The Kneeslider

Doers Builders and Positive People

Ducati XR900 Bevel Drive Street Tracker

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Ducati XR900 street tracker by Peter Koren

Ducati 900GTS before he beganPeter Koren, a Ducati enthusiast from the UK, found a 1978 Ducati 900GTS as a parts bike for his 750GT and 900SS. Looking a bit more at the old GTS, it wasn’t as bad as he thought so instead of using the pieces he figured, “Why not fix it up?” It was past the restoration stage and he always liked the look of the Harley Davidson XR750 so maybe a flat tracker type conversion would look good. The result is the XR900 you see here and I think it’s really sweet.

He reversed the fork to get the caliper behind the tubes to clean up the front. The tank is aluminum which he formed himself. He made the exhaust from old headers he had lying around. His Dad designed the graphics and his son helped paint and the whole bike looks like it came from the Ducati factory, which was exactly as Peter intended.

First the DesmoHarley and now this. I like it, … a lot!

Lots more photos below:

Ducati XR900 street tracker by Peter Koren

Ducati XR900 street tracker by Peter Koren

Ducati XR900 street tracker by Peter Koren

Ducati XR900 street tracker by Peter Koren

Link: Flickr via November 2008 Motorcyclist

Comments

  1. This is great.

    What if Ducati was into dirt track racing back in the day? The torque of their motor against the torque of the HD motor would have made interesting racing.

    Was the late 70’s 900 Duc motor relatively light like its modern iteration? If so, Ducati might have changed dirt track record books.

  3. Awesome. Love that look.

    I know they’re probably cast, rather than stamped, but those engine cases (particularly the kickstarter/primary cover and what I can only assume is the clutch cover on the opposite side) sure look like stamped pieces. Not a curve to be found anywhere, all flat. It’s got a very low-tech industrial feel to it, which I think works pretty well with the bike.

    The original wasn’t half-bad either, though 🙂

    cl

  4. A friend gave me a copy of Motorcyclist yesterday with the page dog eared where this bike was featured. Kudos to a talented builder and a great looking bike. Thanks to Kneeslider for picking up on it.

  9. That’s a good build. The look is right, and everything looks appropriate to the age of the bike. What I love is seeing that big gap between the cylinders. It makes the whole thing look airy and light.

  13. It looks very nice. Very like the Harley dirttrackers of the Springsteen or earlier Brelsford era. The roadrace Harleys of that time were some of the best looking too.

  15. That is very well done, being a fellow Brit I would pop some sort of front mudguard on but with this one minor mod I think he just made my motorcycle perfection.

  16. This is a general streettracker critique… they always look better with number plates. Headlights leave too much visual space between the bars and the front tire.

    The pegs and the heat shield look like they might be too far back. Could use a more vintage Ducati color, but, it looks fantastic as is.