The ‘scrambler’ look is getting more and more popular by the day, with high pipes and heavily treaded tires becoming de rigeur for many custom motorcycle builders, especially in Europe.
I’ve always attributed the look to vintage British bikes, but the appearance of this Ducati 350 on the Southsiders blog made me think again. The 350 Scrambler was an air-cooled, four-stroke single that appeared in 1968—as far as I can figure out. (It’s a descendant of the 250 Scrambler produced at the behest of the US Ducati importer in 1961.)
This particular machine lives near Toulouse in France; it belongs to the wife of Vincent Prat, of the accomplished French motorcycle photography duo Guerry & Prat. For 15 years, the bike was stored under a pile of blankets in a garage, until Vincent had a change of heart.
“Last spring we decided to restart it,” he says. “Until then, I was not touched by the charm of this exotic Italian bike.” I’m not the only one to notice the parallels between this four-decades-old machine and the current trend: “This orange … This ridiculous front mud guard … Those round and vintage shapes like the oblong light, are the attributes of some very currently fashionable bikes, aren’t they?” says Vincent.
