Like so many other sport bike owners, comedian and Last Comic Standing winner Alonzo Bodden crashed. When Buttonwillow raceway did a number on his pristine yellow Ducati 1098, he decided to build a custom rather than returning the bike to stock. Alonzo called Nick Anglada and the bike was shipped out to Florida. Take a look at the bikes Nick builds, and you might assume Alzono was looking for an extended swing-arm, 300 rear tire, and front-to-back wild paint. But Alonzo was looking for a street-fighter and Nick jumped at the chance to build his second-ever Ducati custom. The bike that resulted is exclusive to Hell For Leather.

Photos: David Damiata and Sean Smith

The styling on Alonzo's completed street-fighter is subdued compared to Nick's other bikes. Instead of bright and flashy themed paint, it combines a simple black frame and gray swing arm with unpainted, raw components like the Ducati Performance aluminum tank and wild-looking Double Dog Moto carbon fiber tail and pipes. Though the headlight appears to be from the Michael Uhlarik Yamaha MT-03, it's an Urban kit from LSL with custom brackets.

The raw aluminum and simple color palette is offset by impressively well-matched gold anodized parts. There might not be flashy paint on fairings, but you're sure to notice Carrozzeria wheels, reworked stock forks, Beringer brakes and an entire catalog's worth of Speedymoto parts. Mostly hidden from view, you'll also find a set of Bazazz electronics with map selector and traction control switches. What you won't find is turn signals. Nick felt they ruined the design: “Alonzo wanted turn signals, and I told him he had two good hands he could use.”

Custom: Alonzo Bodden's 1098

There's notable custom work that's been done: Speedymoto rearset brackets have been welded on, the LED tail-light is a custom job and most all of the brackets, including the headlight and dash mount, have been custom built. My favorite detail just might be the improvised coolant catch can. “Here’s the deal: I made another one and basically it was a little bit smaller, a little bit harder, cast aluminum. I powder coated it black and it had a hole in the top of it, right? I got it done probably two hours before I’m supposed to go to the shoot out in LA and I’m thinking, this, with a nine volt battery for the tag bracket light, probably is not gonna pass through TSA. I mean, I’m not saying those guys are sharp, but they’re probably gonna pick up on that. So it’s a soap dispenser is what it is,” said Nick.

Custom: Alonzo Bodden's 1098

A trip around Alonzo's garage shows he takes his motorcycling pretty seriously. During the shoot I counted a BMW HP2, Hayabusa and a Triumph Rocket III. His Multistrada was off being worked on. Also in the garage was a Britten V1000 poster and an M3 that was covered in bugs from a recent trip up Highway 33. I doubt that this 1098 will end up as another show bike trophy queen. The photoshoots aren't even done and he's managed to get the chicken strips most of the way off.

There's 21 original, exclusive photos in this gallery.

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