Ducati XDiavel S Thiverval May Be the Raddest Custom Muscle Cruiser You’ll Ever Meet

Born in 1970, Fred “Krugger” Bertrand has been passionate about all manner of two- and four-wheeled entities ever since he can remember. Fred's parents were both avid fans of motorsports, and they’d promptly gifted him with a Honda CR50 Elsinore as soon as he turned five. Two years later, the Belgian proceeded to enter his first motocross event on a race-prepped CR80.

He continued to take part in various competitions up until the age of 19, racking up two titles as a national enduro champion along the way. Around the same time he’d stopped racing motorcycles, Bertrand saw his career-shaping interests shift from electromechanics to metalwork, leading him to undertake a two-year apprenticeship at a local coachbuilding company.

Dedicating the first stage of his professional life to the automotive industry, he found an employment opportunity at Renault in 1993. Moreover, racing was once again on the menu for a while, but this time it consisted of rallying and European touring car championships. Fred went on to become a father of two as the nineties drew to a close, so he retired from motorsports to focus on his family and personal life.

As he was searching for ways to make a living while spending enough time with his wife and kids, the guy decided to establish his very own motorcycle customization firm in 2002, and the rest is history! Nowadays, Krugger is a leading figure in the Old Continent’s bike-modding community, and the man behind it all is no stranger to the AMD World Championship podium.

Even manufacturers began to take notice of Bertrand’s work over the years, which is what led to the creation of this wild Ducati XDiavel S back in 2017. Commissioned directly by the Italian company, the project came with a very simple (and equally unnegotiable) guideline: Krugger had to keep things in the cruiser genre. Otherwise, it was all carte blanche.

With the donor on the workbench and most of its stock outfit removed, Fred proceeded to shorten the OEM inverted forks by approximately two inches (50 mm) for a meaner riding posture. Aiming to give the XDiavel a perfectly level bone line, he then installed a couple of lateral beams that were cast in-house using high-grade aluminum.

Atop these items, you’ll spot custom seat upholstery and an elegant fuel tank crouching down low to enhance the bike’s slammed demeanor, though what really catches our attention is the rearmost portion. Influenced by top-tier European sports cars, the Belgian fashioned a stunning taillight assembly out of stainless steel and plexiglass over the course of eight long days.

A removable cowl is perched on the new saddle’s pillion area, and the Duc’s exhaust was lengthened to terminate in twin mufflers right below this whole setup. Up north, the factory headlight, belly pan, and radiator shroud have all been retained, but the front fender was discarded in favor of a slimmer module.

Krugger fitted the XDiavel’s cockpit with a fresh handlebar, which is complemented by mid-mounted foot pegs on the flanks. As far as the paintwork is concerned, Bertrand chose to go for an understated black-and-silver color scheme that highlights the creature’s mesmerizing cast aluminum beams. Briefly speaking, this entire build does a great job at demonstrating how a less-is-more approach can work miracles!

In order to really give the specimen a personality of its own, the creator had dubbed it “Thiverval.” This name is a nod to a small race circuit located in France, known by few but of great significance to Fred. It used to be the favorite track day location of a close friend who’d passed away, and honoring his memory with such a breathtaking custom bike couldn’t possibly be more appropriate.