Photo: AJ Moller Photography via Ellaspede
That front fairing has a fierce “get out of my way” attitude, and it looks right at home next to the OEM fuel tank.
Unless you live down under, chances are you’ve never heard of the Ducati Monster 659, because it was produced solely for Australia and New Zealand. Essentially a downsized 696, the model was built to comply with the Learner Approved Motorcycle Scheme (or LAMS, for short). The custom-built specimen shown above is owned by a guy named Andrew, and it looks a lot more aggressive than it did in stock form.
To be exact, the project began with a Rossi Edition variant from 2012, but the bright fuel tank decals depicting Vale’s number are now a thing of the past. Andrew entrusted Ellaspede of Brisbane, Queensland with the transformation process, requesting that they give his Duc a much sportier appearance. Completed during the summer of 2019, the build is absolutely breathtaking, to say the least!
For starters, Ellaspede’s bike-modding artisans ordered a bolt-on front fairing and belly pan from Paolo Tex Design, but those were actually made for larger Monsters from earlier on. Thus, getting them to fit on the 659 was no walk in the park, and much tweaking was needed before the Aussies were satisfied with the result. They reworked the aftermarket garments where required and fabricated new brackets to fix everything into place.
Gone is the Duc’s factory exhaust system, making room for bespoke pipework that ends in an Ex-Box muffler supplied by Italy’s QD Exhaust. With the bodywork and plumbing out of the way, the Aussies turned their attention to the cockpit. Andrew was after a tougher riding posture, so Ellaspede ditched the OEM handlebar in favor of Woodcraft clip-ons with underslung bar-end mirrors.
They kept the stock instrumentation in play, but had it repositioned nice and low using a handmade bracket. Rizoma turn signals were then installed at both ends, and there’s an aftermarket tail tidy keeping things neat out back. As the donor packed great running gear and plenty of power straight out of the box, the crew was happy to leave its L-twin engine, suspension, and brakes untouched.
In order to further declutter the Monster’s rear end, Ellaspede’s gurus got rid of the pillion pegs, which were deemed pretty much redundant by the owner, anyway. Once the structural adjustments had been taken care of and everything looked right, it came time to pick a color scheme that would suit the motorcycle’s menacing attire.
A two-tone red and white colorway was chosen for the belly pan, front fairing, gas tank, and tail section, but black predominates elsewhere. Echoing the machine’s Italian heritage are distinctive red, white, and green stripes on its trellis framework. Now, there’s no word on how much Andrew had to pay for this imposing one-off, but it most certainly was money well spent given how the transformation turned out.
To be exact, the project began with a Rossi Edition variant from 2012, but the bright fuel tank decals depicting Vale’s number are now a thing of the past. Andrew entrusted Ellaspede of Brisbane, Queensland with the transformation process, requesting that they give his Duc a much sportier appearance. Completed during the summer of 2019, the build is absolutely breathtaking, to say the least!
For starters, Ellaspede’s bike-modding artisans ordered a bolt-on front fairing and belly pan from Paolo Tex Design, but those were actually made for larger Monsters from earlier on. Thus, getting them to fit on the 659 was no walk in the park, and much tweaking was needed before the Aussies were satisfied with the result. They reworked the aftermarket garments where required and fabricated new brackets to fix everything into place.
Gone is the Duc’s factory exhaust system, making room for bespoke pipework that ends in an Ex-Box muffler supplied by Italy’s QD Exhaust. With the bodywork and plumbing out of the way, the Aussies turned their attention to the cockpit. Andrew was after a tougher riding posture, so Ellaspede ditched the OEM handlebar in favor of Woodcraft clip-ons with underslung bar-end mirrors.
They kept the stock instrumentation in play, but had it repositioned nice and low using a handmade bracket. Rizoma turn signals were then installed at both ends, and there’s an aftermarket tail tidy keeping things neat out back. As the donor packed great running gear and plenty of power straight out of the box, the crew was happy to leave its L-twin engine, suspension, and brakes untouched.
In order to further declutter the Monster’s rear end, Ellaspede’s gurus got rid of the pillion pegs, which were deemed pretty much redundant by the owner, anyway. Once the structural adjustments had been taken care of and everything looked right, it came time to pick a color scheme that would suit the motorcycle’s menacing attire.
A two-tone red and white colorway was chosen for the belly pan, front fairing, gas tank, and tail section, but black predominates elsewhere. Echoing the machine’s Italian heritage are distinctive red, white, and green stripes on its trellis framework. Now, there’s no word on how much Andrew had to pay for this imposing one-off, but it most certainly was money well spent given how the transformation turned out.
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