• Articles
  • Motorcycles for Sale
  • Motorcycle Parts
  • Motorcycle Manuals
  • Collectibles
  • Contact

The Kneeslider

Doers Builders and Positive People

Ducati Powered Custom Choppers

By Paul Crowe

Ducati powered custom chopper

After our recent look at the Revelation Honda sport custom and a Buell sport chopper it seemed only right to go Italian and take a look at these Ducati powered choppers from 13 Choppers of Oceanside, Calilfornia. 13 Choppers has been around for a couple of years and received some attention when the choppers first appeared in a few shows and the motorcycle press picked them up.

Mat Zabas, the man behind these creations, just decided to do things a bit different and he might have seen the possibilities of following his own thoughts, rather than the crowd. Well, the crowd might just be turning around. There’s no law that says a custom needs a big V-twin from Harley or S&S or anyone else and as the Honda sport custom we highlighted this past week indicates, some other folks are looking elsewhere, too.

Zabas uses the Ducati engines and various parts like the forks, wheels and brakes, then he builds a frame of his own design. The result is definitely custom but not the same old thing we’ve seen so much of.

You sometimes get the feeling motorcycle builders think you have to build customs a certain way, following some unwritten formula and then wonder why their bikes get lost in the crowd. Build a big V-twin custom and you’ll blend in like camouflage, build something a little different and you might generate some interest. These are cool and it will be neat to see how many more engines will start showing up in customs in the near future.

Ducati powered custom chopper

13 Choppers

The Kneeslider: Revelation Honda Sport Chopper
The Kneeslider: Buell Sport Chopper
The Kneeslider: Ducati engines and parts for sale just in case you want to roll your own.

Posted on April 1, 2006 Filed Under: Motorcycle Builders, Motorcycle Design, Workshop & Tools

Parts and Service Manuals and more!

Be sure to check out the new motorcycle manuals and literature listings. I just put it together to make your eBay search easier and it's pretty sweet. It's fun just to browse though it. Check it out!

« Ducati Hypermotard Available in Spring 2007
Buell Custom Bobber »

Comments

  1. Dodgy says

    April 1, 2006 at 5:50 pm

    I wonder if Massimo Tamburini will design one for me ?

  2. guy says

    April 15, 2006 at 6:03 am

    another cool machine looks like kneesliders are the go

Search articles on The Kneeslider

Do You need motorcycle parts?

Everything from normal maintenance items to hard to find out of production parts, look here first.
Be very specific for best results! Use part numbers if you have them.
Be sure to check out our motorcycle manuals and literature listings, too!

From The Kneeslider Archives

Bottpower XR-1 transforming old Buells into Flat Trackers

Bottpower BOTT XR-1 – New Life for Old Buells

Jesse James' radial engine motorcycle

Radial Engine Powered Motorcycle

Brent Soper's Suzuki VX800 with 900cc snowmobile power

Suzuki VX800 Gets a Snowmobile Power Transplant

Motorcycle Engine Powered Cars

Copyright © 2021 · The Kneeslider · Website by Crowe Computer Services
US Army veteran owned and operated
This website proudly Made in the USA!
Made in the USA