JvB Moto 750
By Anthony van Someren - 19 May 14
It's not often we hold the front page, throw our schedule out the window and then go chasing a builder for "permission to post" but when this Ducati 750 Sport by JvB-Moto appeared on the inter-web a few of us in the Bike Shed had a small underpants accident. Ok, as occasional Ducati riders we might be biased, but whatever your biking persuasion we think this bike has something for everyone. And with the 750 sport as a base, weighing-in at just 155 kg, you know it's an amazing bike to ride just by looking at it.
While the bike is painfully stylish to look at (in our opinions) it's no show pony. Jens, at JvB, built the bike for himself as a daily ride and like all builder-owner machines it's not fussy, and - it's not finished - and possibly never will be, as he describes it as a "work in progress". ... It's also not for sale (we already asked).
The donor is a Ducati 750 Sport from 1988 and Jen's selected this model as a donor because of its bullet proof engine (for a Ducati, anyway), the clean lines of the tank & frame, and those 16 inch wheels. We're not normally a big fan of the Ducati three spoke items, but at 16 inches and fitted with fat Avons they are very pleasing to the eye, and are an interesting look that bridges the gap between sport riding and the freetstyle looks of a chunky brat build.
While it looks like a pretty simple strip'n'paint build the bike has a lot of subtle work, including the repositioning of the tank to sit 20mm closer to the headstock. The frame has also been heavily chopped to accommodate the new JvB design tail unit, plus the bike was fitted with new clipons and had the footrests lowered to get the riding position just right.
Of course the airbox had to be junked, exposing replacement Mikuni Flat-side carbs fitted with K&N Filters, which looks the bollocks and give the bike a crisp throttle response and a much improved power delivery.
The rear suspension is upgraded to a Showa unit from the 750 SuperSport and the stock Marzocchi forks were modified to work with the new featherweight setup. The stock brakes worked just fine with so few kilos to contend with.
That completely original headlamp unit is a JvB custom part, which blends tucked in Brat-style "Bates" looks with a scramber/tracker number-board setup, and it looks great. We're not sure what the speedo is, but from this angle it looks like a MotoGadget.
A few of you will want to know about the stainless Steel MotoGP style exhaust. This came from various parts of a Termi setup called Titan, built for the 1100 Monster. The petrol blue paint was inspired by the Magnus Walker Porche 911s and looks superb against the white trademark trellis frame.
Jens has already been directly quoted in other blogs, but his words do sum the bike up nicely. "It´s not a design concept aiming for a final visual perfection, it´s a work in progress: ride, modify, repeat."
For those of us who love the brutish aesthetics of the new wave custom scene, but still hanker for a lightweight pocket-sized Italian v-twin with top-notch chassis parts, this bike looks like perfection. 80bhp shifting just 155kg is going to put a grin on your face. Jens has promised to ride the bike to Wheels & Waves, so we'll share a beer over our bikes there while we try to get him drunk enough to let us have a go. Stunning. More from JvB Moto on their Website.