Ducati Cafe Racer
We have seen some very interesting and perfectly executed café racers here on BikeBrewers, built around Ducati’s. Sure, it is not everybody’s cup of tea, but it definitely is ours! Café racers can be defined as lightweight, powerful motorcycles, that are optimised for speed and handling rather than comfort, and for quick rides over short distances. We’ve come a long way from the original café racers that were built in the 1960s, and yet, if we look closely at the definition of a café racer, this build ticks all the boxes.

Racing Pedigree
Radical Ducati has shown us how a café racer in the 21st century looks like. Motorcycles have become more high-tech in recent years, with a plethora of software and hardware that keep the bike and rider in check. Heck, even the MotoGP and Superbikes racers can’t control their machines without the help of traction control and wheelie control. And rightfully so, with well over 200hp at 15,000 rpm, those machines are no joke. It makes sense that the motorcycles that aren’t meant for racing still incorporate some of the tech from the MotoGP and Superbikes. ABS wouldn’t have made its entrance to mainstream motorcycles if it wasn’t for the racing industry. So does this Ducati 1198s Corse; it is a race machine made suitable for street riding.

Solid Foundation
First things first, the entire body work of the 1198 had to go, except for the fuel tank. Somehow the 1198’s original aluminium fuel tank looks too good to be neglected, plus it is a race replica. All that the tank needed was a bit of sanding, some clear coat, and a racing filler cap. The front suspension is a special bit of racing spec kit too. that came from the factory on the 1198 S Corse; it’s a fully adjustable Öhlins 43mm with low friction titanium-nitride treated fork sliders. At the rear we find the venerable Öhlins TTX race shock. On top of that, the original super powerful Brembo Monoblocs were also retained. These are some of the highest spec brake callipers in the world. The same goes for the lightweight Marchesini 7-spoke forged aluminium wheels.

Lightweight
If so much got retained, what did the folks at Radical Ducati change? Let’s start at the front. The CNC’d headlight bracket is custom made out of lightweight magnesium, and it holds the classically shaped round headlight, but with a modern LED touch. The rear subframe is a custom-made aluminium unit, built to spec by Radical. Welding aluminium can be tricky, but at Radical they know their stuff and finished the rear subframe off with a beautiful rear cowl that matches perfectly with the fuel tank, creating an aggressive flow to the whole.

Desmodromic Dreams
The 1198cc Testastretta L-twin pumps out a healthy 170hp at 9750 rpm and 131 Nm (97 lb-ft) of torque at 8000 rpm. These are unique figures for a desmodromic engine, where valve closure is activated mechanically. The engine itself came with the necessary weight saving, by incorporating magnesium allow parts such as the vale covers. The already performance oriented 52-57mm exhaust system got upgraded for a set of SC Project full line exhaust system, allowing the 1198 S to better breathe. The thermal wrapping around the exhaust is supposed to lower some of the heat dispersion these bikes are notorious for. Radical added some of its trade mark touches such as transparent belt-covers, red Samco hoses for all the fluids, which blends perfectly with the red frame. The clutch cover also received a transparent treatment.

For legislation compliance purposes, a side-mounted plate holder form Lussardi Racing does the job neatly. A handmade leather seat makes the build complete. We would love to know how this Radical Ducati café racer riders, but we do have an idea of what it sounds like. With over 170hp and less than 170kg of weight, the perfect power-to-weight ratio can only mean one thing, and that is that this Ducati will go anywhere fast and in style.

Builder details:
Radical Ducati France
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The ARCTOS Honda CB1000R, dubbed “Radical”, is the winner of the Honda Switzerland’s custom CB1000R competition, and was presented at the 2019 Swiss Moto Show in Zurich. ARCTOS’ aim was to produce a completely new look, mainly by changing the proportions and handlebar position, while leaving the basic components untouched to show the extensive possibilities for this model’s customisation. The Honda CB1000R is an unusual candidate for modifications, and yet we wonder why?

Aesthetically pleasing
Stefan Fuhrer, the man behind Fuhrer Moto and co-founder of ARCTOS Collection, together with Ulfert Janssen and Mathias Fuhrer, started the transformation by adapting and custom milling the triple clamp to make it lighter and more racy. Then he adapted the fiberglass belly fairing according to his design, giving the bike a low and sexy stance.

Stefan: “The front is incredibly beautiful and hot. Through CNC milling, we have created a new fixation design for the front light and the mini windshield. With the new three-piece CNC mechanism, we can now change the height of the headlight and adjust the windscreen to any angle. The front headlight has been moved forward by 60mm and slightly lowered . This new special fixation together with the Multiclip, the triple clamp, and the carbon fork give this bike a very technical and cool visual impression like in a Transformer movie.”

CeraCarbon
Dario Dauru at 422​ ​Corse, is ARCTOS’ special partner for carbon lightweight performance parts, such as Ceracarbon forks and Rotobox wheels. The Honda is now equipped with the ultra light CeraCarbon-Racing front-fork and custom made sprockets. It has the strength and stiffness of the standard steel fork with the lightness of carbonfiber. The Ceramic coating provides the wear-resistance. To put things in perspective; a regular fork inner tube weighs around 1 kilo. Th CeraCarbon fork tube weighs less than a quarter of that: 237 grams. That’s a reduction of 75% of unsprung weight. In racing, that means a world of difference in both handling and performance. CeraCarbon also offered amazing support and went all the way by specially fabricating a new sprocket prototype for the Honda R-adical project. This sprocket is made of aluminum and is ceramic coated. This ensures a long life and the carbon inlets provide additional stability and lightness.

Hot-wheels
The wheels are high performance Carbon Fiber Wheels by Rotobox. These wheels are up to 50% lighter than original Honda rims and are the world’s only one-piece carbonfiber wheels. As this new Honda CB1000R is from 2018, there were no carbon rims yet on the market at the moment of the build. With special help from Dario at 4​22​ ​Corse, Rotobox went the extra mile and specifically developed these new rims within one month, to fit the Honda CB 1000R-adical to premiere at the 2019 Swiss Moto show. The dimensions of the wheels  are 17×3.50 front and 17×6.00 rear and got fitted with Dunlop Moto 2 Rain Tires which also enhances the unique appearance of the bike.

Upgraded equipment
For the clip-on’s ARCTOS were sponsored by ABM Fahrzeugtechnik who equipped them with their Multi Clip and some fine Synto Evo brake/clutch levers in grey/black to fit the color scheme of the bike. In addition, the motorcycle was equipped with K&N air filters for better breathing and an exhaust upgrade with the titanium/carbon fiber muffler by Akrapovic which provides a rich sound.

Paint – no wrapping!
The contemporary camouflage graphics on the tank and the paneling was created by precise painting and was gradually built up in 7 layers. The paint-job is a masterpiece by painter Walter Oberli. By using paint layers, Walter could control each single element and place it without any deformation you would get by using foil. Therefore the result is very precise and you can clearly see the impeccable paint-job.

The idea of the contemporary graphics was to reinterpret the camouflage design with sharp graphics and certain highlights in yellow to make it modern and sporty. These graphics together with the new tight and sexy proportions transformed the tame CB1000R into a camouflage power rocket.

R-adical
Stefan: ” I found this work on the CB1000R extremely exciting and inspiring. When I think back it is almost like a poem, or a story. I spent evenings and nights bolting together parts to take them apart again because it was somehow not consistent yet. It is a gradual building process to get the right coherence of the bike. At the end you can clearly identify the original Honda CB1000R donor bike, but yet the impression of our custom build is totally new.”

Photo credit: Gannet/Fuhrer

Builder details:
ARCTOS Collection
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