Surely one of the loveliest specials ever commissioned. Designed by one of our customers / friends, Duncan, in memory of his beloved wife, Roxy. Very individual, very classy and very personal. Those are not decals adorning the machine, all the artwork was airbrushed, courtesy of Mark at Paint Supremacy.
The scene above just says so much, it had to go in. Beautiful scenery, warm and an awesomely twisty road....proper Ducati territory....Riding on waves of lovely, creamy torque, secure with the reassuringly confidence-inspiring and rock solid handling. Imagine the lovely, deep staccato boom reverberating off those cliff walls. You just so much want to be here.
And, above, the awesome Stelvio. If you have red blood running through your veins, you've just GOT to do it.
And this one.....Just imagine....Beautiful and warm, fantastic scenery. You've just been flicking your big booming Desmo twin through these twisties, slalom-style and you've just pulled up and surveyed where you've just been. Quick smoke and do it all again..........
A lovely Sport 1000 Monoposto lurking amongst the greenery.
A chap who used to work here, Pat, took this photo when he was waiting for his own 1098 to arrive. I thought it was pretty effective, so here it is. What is this bike saying?
Monster 695. The baby Monster of 2006 - 2008. Beautiful, simple, pure, demure yet muscular. And so capable of being so many things for so many different people.
And here's Daddy Monster, the 998cc Testastretta engined nutter beast. Combining raw and exhilerating Superbike power with superb handling and perfect round-town manners. 130 bhp, Ohlins front and rear suspension, beautiful aluminium single-sided swingarm and acres of carbon fibre. Beautifully executed naked sports machine.
Aaahh, a nice little Monster Dark. You know, the old "entry level budget Ducati". And unlike most other manufacturers' entry level middleweights, the Dark, as shown above, can boast real track credentials, courtesy of its superbike-derived chassis and sublime weight distribution. So, you can commute, tour, have a gentle, mellow play, or give it the full beans and it's just as happy in any of these roles.
A trick four valver about to go out on track.
Gary is one of our many loyal repeat customers. He's owned quite a few Ducatis over the years and currently has a small gaggle. Here, he's pictured taking delivery of the first of the new Sport Classic 1000s in the UK, back in early 2006.
Our Kev, pictured above, has had his fair share of really beautiful Ducatis also. Here, he's seen collecting his gorgeous new 1098S Tricolore. Kev loves his Ducatis and is always working on other people and convincing them to join the Ducati fold. A regular visitor, and always welcome.
One of Kev's other lovely bikes. A real beauty, with the Falappa no.9 on show. And no, I doubt whether Kev would ever sell...
And, whilst we're on the subject of beautiful, timeless Bordi-era Superbikes, here's Chris with his beloved, very trick, beast of an 888 SP. And Chris, one of our loyal long-standing customers and friends, will not be parting with this one, either!!
Here's our Dunc sat on his lovely tribute bike. Girls...Dunc says he's available....
Above is pictured Mark. He's had two now, but you'll have to let him tell the story.
Above you see Paul and his lad. Paul was our first customer to take delivery of his awesome 1098.
Above is Marco on his beautiful Bayliss Limited Edition look-a-like 848. Marco and his brother are very valued customers, as are all our customers. Carlo, please let us have your beautiful 998!!
Richard about to take delivery of his beautiful, exclusive Paul Smart Limited Edition.
I had to include this one. I think it's just such a lovely image, and says so much...Beauty, aggression, speed, desire, anticipation, respect...
Colin with his Parts Unlimited liveried 999.
Imagine the scene. Lovely and warm. Just parked up in the piazza and about to enjoy a cappuccino at your fave cafe.
Kellie taking her lovely new Monster 620.
Keith "Sidrat". One very quick boy and an expert Ducati rider.
Kirk, pictured here collecting his new S2R 800 and looking a bit cold! Kirk is the third family member to become a Ducati owner. Big brother's on his second Ducati 749 and dad loves his Monster 1000S, having previously owned a beautiful 750SS.
Here's Dan taking delivery of his beautiful Desmosedici. A very quick, loyal customer.
Just the bike. Beautiful.
Now here's a lovely one, emphasising perfectly the rock solid handling characteristics. Mmm, wish I could do that......
We don't just sell 'em and fix 'em, we ride 'em too. Here's our Lee on his 996R track bike...
And, again, over the mountain...
Now, here's Clare, one of our many loyal and valued customers, putting a 999 through its paces on the Ducati Experience at Imola. Dimunitive and unassuming, mess with her at your peril. Has embarrassed many a "quick" bloke......
Now, here's a cheeky little monkey if ever you saw one......Jason, one of our naughtiest customers sneaking a quick sit on a Street Fighter at the NEC...
And here's a piccy of the little monkey with his pride and joy, a Monster S4R fresh from Paint Supremacy, in Pearl White with the Italian tricolore treatment......
And here's a close-up of the paint treatment to the tank. Those are not decals, all the details are air-brushed, and we especially like the "996" logo.
And here's Jase on his bike..........
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Here's a pic of one of our loyal and long-standing customers, Chris, on his Chili rep 748.
Everyone that I've met that has owned a big two valver loves this modern Bezzi interpretation of how a modern 900SS could be. Lightweight, pared-to-the-bone, beautiful, simplistic, with modern chassis parts. Please, Mr Ducati....
Another beauty from Oberdan Bezzi Design.
A very special Ducati. Beautifully proportioned, pure and simple, Born from the same philosophy of the legendary TTF1 and F2 machines. Based on the Pierobon 042 frame and utilising the two-valves-per-cylinder, dual spark air cooled motor. I'm sure that if enough of us made the right noises, the factory could be convinced to go into production with something similar.
One of the more famous of the old pictures and certainly one of our favourites, showing the (still competing) Giuliano Maoggi at the start of a Motogiro stage, with the old fag on. Timeless and classic.
More classic Motogiro images.
The master himself at his drawing board. The father of the Ducati desmodromic system.
Massimo Bordi. The main engineering genius behind the four-valves-per-cylinder Desmodromic system. Building on Dr T's prowess, he developed the system for use in a four valve cylinder head, allowing for the oversquare layout as employed in all the Ducati Superbikes. This layout opened the door for higher revs, resulting in ever escalating power levels. The rest, as witnessed in World Superbikes, is history...
A Sport Classic GT1000 in perfect ambient surroundings. Very often, manufacturers' piccies seem well below par and not in keeping with the machine's surroundings, but this one, we thought, just suits the machine perfectly.
As, we thought, does this one....
And here's one of the Hairy Bikers in Lincoln. Jeanette, our General Manager, had stayed in Lincoln the evening of our Carl Fogarty day, and in the morning was greeted by the sight of Si and Dave, who had stayed at the same hotel whilst filming for their new series. As reported in MCN, for the new series, they're riding Ducatis, and loving every minute of it!!
