Café Veloce
CAFÉ VELOCE
American FLYERS
Out-of-the-ashes Ducati
You've Got To ADMIRE a guy who can watch his bike burn to the ground, then build it back up better than ever. That’s the unlikely scenario that served as the inspiration for the custom café-racer featured here.
Before Craig Echols crashed his near-museumquality 1974 Ducati 75()Gf, he hadn’t planned on modifying it. despite its flagging performance.
“It wouldn’t get out of its own way, but it looked like a million bucks.” the 53year-old says. “After it burned. I was free to make it
into anything 1 wanted.”
That freedom eventually led to the Veloce 904, “a synthesis of everything 1 value on two wheels.”
Echols grew up on I larleys, Nortons and Triumphs, but was mesmerized by the more eostly GT, one of the original 1970s superbikes. After a decade away from motorcycles working as a commercial photographer, he got the bug again, this time deciding to make his living fixing up old Ducatis in his Seattle, Washington, shop. But that, too, had its limits.
“If 1 had to look at anoth-
er Imola restoration, I was just going to scream,”
Echols chuckles. “Specials are so wonderful. They just free up your imagination.”
The limited-edition Echols Specials Veloce is the outcome. Typical starting point is the Italian bikemaker’s bevel-drive, square-case 860GT, punched out to 904cc. Standard spec includes a Vee-Two crankshaft, light headwork, a reground camshaft, 9.5:1 pistons, unfiltered 36mm Mikuni flat-slides and high-mount stainless-steel exhaust.
Echols employs his own wiring harness and an electronic ignition.
The frame is largely stock, steel motor-mount sleeves adding rigidity. Standard 38mm Ceriani fork gets Race Tech cartridge emulators, or you can go for Showa cartridge internals, a $650 option, or a complete 41 mm front end for $ 1600. Longer-than-stock 14-inch Works Performance shocks jack up the back to quicken steering response. Excel rims laced to stock hubs and shod with grippy Avon rubber further enhance handling. Stopping is stepped up with a modern Brembo four-piston brake caliper mated to a standard-issue rotor.
Next to the engine and pipes, the aluminum gas tank is the greatest visual draw. “1 wanted something that resembled the old ‘jellymolds,’ something voluptuous,” Echols says. The shape is his design, handhammered by a local craftsman and fitted with an aircraft-style filler cap.
Even if he only sells a few of the $19,500 specials, Echols is pleased with the outcome. “The Veloce was a chance to overcome a lot of the Ducati’s quirks, yet still enjoy the style and thrill,” he says. “With the fire and all, it was a bittersweet experience that turned out well in the end.”
Matthew Miles
