After Ducati introduced its revamped Scrambler range in 2015, the marque kicked off the “Custom Rumble” contest, inviting noteworthy shops to demonstrate the highly modular nature of the Scrambler range. After a successful inaugural year, Ducati opted to keep the contest going, and it was during Custom Rumble’s second and most recent year that this one-off Ducati Scrambler Sixty2 was produced.
The project started when Ducati Poland reached out to Eastern Spirit Garage — a shop located an hour outside of Warsaw that specializes in bespoke vintage cafe builds. Instead of going at one of the full-size models in Ducati’s Scrambler range, the Polish outfit instead opted to tackle the 400cc Scrambler Sixty2.
The build started with the chassis being modified and rebuilt, along with the swing-arm which was also reconstructed. The clearance is now three-inches lower, bringing the center of gravity down a tad and (according to the owner) bolstering handling and stability. The Scrambler’s subframe was then lopped off and replaced with a slightly upswept hooped unit, capped off with an old-school monoposto humped cafe tail with a custom ribbed leather saddle with the shop’s signature acute angle bum-stop. After relocating a few ancillary bits, the space under the new subframe is now spic-and-span, with only the monoshock and its reposition mount visible.
The freed up space under the seat also made room for the build’s bespoke exhaust, a complete system, beautifully welded, and finished off with a pair of shorty reverse cones — one peeking out from under the engine and swing-arm, and the other out the side, under the tail, a la Zard’s unit for Ducati’s Sport Classic, which itself is a throwback to vintage GP racers.
A large front fender was crafted and dropped into place and the stock turn-signals were binned and sets of retro-style micro indicators were tacked into the subframe in back and on either side of the frame rails directly under the tank up front. This results in a particularly tidy cockpit, a fact that’s very much helped along by one of this build’s coolest features: its instrumentation, which is the stock, round digital unit only it’s been cleverly dropped into a custom headlight shell. A license-plate hanger and a round taillight have also been fitted to the right side of the back of the swing-arm, keeping the tail-end as tidy as the front half.
The factory handlebars and foot controls were jettisoned for a set of clip-ons and a pair of custom rear-sets, giving the 62 a markedly more aggressive riding position. Rounding out the project, the shop fabbed up some meshed side-covers to fill in the triangles in the chassis, before being adorned in a coat of black paint which matches the rest of the subframe and swing-arm. The tail, headlight shell, fender, and tank — which is the stock unit — were hit with a deep red, seven-later lacquer with white outlining. The stock rims — which are now wrapped in Dunlop slicks — were also covered in a bright goldish hue, and the front disc was replaced with a larger aftermarket model.
In total ESG did an absolutely stellar job of transforming this modern machine into what now genuinely looks a lot like a vintage cafe racer. The larger headlight and fender give the front-end a much more retro feel, as does the fork — which is the stock, non-inverted unit which had been shortened and given stiffer internals — which resembles the telescopic units in old GP bikes. Because the Scrambler’s tank is already vintage-inspired, it works particularly well with the rest of the build. And with the stock side-covers removed, the area above the lower cylinder is now visible, resulting in what looks kinda like one of the old laid-down mills on old mopeds and whatnot.
Even more impressive is the fact this shop was built by just one person, Sylwester, (albeit with a little help from his brother here and there) and was completed in just 45 days. This build was Sylwester’s first non-Japanese project, as well as the first zero-mile donor (aka new) he’d ever transformed. I’ve seen ESG’s work on sites like BikeExif before, but I was a big fan of this particular example upon first seeing it earlier this year. So I was pretty excited when, after making its rounds at various shows and events, this example is now for sale.
You can find this 2016 Ducati Scrambler Sixty2 cafe racer from Eastern Spirit Garage’s “Rumble 400” for sale in Warsaw, Poland with a BIN of $54,300