If you’ve ever wandered the endless aisles of SEMA, EICMA, or the Tokyo Motorcycle Show, you’ll know the game: no matter how much time you’ve got, you’ll never see it all. Which means the big players need something special to drag you off course and into their stand. Gone are the days when a pretty model would do the trick, these days, it takes real creativity. Japanese riding gear legends HYOD had just the thing in mind. They tapped Deus Ex Machina Tokyo’s head wrench, Tomoyuki Soeda, with one simple brief: build us a showstopper. His answer? A Ducati S2R 1000 that takes the “Monster” moniker literally, a snarling brute of a bike designed to snap necks, steal spotlights, and send small children fleeing for cover.
The HYOD brand might be a new name to many, they are primarily focused on the Japanese market, where they sell a huge range of high-end riding gear, focused on the staples like jackets for all seasons, gloves, pants and a casual clothing range. But they are also master tailors, with their ‘Origin Works’ factory producing beautiful handmade leather jackets for those who appreciate a fine fit. Then they have a stable of Japan’s best racers, for whom they make fully equipped, airbag, race suits. Think master of the rain Ryuichi Kiyonari, who has been a big winner around the world, and the seven-time slayer of the Suzuka 8-hour, Takumi Takahashi.
All of which is great, but if nobody knows you exist and you can’t capture the attention of major retailers at the big shows, so they’ll stock your wares, then you’re kind of wasting your time. Now, the temptation could have been to play it safe and just get the sexy livery of one of their superbike stars plastered all over a Honda CBR1000RR, but it’s just not their style. So, a phone call to Tomoyuki Soeda was made, and when you summon the master metal craftsman, known for his Brat-style bikes, you are not seeking out the classic or the conventional. And it was amongst his own collection of bikes at Deus Tokyo that the Monster 1000 was found.
The model is a worldwide legend and single-handedly saved Ducati from going bankrupt in a big way. And in S2R1000 form, you get one of the greatest Monsters ever made. All of the tradition of a 2-valve Desmo twin, with the beefed-up styling and the high-end suspension and braking components. But Soeda-san has always felt builders of any Monster have played it too safe, and he decided that he’d take the name literally, and invoke aspects of the many-eyed giant of Greek mythology, ‘Argos’, who also provides the bike’s name, and for some true Japanese flavour, the Manga character ‘Nine tails’.
But before the crazy creature could emerge, Soeda-san had to strip the Ducati back to its bare bones and prepare it for a total transformation. One of the big changes comes with the subframe. Now, many will modify the Ducati back end to give it that clean, hooped feel, but the idea for this build was to go further. And to move away from the long, stock fuel tank, that subframe had to be built from scratch, with the ultra short upper rail running all the way forward, so that it could act as both a seat support, and be the back mount for the new tank to come.
Having completed the fabrication work, the subframe was thoroughly prepared and then given a gleaming nickel finish. The tank itself is subtle in nature, but a huge departure from the iconic Monster bodywork, with Soeda-san handcrafting a Scrambler-styled unit that beautifully sits within the lines of the signature Ducati frame. There are sweeping knee dents sculpted into the rear, a front recess to allow for the stock ignition to be retained, and the solid cap sits in a beautifully crafted filler tunnel.
The remainder of the bodywork is relatively modest in comparison, with a carbon front fender following very traditional lines, and an oversized carbon rear hugger to help fit with the theme. But the final piece to the visual puzzle was something that Soeda-san had been dreaming up for a while, and inspired by those evil-eyed Monsters of myth and legend, the front cowl is truly crazy. It’s not just the offset lighting, but the design is anything but symmetrical, almost dripping in places, before a mix of an LED headlight and yellow lensed spotty, finishes out the effect.
All stripped down, and the frame, tank and lower triple tree were given a coat of buttery cream coloured paint, with the front cowl getting a colour match to the engine’s metallic finish, and the single-sided swingarm refinished in silver. The seat is a beautiful leather item, HYOD wouldn’t have it any other way, with the diamond pattern again using the engine case colour for the stitch. Speaking of that engine, the clutch has been left entirely open to bite off any prying fingers, and the full system exhaust, with twin carbon mufflers, is literally barking mad! Then there is the rubber, a beast needs burly boots, and there was never any discussion of conforming to the crowd. ‘Argos’ by Deus Ex Machina for HYOD Japan gets attention, and it certainly gets tongues talking, and that, my friends, is the whole damn point!
[ Deus Japan ]