. Luuc made a completely new harness based around an MO-unit and Motogadget components and with the new racing Carrot C32 ECU replacing the old one, the Indian made more power and the electrics got a whole lot cleaner. Then there is of course the titanium exhaust. This was sponsored by Akrapovic themselves. Luuc and Bert Jan from Outsiders Motorcycles went on a trip to Slovenia with the bike in the back of a van to visit the Akrapovic factory. Together with the grandmasters themselves they built a one-of-a-kind titanium exhaust that is freaking loud! This also spurred the birth of the name of this wild machine: Hasty Flaming Buffalo. It’s fast, it’s red, and you better get out of the way if you see it coming at you!

A Piece of Art
We asked Luuc what he likes the most about this build. “It may sound a bit strange but actually finishing the bike in time, achieving the challenge set by the deadline, for filling the vision I had and firing the bike up for the first time. That just sounds like a lot of violence and must have come close to what the racers in 1919 must have heard and felt while riding the bike!” We can’t help but completely agree. We have seen and heard this piece of art in real life. It is truly something extraordinary, that rather belongs in a museum than in a shed.

A personal message from Luuc Muis:
“This project for me was the stepping stone to start my own business: engineering products & building custom motorcycles. While the Hasty Flaming Buffalo was a marketing project for Indian, I also build bikes for private clients and if you are interested in something unique based on a modern platform bike, you know where to find me.”

Photo Credits: Ronald Rink

Builder details:
Luuc Muis Creations
Website
Instagram
Facebook

The post Hasty Flaming Buffalo: an Indian Scout Board Tracker by Luuc Muis Creations appeared first on BikeBrewers.com.