The days are finally getting longer up north. And we can’t think of a better way to usher in the Swedish spring than with this sizzling 750SS Ducati from MOD Moto.
It belongs to Johan Fahlnaes—a bicycle shop owner in Gothenburg. Johan already has a MOD Moto build in his garage; a Yamaha XS500 tracker that he’s well pleased with. But this time, he was after something a little punchier.
“I used to own a Ducati a couple of years back,” he says, “and sort of missed it, and its ability to go a bit faster than the little 500.”
“When talking to Olof at MOD Moto about building a cafe racer it all fell into place. I bought myself a good condition 1999 Ducati 750SS, rode it around a bit at the end of summer, and—when autumn came—handed it over to Olaf.”
Johan was dead set on a traditional cafe racer vibe, but the MOD crew had other ideas. “We sort of persuaded him to go a bit more racer than café,” explains Olof.
“With the Ducati SuperSport’s truss frame and sloping fuel tank, you can’t really get that horizontal line with fairing, tank and seat parallel to the ground. So we opted for a more aggressive look, and tilted the front fairing and rear section upwards to follow the lines of the tank—to give it more of a race stance.”
With Johan’s approval MOD Moto set to work, drawing inspiration from the 90s race DNA already in the 750SS, and blending it with 70s endurance racing cues.
Top of the list was a new fairing—a replica 70s Imola unit. Olof and co. massaged it to fit the wide stock forks, shaved a bit off the rear to accommodate Johan’s long legs and trimmed the windscreen. An offset opening was cut for a small headlight, before the stock fairing brackets were modified to accept the new setup.
Moving to the rear, the team lopped off the subframe and built a new one. It was designed to mimic the angles of the front half of the frame, and to leave room for the under-seat muffler.
Then the Duc’s posterior was treated to another throwback part: a Rickman-style seat cowl, tapered at the front to match the tank’s width. MOD Moto sunk twin taillights into it, before sending it off to Bullitt Leathers for upholstery.
It’s a perforated and pleated affair, reminiscent of 70s sports cars, and there’s a leather tank strap to replace the stock rubber part. (Ducatistas will also notice that the tank’s been relieved of its ghastly rubber bumpers.)
The exhaust system was pieced together using bits from the stock headers, a hand-made two-into-one collector, and a gutted Yamaha R1 titanium muffler. “The Ducati engine now sounds awesome,” says Olof. “And together with the K&N filter and Power Commander, it runs like a champ.”
To get away with fusing different eras, Mod Moto went to great lengths to echo shapes and lines throughout the bodywork.
The gaps between the seat and frame, and seat and tank, are intentional—and equal in size. And note how the back part of the fairing traces various curves in the tank.
The same consideration was given to smaller details: like drilled and brushed heel plates, and hand-made bar ends and paddock stand bobbins. Rounding off the controls is a set of shorty levers and Renthal grips.
The tires are Dunlop Sportmax Mutants—supermoto-specific items that score high on both style and grip.
And then there’s that luscious orange paint job—lifted from Porsche’s 70s color chart. It was executed by Mod collaborator Dennis Rohlén, who also returned the frame back to the original Ducati bronze-gold. He’s also recoated the swingarm and foot peg mounts in the same grey as the engine.
The project was wrapped up just in time for a bike exhibit in Gothenburg, where it drew much attention. Johan’s over the moon and can’t wait for the snow to melt; he’s already pegged it as his new daily runner.
“I’m blown away with the results, and have yet to take in that I’ll be riding it around soon. I’m so looking forward to spring weather when I can take some longer rides and enjoy it the way it was intended!”
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