KDI Cycles in Connecticut in the US is the home of Kevin Dinsmoor's cafe racer creations. Kevin prides himself in doing things right first time, taking old forgotten vintage motorcycles and meticulously returning them to perfect running condition but, as you can see from these photos, they come out much better than when they were new. I started to build the bike in September 2011, I bought the majority of the parts at a swap meet spending less than $450 for the bike, swing arm, tank and wheels. I knew I was going to build a budget bike and bring it back to the same swap meet. A month later I was in Alabama at Barber Vintage festival. Ducati was there and they had their own area called Duckstock.

They had their own camping, parking, and group rides. They act as the elite motorcycle group. As I was walking through their area, a beautiful Honda CBX was pulling in and a rep for Ducati starting yelling at the guy demanding he immediately get out of there, the rider was so shaken, he almost dropped his CBX. It was at that moment I knew the pile of parts I just bought would become a Honda that looked like a Ducati and I would ride that bike straight into Duckstock and park right in front. I figure 90% of the elite biker group would never know its not a Duc. I plan to fulfill that vision later this year. Anyway after that it was full speed ahead on the build.

The engine got the most attention. APE cut 6 lbs off the crankshaft. JE big bore pistons were fit to make 605cc. Web cam 58b installed with an adjustable cam gear. Pamco ignition. Keihin CR29 carbs, K&N filters, Mike Rieck did an amazing port job on the head with all 1mm oversize valves, triple springs and Ti retainers. Barnett clutch. Electric starter has been eliminated. Yoshimura exhaust with mods. The front end is a 2003 CBR929, the front wheel is a Marchesini forged aluminum, rotors are 320mm, brakes are stock 929. Tires are Michelin Pilot Power. Rear wheel is stock VFR. Swing arm is 1995 VFR 750, rear suspension is all 2003 GSXR 750, rear brake master cylinder is GSXR, front steering shock is GSXR mounted like stock Suzuki. I have boxes full of GSXR parts so that's why many of them were used.

The back half of frame and swing arm mounts were done with help from Pro Kart racing. The rear hoop came from Lossa engineering. Fairing is from glass from the past. Belly pan from Airtech streamlining. Tank is stock 1976 KZ400 ($10 swap meet) The seat pan was hand made from aluminum. The paint was done by K&W Custom auto who also smoothed out the areas where "Kawasaki" emblems one were. The decals were done by fellow Rocker Seth Kaplan from Signstop. The 16 really wasn't intended to be a tribute match, it was actually my old race number.

You might see the word "MONSTER" on the tank, that's the name I've given the bike, a little reference to the bunch of different parts used from other bikes and the obvious Ducati tie in. The headlight is a Honda Accord fog light. I got the idea for that from my good buddy Benjie from BCR. The fender is from the original CB550 but highly modified. The powder coat is candy apple turquoise over silver base done by one of my best friends at Competitive Edge Coatings. The speedo is Motogadget. The tach is a stock CB550 that I disassembled, added indicator lights and my overlay also done by Signstop. Battery is a tiny Shorai lithium. Controls are from the donor CBR929 front end that luckily came with high end levers. The mirrors are CRG.

Kevin looks rightfully pleased with the fruits of his labours. It's been one of the most popular builds on our Facebook pages, and annoyed a few die-hard Ducatistas, but no-one can deny it's a stunning build with a beautiful paint-job and great photos.

All pictures were taken at New England Air Museum by Ron Agnello of Strongbox Photography Studios LLC