This stunning custom Ducati 900SS is a shining example of what can be achieved when you free yourself from the shackles of deadlines and customer demands. A personal project of Old Empire Motorcycles‘ Alec Sharp, the motorcycle wasn’t, obviously, built for a client, which allowed the team to throw the rulebook out of the window, and take their own time in progressively building it, bit by bit.

While most of their other bikes draw inspiration from specific styles, the Typhoon, as OEM calls it, was a complete open-plan project, receiving new and fabricated components as and when required. This 1995 Ducati 900SS is the perfect showcase of the best aesthetics from the original motorcycle mixed with carefully engineered, handcrafted components, in order to create something that harks back to the fundamentals of two-wheeled travel.

About the build itself, it’s the custom girder front fork and brass headlight that immediately catch your attention; but look closely, and you can still spot the trellis frame, open clutch and the Ducati stamp on the engine casing. The wheels are 21″ front and rear, sporting a quad leading shoe drum brake and single leading shoe drum respectively. A solid rear now sits in place of the original swingarm, and is accompanied by a custom speedo and tacho set-up, custom bars, a bevel gear throttle, twin Amal GP3 carbs feeding the 904cc L-twin, and a custom stainless exhaust system.

Other goodies on this modern-day board tracker include a set of handmade rear sets, leather grips, custom twin tanks with knee pads, fuel lines, copper tubing and braided wiring loom, pull-type starter and a one-off headlight shroud.