Photo: Peter Harholdt
In some ways, this thing is even more enticing than the limited-edition gemstone it was influenced by.
With a mere 2,000 exemplars produced by Ducati, the collectible Paul Smart 1000 LE is the sort of bike that many people want, yet few will ever own. Not only does it pay tribute to one of Bologna’s great racing successes from a bygone era, but it is also, quite simply, a beautiful motorcycle!
Pierre Terblanche’s design did a great job at emulating the iconic visual traits of the 1972 Imola 200-winning machine ridden by Paul Smart. In turn, the PS1000LE has inspired numerous custom projects since its release back in 2006, and among the bike-modding outfits to eventually take notice was Bruce McQuinston’s Moto Studio.
Based in Miami, Florida, the workshop got its hands on a ‘94 MY Ducati 900SS/SP in late 2015 and turned it into the ravishing one-off pictured above. As you can probably tell, there’s quite a bit for us to talk about here, so let’s cut to the chase and dive straight in. Moto Studio started by deleting each and every piece of stock bodywork, except for the SuperSport’s fuel tank.
Then, it was a matter of fabricating the replacements from scratch, with carbon fiber being the crew’s material of choice. At the bike’s front end, they installed a gorgeous half-fairing reminiscent of those worn by classic SuperSports, and there’s also a stealthy front fender attached to a custom bracket lower down.
Peeking out back, you’ll see a discreetly-mounted bespoke subframe that’s been manufactured in-house. Above it lies a sporty tail unit whose rearmost tip houses a circular taillight, but what’s even more enticing is that custom saddle upholstered in cross-stitched brown suede. Next to the silver paint, exposed CFRP, and teal blue frame, the leather seat looks absolutely delicious.
To fabricate the carbon overalls, Moto Studio made the initial molds from high-density foam, used epoxy and fiberglass for the secondary ones, and then proceeded to shape the final pieces. Bruce and his team have once again employed carbon fiber when crafting the motorcycle’s new under-seat exhaust muffler, but the rest of the pipework is made of stainless steel.
On the intake side of the combustion cycle, these fresh exhaust pipes are complemented by a pair of 41 mm (1.6-inch) Keihin FCR carburetors. Have a gander at the specimen’s cockpit, and you’ll see an all-new top clamp and bar-end turn signals, as well as a classy tachometer and unobtrusive switchgear supplied by Motogadget.
Woodcraft rearsets round out the ergonomic package, while a bit more carbon fiber goodness can be spotted on the right flank, in the form of an aftermarket clutch cover. To make sure this PS1000LE-inspired stunner will handle as well as it looks, Moto Studio sent its Showa suspension hardware to Race Tech for a complete rebuild. Finally, the whole thing was rewired via a Motogadget M-Unit control module.
Pierre Terblanche’s design did a great job at emulating the iconic visual traits of the 1972 Imola 200-winning machine ridden by Paul Smart. In turn, the PS1000LE has inspired numerous custom projects since its release back in 2006, and among the bike-modding outfits to eventually take notice was Bruce McQuinston’s Moto Studio.
Based in Miami, Florida, the workshop got its hands on a ‘94 MY Ducati 900SS/SP in late 2015 and turned it into the ravishing one-off pictured above. As you can probably tell, there’s quite a bit for us to talk about here, so let’s cut to the chase and dive straight in. Moto Studio started by deleting each and every piece of stock bodywork, except for the SuperSport’s fuel tank.
Then, it was a matter of fabricating the replacements from scratch, with carbon fiber being the crew’s material of choice. At the bike’s front end, they installed a gorgeous half-fairing reminiscent of those worn by classic SuperSports, and there’s also a stealthy front fender attached to a custom bracket lower down.
Peeking out back, you’ll see a discreetly-mounted bespoke subframe that’s been manufactured in-house. Above it lies a sporty tail unit whose rearmost tip houses a circular taillight, but what’s even more enticing is that custom saddle upholstered in cross-stitched brown suede. Next to the silver paint, exposed CFRP, and teal blue frame, the leather seat looks absolutely delicious.
To fabricate the carbon overalls, Moto Studio made the initial molds from high-density foam, used epoxy and fiberglass for the secondary ones, and then proceeded to shape the final pieces. Bruce and his team have once again employed carbon fiber when crafting the motorcycle’s new under-seat exhaust muffler, but the rest of the pipework is made of stainless steel.
On the intake side of the combustion cycle, these fresh exhaust pipes are complemented by a pair of 41 mm (1.6-inch) Keihin FCR carburetors. Have a gander at the specimen’s cockpit, and you’ll see an all-new top clamp and bar-end turn signals, as well as a classy tachometer and unobtrusive switchgear supplied by Motogadget.
Woodcraft rearsets round out the ergonomic package, while a bit more carbon fiber goodness can be spotted on the right flank, in the form of an aftermarket clutch cover. To make sure this PS1000LE-inspired stunner will handle as well as it looks, Moto Studio sent its Showa suspension hardware to Race Tech for a complete rebuild. Finally, the whole thing was rewired via a Motogadget M-Unit control module.
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