Fat and Tasty 996It's not often that we see a blinged-out Ducati superbike on the streets. When typical Duc owners customize their rides they usually stick to the same-old racer-replica route, with a bunch of played-out carbon fiber and titanium trinkets in an attempt to make it look like a refugee from the World Superbike paddock. Not so with Josh Cohol's 1999 Ducati 996, which goes the full showbike route with plenty of polished aluminum and chrome, plus custom tribal graphics to really set it apart from the garden-variety Italian Stallion. The excess of shiny stuff is a given here-as owner of Fat Boyz Polishing (www.fatboyzpolishing.com) in North Lima, Ohio, polishing and chrome plating are Cohol's specialty. Accordingly, chrome covers the stock Ducati wheels, brake calipers, fork, clip-ons, rearsets, swingarm, kickstand and more, while the rotors, foot controls and a handful of brackets have been polished. Accenting all this shine is a careful application of translucent red powdercoating on the wheel spokes, clutch cover, triples and more, and a powdercoated frame and subframe done in white. Further carrying on the red theme is a full compliment of Pro-Bolt products on all three master cylinders, as well as the windscreen, fairing bolts and front axle nuts. The bodywork has been cleaned up with a rear fender eliminator and turn signal integrator kit from Evoluzione Cyclesports, plus a chromed windscreen and a few choice carbon-fiber bits such as the front fender, air intakes and gauge surround. Bodywork is covered in gunmetal grey with white tribal graphics inspired by one of Cohol's tattoos, and a final personalized touch is the tribal seat cover by Jay Cox. Don't get the idea that Cohol's ride is all show and no go, however-he also paid attention to the powerplant, tweaking it with a 916 single-injector conversion, updated EPROM race chip and full D&D exhaust. It's a tight package, a very effective advertisement for Fat Boyz' services, and best of all, a very unique take on a custom Ducati that really sets Cohol apart when he rolls up at the local bike night.
Yellow FeverSomething that pleases both "hardcore kneedraggers and the bling-nation, too" is how Helmetta, New Jersey's, Ramee Jaber described his sick Ducati "748" in the spec sheet that he supplied to us. You'll notice that we have quote marks around the model designation of Jaber's bike-that's because the original displacement of this middleweight rocket has been bumped all the way up to 890cc, thanks to a big-bore cylinder kit from Fast by Ferracci, and that's just the beginning of the motorwork that Jaber has dialed in. A lightened flywheel from Nichols helps the motor spin up faster, a race chip takes care of the math and a Two Brothers C2 oval slip-on exhaust exits the spent gases. Jaber also worked up the running gear on his Duc, too, adding superlight PVM forged-aluminum five-spoke wheels, STM alloy sprockets, BrakeTech Axis ductile iron rotors and Ferodo platinum pads. That takes care of the kneedragger portion of the equation-stuff that makes the bling nation drool includes a bunch of styling mods, starting with the smooth, MV Agusta-style carbon-fiber monoposto tail that gives this Duc a completely different look from behind. The tail came from Casoli Moto, as did the carbon-fiber front fender and air intake runners, while the carbon rear fender and chain guard are from Fast By Ferracci and the race-weight fiberglass fairing upper and side panels are GRP pieces sourced through Casoli. Dressing up the chassis are a crateful of billet bits, most of these purchased from the Ducati specialists at CycleCat.com, who make the gorgeous billet triple clamp, sprocket cover, clutch cover and frame sliders on Jaber's bike. Finishing touches include custom paint and graphics (a variation on the factory yellow scheme); a touch of chrome on the wheels and pegs by Santa Ana Plating; and some custom Gator Glass windscreen lighting from our friends at gatorcustoms.net. Jaber says that he was drawn to the Ducati marque because of its rich racing history, exotic appeal and its uniqueness in the custom sportbike world. "Almost no one I knew in these parts had one," Jaber says, and $30,000 later, we're quite sure no one anywhere has a Ducati 748 (rather, make that "890") tricked out quite like this one.