The Kneeslider

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Ducati GT1000 Street Scrambler

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Ducati GT1000 street scrambler
Ducati GT1000 street scrambler

Ducati made a few scramblers back in the 1960s, ranging from 250cc to 450cc. They were popular then and still have an enthusiastic following today, but when the British offered their big twin street scramblers in the 1970s, Ducati didn’t respond.

Ducati GT1000 street scrambler
Ducati GT1000 street scrambler

Mark McClean is a fan of those early Ducatis, but when the Pierre Terblanche designed Ducati Sport Classics appeared, he thought he had a great place to start, giving Ducati the big street scrambler it never had. Mark began with a 2007 GT1000 and went to work.

My engineer friend Roger Banks made the petrol tank from a 1970`s Spanish 75cc trail bike! He cut it in three and welded strips in so it would fit the frame.We had to make a separate tank to house the fuel pump under the seat.The original seat was dissected and put together again. Roger also made the exhaust pipes from scratch and we fitted Conti replica silencers. Air box was removed and K&N`s fitted. Computer was reprogrammed by official Ducati race shop. Triumph Hurricane handlebars and 30mm risers give the perfect riding position for great control. Race brake lines stop it real quick!

With power just under 100bhp and around 400 pounds weight this is an amazing bike to ride. The whole idea was to make it feel real small and slim the way old Ducatis were. When you see it, it almost looks like a 250.

Ducati GT1000 street scrambler retro style tank
Ducati GT1000 street scrambler retro style tank

The makeover isn’t extreme, but between the tank and seat alone, you get a real 70s flavor, add the Conti replicas and you get a look dramatically different from a stock GT1000. It’s still a lot more modern than anything you would have seen back in the 70s, but it’s just the thing to be riding when your friend shows up on that new Triumph Scrambler. Nice job!

Posted on Filed Under: Motorcycle Builders

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Comments

    • Actually, this very bike is for sale. Mark wants to move it to get funds for his next project. He’s over in the UK, but you can contact him here. He says delivery can be arranged at cost to pretty much anywhere. He didn’t mention what he’s asking.

  4. Very Very nice, IMHO the Scrambler looks much better than the GT1000 that Ducati produced. Triumph sells a good number of Scramblers, I dont understand why they are the only ones with a Retro Scrambler on the market. A Ducati like this one and a Sportster are both begging for a chance to hit the market, at very little cost the the manufactures.

  5. Sweet! At first glance looks like an authentic ’70’s scrambler, but look a little closer the brakes give it away. Not that I would want authentic ’70’s brakes on this beauty!

  6. Like nearly everything about this bike, everything but the pipes. They seem out of scale.

  7. #1 First off the Ducati Ccramblers of old were never popular . The fact is the only place they sold in reasonable numbers was in fact Italy (re; Mick Walker ) Which is why Ducati promptly dropped them as well as never considering doing a modern take on one

    #2 Which then begs the question : why try to replicate what was overall an unpopular model . e/g/ a loser , ruining a perfectly good GT1000 in the process .

    This bike being the epitome of ” Just because you Can … doesn’t mean you Should . And Just because you Do .. doesn’t mean anyone else should give a ________ ” I sure don’t !

    Having said that , at least the craftsmanship appears to be decent

    • Your posts being the epitome of ” Just because you Can post comments doesn’t mean you Should. And just because you Do .. doesn’t mean anyone else should give a ______ ” I sure don’t.

    • To answer your “why” question I’ll use your “because” answer from your Honda radial engine post: @GuitarSlinger: “Any idea what ( if at all ) what the intended use ( airplane etc ) for this is : or is it just the man wanting to build his own radial ……… because he can”

  8. You have it all wrong GS. According to Tod Rafferty, long time motorcycle journalist and author of the book Ducati “Among the most popular of the Ducati singles, the 250 Scarambler made the transition from the early four- and five- speed narrow case versions to the wide-case series in 1968.” This was not a “loser” bike. Berliner began importing the Scrambler in 1966 and it was raced with some success in flat track, scrambles and desert racing. It was much lighter than the “scramblers” from Honda and Yamaha – less than 300 pounds in racing form. Four-stroke singles weren’t dead yet – only a few years earlier Jeff Smith won back-to-back world motocross championships on a highly developed BSA Victor 441. Lucky for us you are not the single arbiter and expert on motorcycle history motorcyle art, design or why a particular bike is used as a base for a custom. In your usual boring and repetitive custom you will follow this with a tirade about being a world famous artist, blah, blah blah. I wish you would come up with something original.

    • The Ducati singles were very desirable in central Texas in the late 60’s. Adrian Krumm’s motorcycle shop on Barton Springs Road in Austin was the dealer for Ducatis. In 1966 I put a deposit on a 250 Scrambler and waited and waited. I found out that when he got one in he sold it to one of the local hotshoes for flat track racing. The bikes came with a factory kit that had extra sprokets and struts to replace the rear shocks for flat track. They also came shod with Pirelli MT-53 tires which were legal for flat track.Put the shocks back on and it was good for TT racing. Add knobbies and go scrambling. It was a very versitial machine. I never did get a scrambler from Krumm but I did get a used Ducati Monza Jr from him and rode the heck out of it.

  9. Yes BanjoPicker you are correct, The European Scramblers were fine bikes and very popular. The real reason the Asian bikes took over was price, Aided by their governments the Asians were DUMPED into the US market with the intent of killing off the competition and gaining control of the market. Our open Trade Policies made our market the most sought after in the world, The irony is they used our money and industrial knowhow to put the compitition behind the 8 ball.

  10. Ick. The tank actually is a worse fit than a “peanut” tank on certain American bikes. The pipes, wheels, and the front end are all wrong too. I’m sure they did a fine job putting this all together but, to me, it looks atrocious.

    This is how it should look:
    http://www.pavesirestauri.com/Scr.htm

    -todd

  11. Look at the rear mudguard and in particular the gap between the guard and the tyre, then look at the seat – unfortunately that is an area of the bike that Ducati got horribly wrong. This version is slightly better in that the (over sized) pipes slightly mask the canyon sized gap twixt guard and tyre.

    Todd has posted a beautiful link – what a shame Ducati chose to give the bike that rear seat up in the clouds look, rather than a better proportioned rear.

    • Nothing sweeter than a nicely proportioned rear … oh wait, this is the motorcycle forum …

      ACE

  12. Nice bike apart from the exhaust system,it sticks out too far and looks all out of proporsion.It needs to blend into the lines of the bike more like the Triumph.

  13. I don’t agree with the criticism of the rear fender being too high. However, the front fender doesn’t match. The front fender needs to be higher.