Try as I might, I simply cannot think of another engine that comes close to having powered as many custom motorcycles as the mighty Harley Davidson Evo. A good-looking American, with a broad purpose and a thumping roar, but there is a good reason why two of the best bikes we featured in 2023 were powered by another bent twin. Packing a bigger punch than the US motor, the Ducati S2R is powered by brilliant 1000DS and with less weight and superior handling, it serves as the perfect platform for a quick and cool custom. So, having worked his magic on a number of water-cooled Italians, France’s Jerem Motorcycles decided it was time to unleash their artistic talents on the air-cooled Monster and the result will take your breath away.
It’s no knock on the HD V-Twin, but the Ducati engine of less capacity manages to produce considerably more horsepower and torque, and then it’s wrapped in a package that weighs 150lbs less and is equipped with high-end suspension and brakes. This makes it easy to see why North America’s Origin8or and Australia’s Purpose Built Moto both built two of last year’s best bikes, based on the Ducati S2R 1000 platform. Now it was Europe’s turn, and who better than the Frenchman Jérémie Duchamp, with his signature stunning style and performance-based focus.
As always, Jérémie leaves no stone unturned, and the donor bike was stripped back to nothing but that beautiful bare trellis frame. It is the same as used in the Monster 1000 of the same era, although there are tweaks for geometry improvements and to raise the ride height, to improve the lean angle for aggressive riding. For his part, the French builder stripped off all of the paint, cut off the subframe and crafted his own, for a shorter and slimmer appearance. The S2R carries that gorgeous tubular single-sided swingarm and this too has come in for some modification before being given a coat of black paint.
Unlike the super trick S4R S, the suspension of the S2R is Showa from the factory, very good but it can be better. Still, rather than simply spending big on a set of Ohlins, Jérémie found an equally impressive setup in the Ducati catalogue. Taken from the Diavel AMG Special Edition, the big blacked out forks are massive 50mm Marzocchi items. Fully adjustable from the factory, they handle the lesser weight of the Monster with ease, and to get them to fit, a stunning set of USV Racing triple clamps were machined to work with the factory stem.
The lower legs also allow for a pair of Brembo radial calipers to be mounted up, and Brembo dics complete the package but require custom spacers to fit the wider front end. To improve the performance of this setup, Jerem Motorcycles rebuilt the radial master cylinders in-house and then ordered in a set of EXACT engineering braided lines. To ensure the back end of the bike came with similar chops, the right rear shock was required and few do it better than WP suspension. The fully adjustable and remote res equipped unit has been given a rebuild to suit the Ducati, and the spring has been painted silver to match the bike’s colour scheme.
That same silver is also splashed over the gorgeous Marchesini wheels, whose lightweight helps to improve unsprung mass. The silver is also neatly laid down over the frame and begins the visual transformation, which is Jérémie’s take on the Paul Smart colour scheme. But first, the bodywork needed to be completed and in addition to the Diavel 1260 front guard and custom hugger, a host of parts from the legend that is Paolo Tex got the bike looking absolutely brilliant. The engine cowl finished out the job and then it was out with the spray gun for the rest of the silver and black, with a hand-mixed green serving as the primary colour.
Having used a one-off hue, that made the task of completing the seat just a little harder for Yaya Brush & Upholstery, but they still managed to knock it out of the park, finding a thread to match and keep the leather and Alcantara mix beautifully stitched together. Not wanting to add too much extra weight or disturb the lines, the decision was made to go minimal on the lighting with tiny Koso indicators for the front, the same sized 3 in 1 unit for the rear and a powerful Koso LED headlight up front, which sits on custom CNC’d aluminium supports. To keep things street-legal, Jérémie then finished it all out with a Diavel inspired rear guard, on a tubular support.
Now he could bolt in that air-cooled L-Twin beast of an engine, but he wasn’t going to just hope for the best on a near twenty-year-old donk. So, the dual spark unit has been completely rebuilt with all of the best factory bits and pieces to ensure it sings as sweet as the day it left the factory, and then it has been carefully coated in a black heatproof paint. A clear clutch cover and raw metal logos just take things to the next level, and to give the bike the soundtrack it deserves, the factory exhaust has been modified to allow for a Termi end can to be slipped on.
There is a simple joy to every Jerem Motorcycle, but in addition to the good looks, 100hp, 100nm of torque and less than 170kg give you a good insight into the smile factor this bike delivers when serving out on the beat.
