Red Ducatis. What is this hold you have over my senses and from where did it come? Blame the father. A tent trip to Cornwall on the back of a bloated 80's 907 i.e was to adolescent me, the most perfect holiday imaginable. Inevitably my first proper big bike had the trellis frame and an L-twin heart but grass is greener curiosity led me to a machine swap I instantly regretted. It was only a matter of time until the lure of an Italian twin seduced again, then this week past some 'Shed shop floor chat led to a man waving pictures of a rather fine red Monster under my nose, for sale you say? Hook, line and sinker. Needless to say Red Ducati has been the subject of many a Google search since. I expect this latest offering from Redmax Speed Shop will start generating rather a lot of attention when those words are combined from hence forth. A customer rode his mid-nineties 900ss into the Devonshire workshop of Redmax with the intention of commissioning a budget build, but the shiny metal and engineering mastery that he discovered there soon loosened the tight fist guarding his wallet and a full build was under discussion. A half-faired cafe racer in classic rosso corsa was more than enough of a brief for Steve Hillary to set about the transformation. Steve has spent a good deal of time perfecting the Redmax Ducati tank. It first swept us into an eBay frenzy of Monster and SS watching when his stunning orange Ducafe project appeared on the 'Shed and at the first of our LondonTobacco Dock shows. Styled after the Sport Classic tank which in turn was an interpretations of the 70's SS receptacle the Redmax unit was designed to fit over the wide frame rails of the later Monster, SS and ST ranges. It also happens to work perfectly with the Redmax cafe racer tail unit and Imola esque fairing. As with all Redmax builds this goes far beyond a visual makeover. A removable rear subframe and fairing supports were fabricated to support the new body work before the entire frame took a trip to the powder coat shop. Whilst the engine was dropped the top end was stripped for a parts swap from a later injection model and the notoriously flaky Ducati engine cases received a fresh coat of paint. Foam filters were fitted to the carbs and the wiring loom was extensively modified and replaced culminating in a Koso digital dash up front. Stainless cafe exhaust cans were fitted to the standard SS down pipes and hung from handmade brackets while the rear sets were swapped out for SES items. An alloy front mudguard with tubular stainless stays was also fabbed up by the Redmax team while the seat unit was sent off to Glenn Moger for a finishing touch of brown suede. Carl at Pristine Paints applied the lustrous coats of red with black highlighting before a Lucas lamp and torpedo indicators finished out the detailing. The completed bike was then taken to Taunton Square for a photoshoot where a large appreciative crowd inevitably gathered - the red Ducati magic once again taking affect. Importantly Steve reports that "She rides and goes just like a Ducati should - with those 70's looks to boot." Certainly a most compelling combination. Now, where did leave the number of that chap with the red Ducati? See more from Redmax here Bike Shed Archive | Web | Facebook