Ducati Perseus | Meteora Custom Motorcycle Shop

This Ducati 749 comes from the mysterious Transylvania, yes, the land of Count Dracula and perhaps the owner could be his descendant, but that's another story, but we will tell you the story of this project and how it has evolved over the years.

It is well known that Italian bikes are among the most popular in the world and that Ducati at the top of the wish list of enthusiasts is now something that everyone knows.

They are so well built that they give satisfaction while riding, that if you want an effective bike with style, the choice is almost a must.

Dan Iluta by profession economist, lives in the city of Arad in Romania. To make it easier to locate, I can tell you that Arad is located at the western end of Transylvania, famous for the story of Count Dracula.

The story of my Ducati Perseus motorcycle has been spreading over the last 3 years and I will try to summarize it as much as possible in a few words.

I am very passionate about MotoGP and probably one of Jorge Lorenzo's biggest fans in the years he competed in the world championship. So, after his transition from Yamaha to Ducati in 2017, I decided to buy a Ducati motorcycle and customize it. Since Arad is a small town I called a Ducati garage in Bucharest, the capital of Romania, and together with their mechanic I decided that the best option for what I dreamed of was a 749. 

I found the bike and sent it to the garage of Bucharest. There began the total disassembly, the complete reconditioning of the engine, of the front and rear telescopes and after a little exercise of imagination I decided that I wanted to change the swingarm with only one side that I found from a 996 model and wheels, front and back with a Marchesini set purchased from a 1098 model. The swingarm adaptation was quite difficult but after many days of study and work we managed to do it. Finally, we painted the frame, swingarm and tank black and the wheels gold. So we reassembled the bike.

Shortly after, the mechanic asked me for a day on the track to test the bike, after which I decided to install the racing software. First weekend on the circuit I fell in love with motorcycle racing and I decided to take part in a private championship with a bike designed for this purpose, but that's another story.

Finally after the test my bike returned home in July 2018. My idea of ​​turning it into a café racer was getting stronger so I asked a friend of mine who is a painter to draw some sketches based on the ideas I had (on paper with pencil, old style). I started working with my painter friend who is also passionate about motorcycles and who has even overhauled several motorcycles before. 

With the help of a sand cushion, a hammer, an English wheel and a skilled welder, we begin to model the front mask, the tank and the tail of the bike. At this moment I decide to set up the Meteora Custom Motorcycle Shop company which aims to modify the bikes in the most beautiful and unique way. The idea came to me after the effort of finding a company in the area that could help me find the best components and give life to the bike of my dreams.

After a lot of work we were able to build the 3 components in aluminum and we started working on the details: footrests, knobs, tank cap covers that we made with the help of a lathe and polished to a mirror. We built a new tail frame to perfectly fit the tail and that follows both the frame line and the given line of the front mask and tank. We kept the original headlights from the bike and bought only the rear stops, front and rear turn signals and a new tab to simplify the front look.

Then comes the painting time, this was a real professional job, I choose the gray with 3 stripes, but after mounting the tank I find that it has the pores and gasoline gases are affecting the paint (this was the hardest thing in all constructions that require brainstorming). 

I found a solution for this problem and repainted the bike this time in the colors that are now seen according to the bike's identification documents. This decision was made because I wanted this bike to be road legal even though every time I look at it I imagine it in an exhibition. 

During this time we begin to modify the evacuation pipes which were stock and did not fit the new image of the motorcycle. We make a new path for the evacuation and at the end of the evacuation we also build it with the help of a lathe after calculations to help the engine evacuate the gases as correctly as possible. The electrical system is completely restored for the needs of the new motorcycle.

This is the story of this bike, I hope I managed to convey at least 10% of the passion that I put into its creation.

Finally I would like to thank my friends Radu Asanache (the painter), Bogdan Cora (mechanic), Rodrig Arusoie (painter) and, last but not least, Claudiu Vlas and Claudiu Negrea (photographers). Without their help, this project remained a great idea

Changes:

• Swingarm replaced with a single side one form a Ducati 996

• Wheels Marchesini from a ducati 1098

• Tail frame built from 0

• Front mask, tank, tail made from aluminium. The entire work has been done handmade, from 0 to what you can see in pictures

• Foot pegs, tank cover cap, hand grips also mede by us

• The front turn signals mounted in the handlebar

• The speedometer

It should be noted that all the manual work was carried out by Radu Asanache, a craftsman of great skill

Meteora Custom Motorcycle Shop