Ducati Paul Smart Replica Race Bike

 

Starting in the late 1990s and early 2000’s the “retro styling craze” was beginning to take off in both the automotive and motorcycling worlds. Manufacturers scrambled to put out new designs that borrowed updated styling from many of their past sales successes, and the general public was eating it up with both hands and asking for more. Ducati, not one to miss out on the opportunity, introduced their “Sport Classic” lineup of motorcycles at the 2003 Tokyo Motor Show

Officially put on sale in 2005 for the 2006 model year, the iconic Paul Smart Limited Edition, was the first on the showroom floors. Styled to commemorate Paul Smarts’ victorious 750 Imola Desmo and the 750 Super Sport that followed, the Paul Smart LE featured a 1000cc engine, retro-style bodywork, the iconic green trellis frame, and was limited to just 2000 examples. Naturally, these sold extremely well and Ducati decided to stick with the retro theme, offering the Sport1000 which ran from 2006 through 2009, and the GT1000 from 2007 through 2010. The bikes, similarly to the Paul Smart, featured retro-style body worked wrapped around a fully modernized frame and components. All of these motorcycles featured Ducati’s Desmodue 992cc air-cooled 90-degree v-twin engine (DS9) mated to a 6-speed gearbox, however, their suspension, brakes, and other components naturally varied between the different models. Thanks to the limited numbers produced and their fantastic rideability, the Ducati “Sport Classic” series sold extremely well and remain highly prized and sought after today. 

Given Ducati’s rich history of creating race-derived machines, it’s only natural that their road machines would transition seamlessly to the track environment. This is where the example on offer here comes in to play, a fully custom built 2007 Ducati Paul Smart Replica Race-bike. As the story goes, the current owner and consignor who is an avid AHRMA (America Historic Racing Motorcycle Association) competitor saw bikes similar in makeup starting back in 2015 and became infatuated with them. 

When famed aftermarket Ducati builder and producer of top tier parts, NCR, released their astounding “New Blue” race bike creation, styled after the Paul Smart LE and based on a Sport Classic chassis, the current owner and consignor of this example knew he had to give his dreams at a custom Paul Smart Replica race bike a shot. Despite the owner being accomplished behind the wrench, he realized that in order to produce a properly crafted machine he would need to work with the best in the business. 

So he called Chris Boy of Moto Corse Performance out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, who agreed to take on the production of the machine. This bike began life as a Sport Classic chassis and had the specific Paul Smart rear swing-arm and bodywork added to it during construction. It is the addition of these two components that help to create the classic Paul Smart silhouette. Originally the bike was delivered to the owner from Moto Corse in relatively stock street bike configuration with the 1000cc sport classic motor in it. 

The owner raced the bike like this for its first season and although it was still extremely competitive in the AHRMA series in this configuration, bringing home a few podium finishes, it was quickly determined that in order to stay on top it would need some extra refinement. The stock 1000cc engine was removed and replaced by a built EVO motor. Construction of the motor was carried out by the incredibly qualified Phil Seiberlich, former Fast By Ferraci race mechanic, who now works directly under the owner of this machine. 

The new engine was pushed to 1140cc and benefited from Pistal Racing Pistons, 1198 roller bearings, and Superbike Mike heads. Full Moto Corse large intakes were also added in addition to a MicroTech ECU which was tuned by Larry Zullo. When it was said and done, the EVO motor was now pushing around 130 horsepower vs. the stock 1000cc’s 90 horsepower. 

Along with the engine, many other parts were replaced to compliment the extensive nature of the engine build. The list of top tier parts utilized in this build could be pages long in and of itself but some of the highlights include; full NCR/Ohlins front end (off-set triples, fork leg bottoms, Ti fasteners, and NCR spec Ohlins valving), Ohlins rear suspension, large NCR oil cooler, Brembo brakes front and rear, BST Racing carbon fiber wheels, and a custom race shifter. 

To complement its power gains, the bike received all-new Paul Smart styled carbon fiber bodywork and a custom titanium exhaust, crafted by Ron Mangus of Mangusta Enterprises, who also works as a fabricator at AWE Performance. In total, 40 pounds were shaved from the machine with these additions, a truly impressive feat on a motorcycle. 

These weight savings translated to the bike tipping into turns much easier and overall allowed it to be much more competitive. In the end, the owner has spent countless nights staring at this machine, mulling over the design and fabrication to get it to the point it sits at now. Every single piece and component included on this motorcycle is top tier, working together towards what the owner describes as “equivalent to what you would see as a factory pro-twins level build in the early 2000s”. 

All that mulling over the machine was worthwhile as this bike has been absolutely dominant, placing on the podium in every single AHRMA race that it has finished in. This 2007 Ducati Paul Smart Replica Race Bike should be considered the ultimate in proven technology for the AHRMA series and any other series it qualifies to run in. It is the kind of machine you can pull up to the starting line with and know that you’ll easily be able to run at the front of the pack, as long as you can hang on!

As it sits today, this 2007 Paul Smart Replica Race Bike remains in absolutely outstanding condition. This is due largely to both the extremely well thought out nature of the build-in conjunction with having one of the best Ducati minds in the business in the form of Phil Seiberlich turning the wrenches on it in order to keep it in top track-ready condition. 

The custom grey and black paint job remains in excellent condition with only a few minor stone chips in high wear areas from normal use on the track. There are some minor scratches on the rear swing-arm that have been touched up as well. All the parts and components remain very clean and well looked after with no signs of issues whatsoever. The BST Racing carbon fiber wheels remain in excellent condition and are wrapped in Pirelli Diablo Superbike tires. The amount of care and love that has gone into both building and maintaining this beautiful Ducati can truly not be understated and we believe the owner said it best when he stated “I am trusting my life to this machine, why would I leave anything up to chance?”.

This motorcycle comes with a standard PA Title but it should be noted that it is NOT street legal and intended for track use only. It is possible that it could be converted for road use but in our opinion, it is such a capable track machine that it should be left as such. 

From https://lbilimited.com/