One-Off “Livia Special” Takes the Mediocre 1998 Ducati 900SS to Seventh Heaven

Let's be realistic; the Ducati SuperSport iterations produced during the late nineties are some of Bologna's least exciting two-wheelers. With their questionable design characteristics, these Ducs can’t exactly be referred to as head-turners. Furthermore, their performance figures can only be described as painfully dull at best.

Don’t get me wrong, we’ll give Pierre Terblanche credit where credit’s due, but the reputed designer’s got his ups and downs just like everybody else. Needless to say, this was by no means his finest effort, and the rising popularity of Ducati’s flagship Monster only hurt SuperSport sales to an even greater extent.

However, this story has a happy ending for those who specialize in the intricate art of motorcycle customization, as the 900SS is a solid candidate when seeking to modify the living hell out of a mechanical predator. One such entity is the work of Laurent Kesteloot and Pascal Demeulemeester, the masterminds behind Belgium’s KD Motorcycles.

Although they only teamed up to establish this enterprise in 2012, their friendship goes back a long way—over two decades, to be precise. The chemistry between these fellows enables them to create some truly remarkable (and fully functional) pieces of machinery, and the bike we’re looking at today is a perfect demonstration of their wizardry in action.

Before it fell in KD’s hands, the creature was an undistinguished 1998 variant of Ducati’s 900SS family. Within its tubular steel trellis skeleton, the SuperSport houses an air-cooled 904cc L-twin mill that’s good for up to 80 ponies and 59 pound-feet (80 Nm) of torque. A six-speed gearbox is tasked with enabling this force to reach a chain final drive, resulting in a top speed of 140 mph (225 kph).

As soon as the bland ‘98 MY 900SS rolled into their workshop, the Belgians wasted no time discarding the factory bodywork in its entirety, except for the fuel tank. With the stock outfit removed, KD’s experts amputated the stallion’s subframe to make room for a minute alternative fabricated using steel tubes.

To round things out in the framework department, they enrolled the help of a Paris-based craftsman, who powder-coated the structure from head to toe. The next item on the shopping list was a groovy solo saddle upholstered by a local leather guru, followed by a state-of-the-art LED taillight assembly from France’s Crazyracers. The LEDs are nested inside a chunky yet svelte tail section that’s been manufactured by the KD duo in-house.

Up front, a fresh wiring harness powers a set of Motogadget turn signals and a premium Koso headlight module. To keep the cockpit free of any unwanted clutter, the tachometer has been relocated to sit directly on the gas tank. When Laurent and Pascal were done with the accessories, it was time to focus on the SuperSport’s powertrain.

Thus, the L-twin behemoth received carbon fiber covers and a bespoke exhaust system sporting top-grade mufflers from Storm Exhausts. To top it all off, the wheels were enveloped in high-performance Pirelli rubber, while the finishing touch comes in the form of carbon fenders on both ends. When the project was finally complete, the unique 900SS was dubbed “Livia Special.”