From Terblanche and Tamburini to Mitsuyoshi and Morton, the greatest motorcycle designers in history have always had one big advantage over their customising counterparts. Aside from vast sums of money and the backing of a big team, they can work from a completely blank canvas and are unrestrained by the mistakes of others, poor parts placement and strange fashion trends. So, one of the best ways to judge the true talents of a custom bike builder is to look at the before and after images of their latest creation. It’s something that French phenom Jérémie Duchamp displays every time he finishes a new bike, and his latest dynamite Ducati is another stunning example. From a pannier-carrying sports bike pretender to a stripped-down superstar, meet Jerem Motorcycles scintillating Ducati ST3.
Over the years we’ve watched as Jérémie has taken on one ugly or crashed donor after another and transformed them into truly beautiful bikes. There is always a story behind each build and in the case of this motorcycle it is that of the ST3 itself. In 2003 the Bologna factory released both the ST3 and the first Multistrada and while both had aspects that made them brilliant, they also had enough failings to see the ST eventually dropped and the Multistrada undergo a serious transformation to become the incredible machine it is in 2023. What the ST3 had up its sleeve was an excellent chassis and engine combination, and it is these two vital components Jérémie has taken full advantage of.
It was a quirky period in Ducati design and the big Honda VFR-like fairing package was quickly pulled off the bike, with the enormous seat and pannier package quick to follow. Now that Jérémie had the bike stripped down, it starts to reveal that underneath it shares many of the same foundations as Ducati’s sportier bikes of the time. One of which is the wickedly cool Monster S2R, and its tubular single-sided swingarm was robbed for this project. Taking care of all of the little details, Jérémie fitted the frame with new bearings and sorted out the sprockets so that everything would line up for the conversion.
Not only do you get the beautiful look of the arm itself, but the S2R has also donated its high-end, and fully adjustable Ohlins rear shock, which has been bolted into the ST3 frame’s upper mount with new bushings. The stock forks are quality Showa items and these were rebuilt and finished in the Ohlins gold anodising to match the new rear.
Now to get the bike rolling and it was over to EvoXracing who pieced together the stunning set of black and gold Kineo spoked rims to suit the older Ducati model. Wrapped up in Pirelli Rosso 3 rubber they look the business and the upgraded Brembo brake package adds more quality gold parts.
The rolling bike alone looked amazing, but having been stripped of its clothes, Jérémie needed to formulate a new bodywork package. To make this possible he cleaned up the back end of the frame and began construction of a full tail section with integrated side covers that would merge seamlessly with the big factory tank.
For a more sleek look, the tail tapers to a slim rear end and features a frenched-in taillight package and his own ultra neat number plate holder. At the front of the bike, the fender is a beautiful piece, with a custom rolled aluminium guard held in place by a neat hand fabricated mount.
But some of the most clever work is in the paint and upholstery that really begins to tie things together. To complete the gold look, the frame has been given a full respray in a brilliant colour, taken from of all things, a Peugeot 106.
The main part of the body has then been hit with a custom mix of metallic satin grey to pay homage to an original Ducati colour, but it is the single block of black that runs the length of the bike that helps to not only tie it all together but reduce the visual size of the big sports touring fuel tank. This same philosophy can be seen in the leather work, with Yaya Brush Sellerie adding a brilliant piece to the top of the tank where the old plastic cover once sat.
Time to turn to the engine and the ST3 came equipped with quite an unusual package for the company. The conventional liquid-cooled L-Twin features 3-valve heads, which combine all of the torque of the 2-valve monsters of the time, without sacrificing top-end power. Jérémie has given the engine a refresh and then done a brilliant job of tidying up the cooling package, with a modified 749 alloy cooler, a host of custom black hoses and GBRacing protection for good measure. The whole thing looks a hell of a lot tougher these days with the addition of a chin spoiler, and the full custom exhaust really lets you hear the ST3’s unique engine note.
Being a Ducati of some 20 years old, a full re-wire was of course required, and things like the ignition coils and voltage regulator have been relocated inside of the frame. The stock choke which Ducatisti will claim is a fast idle lever, stays on the bars, but it’s joined by quality levers and mirrors and a stunning Evo2 carbon dash. The lighting is all LED, reducing weight and complexity, and the round headlight helps to capture Jérémie’s signature modern cafe racer vibe.
A clear clutch cover finishes things off and as you step back to take all of the ST3 in, you realise once again, just how brilliant Jerem Motorcycles really is at transforming lost models into truly marvellous machines.
