No carbon fiber fairings, lighter with 12 kg and still delivering 200 hp
Roland Sands Design (RSD) removed the carbon fiber fairings of a 2014 Ducati 1199 Superleggera and transformed the bike into The Super as it’s named. It still has the magnesium frame and L-twin engine while the bodywork was reworked to hide all the wires. The Akrapovic exhaust system was shortened and the manufacturer decided to remove the ABS system to make the bike as hooligan as possible.
The idea to manufacture this custom Ducati Superleggera started from the ambition to remove all unnecessary components. In this case, the carbon fiber fairings no matter how cool they look on a limited edition superbike priced at $65,000. Moreover, when you strip down a superbike, you’re left with a bunch of wires to deal with, but Roland Sands took care of that as we can see from the photos of this custom motorcycle.
Even if the carbon fiber fairings are gone, RSD kept all the other light components such as the magnesium monocoque frame, magnesium wheelset, carbon fiber subframe, and titanium fasteners. Furthermore, to make the bike look cool, Roland Sands used aluminium molds to build a carbon fiber gas tank and tail section. Even so, that wasn’t enough for the manufacturer to stop making the bike as light as possible. So, he added carbon fiber handlebars, front mudguard, TFT housing, and caliper ducts. The package was completed with a full titanium Akrapovic exhaust which was shortened to fit under the new subframe. All that, shredded the motorcycle’s weight from 166 kg (366 pounds), as it had as stock, to 154 kg (339 pounds).
Engine-wise, the RSD 1199 Superleggera features a Febur oil cooler and race radiator. The power delivery is the same as the stock version, the 1,198cc v-twin delivering 200 hp and 122 Nm (90 lb-ft) of torque. It’s a lot of power indeed, but Sands decided to remove the ABS system most likely to enhance the hooligan attitude of this bike.
As far as the electronics package goes, the reshaped fuel tank hides all the wires, plus the new number plate acts as an air intake and hides the GPS module and traction control unit.
To make the bike stand out, RSD finished the 1199 Superleggera in a metal paint scheme. It’s hard to believe a limited edition superbike could look like this after it was stripped out of its carbon fiber fairings, but we have to say Roland Sands did a great job and the bike looks awesome.
You can view a full photo gallery by clicking on the main feature picture
