Few factory motorcycles have ever managed to tap into the well of nostalgia with the same precision and panache as the Ducati SportClassic series. Released in 2005, the family of bikes—including the Sport 1000, GT 1000, and the legendary Limited Edition was the brainchild of designer Pierre Terblanche. His mission was simple: distill the raw, functional beauty of 1970s Ducati superbikes and deliver it with modern reliability.
The SportClassic was ahead of its time. It arrived years before the ‘Modern Classic’ segment exploded, bridging the gap between retro style and contemporary performance thanks to its air-cooled 992cc Desmo L-twin engine nestled in an elegant trellis frame. Though production was brief, the bikes quickly amassed a cult following and remain the gold standard for café racer elegance.
While the factory SportClassic is perfection straight out of the crate, it also provides a rock-solid foundation for top-tier custom builders. Here are six of our favorite custom Ducati SportClassics that have defined the platform over the years. And if you’ve ever desired one of these, there is currently a limited Edition, 1 of 2000 Paul Smart Edition available for auction on Bike EXIF Auctions.
Ducati GT 1000 ‘Bloody Fang’ by Maria Motorcycles
The Ducati GT 1000 was a factory café racer with a classic vibe that belied just how quick it was. Though sales figures were disappointing, leading to its early departure from Ducati’s line-up, improving on its out-of-the-box good looks is a challenge the Portuguese outfit Maria Motorcycles gladly accepted. Their client wanted his barely-ridden GT 1000 transformed into something more at home on the track, with an aggressive look to match its performance.
The guys sourced a fairing and tail combo, and fortuitously acquired some GT 1000 Paul Smart parts, including a tank and fairing bracket, to piece everything together. A hand-made seat was fitted to cap off the revised tail. At the client’s request, the bike was stripped of its mirrors and lighting, with only a small fog light installed in the fairing to meet legal requirements while adding an aggressive look.
On the performance front, Maria added a complete two-into-one Termignoni system and had the ECU remapped by the Supertwins Trophy-winning team, GMP Racing. Suspension was focused by tuning the front for the rider’s weight and adding a new Bitubo setup in the rear.
After mulling over more than twenty designs, the crew settled on a racing design featuring a black, white, red, and blue scheme, christening the bike “Bloody Fang.” Luis Correia of Maria Motorcycles states that while they didn’t do anything else to the engine, the bike “runs like hell!” The result is a machine that perfectly marries aggressive aesthetics with focused performance, proving that the GT 1000 had the heart of a true race bike all along. [MORE]
Ducati SportClassic by Purpose Built Moto
Given its cult following, customizing the legendary Ducati SportClassic is always risky business. But that hasn’t deterred Australia’s Purpose Built Moto (PBM). Shop boss Tom Gilroy reckons they’ve built more SportClassics than any other Ducati model. “I’ve always loved the style and ride feel of the two-valve, air-cooled Ducati 1000,” he explains, emphasizing his familiarity with both their mechanics and their iconic styling.
This commission for a 2008-model SportClassic was handed to PBM with a brief to retain the bike’s DNA while significantly amplifying its performance and style. PBM focused on functionality, fabricating fairing lowers that can be swapped out in just 20 minutes, allowing the client to switch between a full- and half-faired look.
Out back, they fabricated an aluminum rear hump that is slimmer than the original, with the saddle covered in a mix of Alcantara and leather. The bike now rolls on 17” Jonich wheels from Italy, built to PBM’s spec with polished stainless steel spokes and a striking gold finish.
Suspension was sorted by Ride Dynamics, with Öhlins cartridges added to the forks (plus a gold nitride coating on the stanchions) and fully adjustable Öhlins TTX shocks fitted to the rear.
The build is finished in a slick red and black paint job by Popbang Classics, featuring exquisite gold leaf striping. The end result is a motorcycle that any Ducatisti will instantly recognize as a SportClassic, but be drawn in by the intense focus and finely executed custom parts that make it completely unique. [MORE]
Ducati SportClassic-1198 Hybrid by Lucas Worthing
The Ducati SportClassic remains the benchmark for modern factory café racers, but what if Ducati brought it back—this time with proper superbike power? That was the question posed by architect Lucas Worthing, whose obsession with the SportClassic is matched only by his love for the 170hp L-twin motor from the late-2000s Ducati 1198. Luke’s strategy was audacious: combine the elegant SportClassic aesthetic with the brutal power of the superbike.
Starting with the frame, engine, and swingarm from a 2011 Ducati 1198 SP, Luke commissioned Randy Martin at StradaFab to fabricate an exotic, stronger titanium trellis frame. This complex, hybrid frame was designed to marry the 1198 powertrain’s size and torque to the visual style and bodywork mount points of the SportClassic.
The aluminum fuel tank required extensive modifications—including moving the fuel pump mounting plate—to accommodate the 1198’s central rear shock position. A SportClassic Monoposto tail section sits out back, hiding the battery.
The engine now breathes through an Akrapovič titanium system massaged by Randy to connect to a pair of SC-Project cans tucked under the tail, putting out immense power controlled by a Ducati Race ECU and Dynojet Power Commander V.
The cockpit features a full Brembo braking system and Driven Racing clip-ons mounted to a Zeta Racing top yoke. The bike is finished in a non-traditional but stunning Porsche Oak Green Metallic paint job laid down by Fleiner Automotive. This hybrid is an absolute feast of titanium and carbon fiber—a café racer with genuine levels of superbike performance. [MORE]
Ducati GT 1000 ‘SS1000’ by Greaser Garage
When the Ducati SportClassic was first released, it was often under-appreciated, with some critics finding the GT 1000 model awkward or ‘portly.’ But the crew at Greaser Garage in Genoa, Italy, loved the bike’s bones, believing its potential was “hidden under a bulky body.” Undeterred by their client’s request to keep the engine and fuel injection completely stock, Greaser Garage founder Giorgio Pellegrino and his team threw themselves into reimagining the bodywork.
Drawing inspiration from the legendary 900 Super Sport of the mid-70s, the team committed to clay shaping—a process they’d only done once before—to define the new silhouette. Their focus was connecting the fairing, tank, and tail with a unique, continuous curvy line. They used the clay forms to create molds, eventually building the final body panels, including the tank and tail, out of carbon fiber. The bodywork is a remarkably cohesive design, with new aluminum side covers fabricated to elegantly hide the chunky plastic airbox, which was required to remain in place.
Greaser Garage left the stock suspension, wheels, and brakes untouched, but added a Kbike dry clutch system. The sharp two-into-one exhaust was custom-built by Mass Exhaust to their design. The final piece was a knockout livery inspired by the blue and silver combo from the 1979 900SS. Despite the challenge of tracing the colors along the unique lines of the new bodywork, the final effect is stunning. Nicknamed ‘SS1000,’ this GT 1000 is proof that even if you don’t swoon over the original factory looks, there’s more than one way to achieve classic greatness. [MORE]
Ducati SportClassic by Revival Cycles
This SportClassic is the work of Revival Cycles. The owner took it to the Texas workshop after the voltage regulator caused a fire, and asked Revival to rebuild it while addressing a more pressing issue: at 6’5”, the owner wished the bike would fit his tall frame better. Revival’s founder Alan Stulberg accepted the challenge, deciding, “Why stop at tins and a tail section if you can customize everything else?”
Revival went straight to work designing a new subframe and a stretched-out aluminum tank. The new seat was moved back over 5”, instantly improving the fit for the tall owner.
They CNC-cut an aluminum plate to allow use of the factory fuel pump inside the new custom tank, minus the low-hanging sump of the stock tank, which truly opened up the frame. The custom exhaust system is a sculptural work of art, featuring meticulously sectioned and hand-welded stainless pipes that Alan says make the bike sound like it is “about to kick someone’s ass in a bar fight.”
The performance list is extensive: Alpina carbon fiber wheels, a full Discacciati braking system, custom triple trees, and a full Öhlins suspension front and rear. Revival even sanded and polished the Öhlins forks and rear shock to complement the nickel-plated frame and polished alloy bits. [MORE]
Ducati SportClassic ‘Sleeper’ by Jeff Soucek
The Ducati SportClassic doesn’t beg to be customized. Jeff Soucek, whose 2006 SportClassic looks almost original at a glance, but is actually a high-performance sleeper packing more mods than most customs. Jeff’s direction was to keep the beautiful, clean lines of the original, only adding subtle enhancements—likening his tweaks to the salt and pepper on a perfectly cooked steak.
Jeff’s pursuit of perfection started with the motor, which was bored out to 1080cc with ported heads, Carrillo rods, and performance cams, boosting output to 104hp. The spoked wheels were replaced by cast hoops from a Ducati 999, and the suspension was upgraded with blacked-out Öhlins forks and a matching black-spring rear shock. Up in the cockpit, an Öhlins Blackline steering damper is fitted alongside raised clip-ons from a Ducati ST3.
Cosmetically, the changes are subtle but cohesive. Jeff replaced the bulky stock seat with a slim tail section from Airtech Streamlining and finished the bike in a stunning, high-class livery: a simple jet black body contrasted by a candy turquoise frame. Every detail was considered, from the use of titanium or black re-plated fasteners to the various levels of matte and gloss black Cerakote used throughout. Jeff’s SportClassic might not be as visually radical as some customs we’ve featured, but its taste and restraint exemplify the virtues of the modern classic platform. [MORE]
