Christian Klein is a skilled lathe operator and a craftsman engineer. He’s also a Ducati fan, and rides a red 900 GTS. In the cold German evenings, he drifts towards his workshop, inhabiting what he calls his ‘parallel world’.
And it was in here, a few years ago, that Klein decided to build a light and quick Ducati 350 café racer. So he created a custom frame, using high-strength, low-alloy steel. That bike is now finished, and it’s a work of art. The rear is unusually narrow, with the seat being merely two sections of foam rubber inset into milled aluminum plate. The exhaust winds through the frame under the seat unit, and was created using a home-made tube bending machine.
The motor is from a Ducati 350 Scrambler, which Klein rebuilt and treated to a port and polish job. (It’s a very reputable motor, as far as singles go: in 1967, it was even selected to power the Swiss military’s Condor A350 motorcycle.)
Attention to detail is everywhere, from the foot controls to the single rear (CB600-based) shock arrangement, and even the hand-made screws and locknuts. The forks, in case you’re wondering, are from a Yamaha RD. And the result is simply wunderbar.
Images by—and thanks to—Timo Großhans of the German motorrad magazin MO.
