This Is The Craziest Bike I've Seen At The One Show So Far
The seat height of a stock Ducati Monster is about 30 inches. This custom racer, however, drops that down to about six inches. With a pair of Ducati-built 90-degree V-twin Monster S4Rs engines, this Super Rat racer has plenty of power to hit big speeds. Go hit the salt flats and see if you run out of throttle before you run out of balls.
(Full Disclosure: Indian Motorcycles wanted me to come ride its new FTR1200 so bad it invited me to Portland for the tenth anniversary of The One Show. It also put me up in a posh hotel and kept me full of coffee and food.)
Super Rat is a shop up in Bellingham, Washington run by a family of bike builders with a couple of generations turning wrenches. They like to build crazy stuff like this, having built a V8-powered bike for last year's One Show. It's a level of ingenuity that shows competency in the build as well as creativity.
The fact that the folks from the shop were willing to let strangers climb all over their fresh build shows that they're just the kinds of people the enthusiast world needs right now. A friend of mine likes to say "It ain't the fuckin' Mona Lisa, go ahead and sit in it." when talking about his Mustang.
The Yoostabees are so worried that the next generation don't care about bikes, but aren't willing to share the experience with people to help get them hooked. If you want youngins to get involved in your sport, hobby, or club, maybe break down their barrier to entry. If bikes and collector cars are tangible things that kids can get in and make vroom vroom noises, or better yet go for a rip, that will spark more enthusiasm than a Do Not Touch sign. Touch the bikes!
The desmodromic-valve twins in this four-cylinder racer are sourced from Ducati's mega Monster S4Rs, which is essentially the same Testastretta engine found in the 999 superbike, only with smaller throttle bodies and injectors. That means each of these engines produces a massive 117 horsepower and 68 lb-ft of torque. Yeah, I bet this thing rips! I'm in love with the concept, but I definitely don't have the balls.
Well done Super Rat. This is one hell of a machine.