Roland Sands is no stranger to working with ultra-top-shelf donors, with prior builds that include a MotoGP-spec V5-powered hardtail bike and trackers made from an Ecosse Heretic Titanium Edition model and a Ducati Desmosedici D16RR. The custom moto builder and former 250cc GP champ’s latest one-off build however is undoubtedly his most elite and exotic to date.
Dubbed “The Super,” the bike began life as a 2014 Ducati 1199 Superleggera: an ultra-exclusive, limited-to-500-units, magnesium monocoque-framed, carbon-bodied 1199 Panigale with a heavily-massaged powertrain that weighs in at only 341lbs (dry). Sands ditched the Superlight’s carbon bodywork in favor of a naked setup that puts the Superleggera’s engine — which makes 5 more horsepower and spins at 1,000rpm faster than the R-spec 1199’s — on full display, a feat that required hiding the cutting-edge super bike’s slew of wiring, sensors, and other ancillaries. The Super also boasts an extensive number of carbon fiber covers, a heavily-modified WSBK-style full titanium Akrapovic exhaust, oversized Febur race radiator and oil cooler, carbon handlebars, modified tank, and custom belly-pan, number-board, and cafe tail pieces. With GP-grade running gear, 207hp on tap, and a further reduction in weight, the Super is unequivocally one of, if not the highest-performing custom motorcycle ever created.
