Pierobon Frames is an Italian company that’s been in business for 50 years, working in and around MotoGP and World Superbike, gaining a reputation for building some very fine equipment and solving technical problems of all sorts. Being Italian, it wasn’t hard to see the passion of many Ducati owners who love to tweak, tune and refine their bikes, so they decided to turn their expertise to the idea of building a kit that enables the owner of a Ducati Supersport 1000DS to remove many of the essential components like the engine, wheels, suspension parts and electrical system and then reinstall them into a lightweight frame kit. Instead of owners trying to build their own frame, they now have a highly engineered bit of aluminum to transform their bike into a track day wonder.
The focus of the kit is to have fun, the Ducati engine puts out in the area of 90 horsepower, less than current 600s but in this kit bike, which weighs only 324 pounds, you have a highly maneuverable and very flickable bike, enabling the rider to blast through turns at full lean, sliding his knee with ease. It’s the kind of bike that makes you smile, while you think your riding skills just took some mysterious leap forward.
They emphasize the bike is for track use only and not the street, I’m not sure why exactly, but whatever the case, the finished bike looks like it would be a lot of fun.
Thanks for the tip, Doug!
Link: Pierobon Frames
Spaceweasel says
Clicked around their website – but no idea how much all this runs. Looks like fun, though. Kind of reminds me of the old Alchemy.
Doug says
I wondered why they state for track use only, too. Maybe the kit’s bodywork doesn’t include lighting, but it seemed like they were referring to the frame kit.
Your post reminded me of 2 friends that each had an early 90’s Ducati 750 SS. Those bikes had probably less than 80 hp, but they were very torquey, light weight bikes that would go like stink.
It was a hoot to watch them run & to listen to that music….
The current 1100 DS engine in a lighter aluminum chassis would be intense.
Sean says
Looks good, and with that power to weight ratio I bet it runs like the clappers. Very cool.
coho says
No doubt the “track use only” protects Pierobon from both disgrtuntled consumer lawsuits and DOT rules.
One must cover one’s ass, mustn’t one?
Gerhard says
Just my 2 cents worth…they state the bike is for track use only and not for street for the simple reason that in the UK (and I suspect many other European countries) you need a vehicle type approval to sell that vehicle to the public, and I guess they haven’t done that or couldn’t afford to. Although the parts are from an existing model, the frame isn’t, and I think that’s the sticky government regulations.
todd says
In order to be street legal the new frame must retain a portion of the original, unmodified frame retaining the VIN stampings or tab.
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d04/vc10751.htm
-todd
Doug says
The frame looks stout from the neck to the engine mount in the crux of the “L”; but from there, it’s interesting how little of the frame exists down to the swingarm pivot.
Use only what is needed and nothing more, I guess
Mayakovski says
Just to let people know, the parts are currently in production and they are also developing a kit. Basic pricing is as follows, not including taxes and shipping. All prices are in euros. Current Euro to US dollar ratio is 1 Euro to 1.3 US dollars. SO the main frame works out to #3600 US.
Frame = 2649.60
Rear Frame = 325.00
Front Frame = 216.00
Jared says
Did anyone catch the may issue of cycle world mag. They dropped 84 pounds on a sport 1000 with the original frame. Said it was running in the 9 second range in the quarter mile and it would be street legal. I don’t see the sense in spending $3600 on a frame when you can spend the same amount on titanium and plastic parts just to lighten the bike. Especially when you can get it to right around the same weight and still be able to keep it street legal.