✍️📸Dan Bloxham
Every bike can be special, many have different reasons as to why and this one is very special to me, let me tell you why.
This bike lived in my head for a while before it became a reality, over a few club nights, fellow DOCNZer, Joe Togo and I had spoken about the ideal 1st generation Fighter and this is what it is for me. Not just for what the bike physically is but also what it represents – this is giving a part of my passion, knowledge, and time back to my dad Paul for all he has done for me.
The build itself was done over about 4 months. An easy start was the tear down and cleaning of the pieces then onto parts accumulation before we started to track down a motor. This proved a little tricky but we eventually found a suitable donor engine from a 1098 Superbike.
A lot of time was spent cross-referencing parts diagrams and from what I could see it came down to (mostly) an electrical gamble. The belts and valves were sorted with any gasket or seal I could access being replaced.
Dad came down to Wellington from Tauranga for a short stay while we fitted the engine into place and had the bike cranking but a fuel leak halted start-up. We had the replacement parts on hand at work so that was an easy one to sort but unfortunately Dad had to head home.
He was driving through the Desert Road as he heard the bike start for the first time over the phone. Once sorted and running for a couple of weeks on a base map, the bike was tuned to a smooth 147hp and 111nm at the rollers, cheers Juan!
Each ride features the well-documented slow start followed by the beautiful symphony of a dry clutch, an unmistakable Ducati. It's certainly not the perfect commuter but I’m smiling all the way to and from, there is something special about the Testastretta Evo engines, it couldn’t care less which gear you’re in it’s going to bolt when you crack the throttle and sound effortlessly lazy as it does it.
This bike does feel short in the wheel-base and very on the nose which makes for an engaging ride; it flows steadily through open corners and is bursting out of them at every opportunity.
There is no other bike that makes me feel the way a Ducati does, they’re infectious and you feel like a rockstar every single ride no matter how far or fast.
The bike draws attention and comments wherever it goes and I’m hugely proud to say I built this bike with and for my Dad, he’s moving down soon and we are looking forward to many outings on the mighty Streetfighters with the awesome Wellington crew. Stay tuned as there are a few more special bikes I’d like to tell you a little about.
Dan
