A cautionary tale of obsession
Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2011 10:39 pm
A few years ago Ducati tuning house NCR built a run of bevel drive specials. The idea was to build them as light as possible so they were made pretty much out of solid titanium and had a cost at the time close to $100K. Yes there are people out there with that sort of money, and one of the bikes found its way to New Zealand. I remember seeing it at a track day and being well impressed that he was prepared to put it around the track.
I was talking to the owner's mechanic recently. Apparently having had it for a while the guy decided he could improve on it. Titanium was barely good enough, I don't know what he found better, recycled UFOs or something, but in it went. Now it weighs in like an anorexic 125 and the motor makes more power than NCR themselves ever got. It still says Ducati on the tank but there probably isn't a single part on the bike that ever came out of the Ducati factory.
Cost so far - a shade under $250,000 NZ dollars (thats about $200K for you Aussies and Americans). Why do it? Because he can. Marvellous.
I'm just a beginner really...
PS if you find yourself with too much money and don't know what to do with it, google ncr ducati and have a look.
I was talking to the owner's mechanic recently. Apparently having had it for a while the guy decided he could improve on it. Titanium was barely good enough, I don't know what he found better, recycled UFOs or something, but in it went. Now it weighs in like an anorexic 125 and the motor makes more power than NCR themselves ever got. It still says Ducati on the tank but there probably isn't a single part on the bike that ever came out of the Ducati factory.
Cost so far - a shade under $250,000 NZ dollars (thats about $200K for you Aussies and Americans). Why do it? Because he can. Marvellous.
I'm just a beginner really...
PS if you find yourself with too much money and don't know what to do with it, google ncr ducati and have a look.
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