Monster Makeover: This Ducati Monstrosity Was A Total Wreck

Depending on how you look at it, a wrecked bike that’s been completely written-off can open up a world of possibilities. If you’re at all DIY-inclined, your thoughts might immediately start traveling down different paths, figuring out what you want to fix and how. Do you want to bring it back to a reasonably stock version of its former glory? Or do you want to take the usable parts from the wreckage and build something new? 

Precision driver and motorcycle racing coach Marc Roissetter lives and works in the United Arab Emirates. In this video, he said he was originally looking for a Virago to build up into a go-fast track machine, but then he found this wrecked Ducati Monster 1100 instead. In the past, he’s been content to build bikes that are definitely much more about function than looking good, but his Monstrosity asks the pertinent question: why can’t we have both? 

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As frequently happens when you get a bike from someone else, there were more issues beneath the surface than there might have seemed at first. I may have actually grabbed the sides of my head in pain as he described discovering that a valve had punched through a piston, and the previous owner decided to weld the hole shut and just be done with it. Needless to say, Roissetter quickly determined that a complete rebuild was in order once he’d found that little nugget out.  

Gallery: Ducati Monstrosity 1100

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The finished project doesn’t look like a monstrosity at all, even though that’s its name. It’s a slimmed-down, tidied-up, very neat and modern-looking little café racer. Roissetter says it makes 80 horsepower at the rear wheel, and with Yas Marina as one of his home circuits, he makes sure to take it out for plenty of exercise. The finished bike is still street-legal, but just barely.  

It’s a cool reminder that just because it seems like something is destroyed doesn’t mean it can’t turn into something beautiful. Granted, that might take a whole lot of time, effort, and money to do right, but it’s totally possible if you have the vision and drive to see it through. Don’t give up! The bike you save might be your own, and it might be amazing when you’re through.  

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Photos: Marc Roissetter on Facebook

Sources: YouTube, Return Of The Café Racers 

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