This page chronicles the build of our custom build, the Bullitt 821, which is a 2016 Ducati 821 Dark. The content below is a summary charting the progress of the build, starting with the most recent working backward. We hope you enjoy!
Our take on the Ducati Monster 821
We recently wrapped up our Ducati Monster 821 build, dubbed the “Bullitt 821“. Building something you love and then letting it go isn’t as easy as you’d think. After spending countless nights in the garage; planning, mocking up, tearing down, coating, and milling over details…the bike somehow becomes a part of you. Memorizing the lines, tweaking, obsessing. That first ride is usually something special. Having friends and other riders dig your work is pretty cool, but even cooler, is seeing it get noticed by other great sites like Pipeburn, where the Bullitt 821 was recently featured.
Our Bullitt OG was featured on Pipeburn in the past, even taking the #3 top build of 2015. To see the Bullitt 821 get some love was great. Here’s a little quote from Pipeburn’s piece:
There’s one blog that has taken the step of downing their laptops and manning the tools – California’s The Bullitt. We featured their amazing Triumph Bonneville build back in mid-2015, and now they’re back with this mildly modded yet majorly sexy Ducati Monster 821.
I debated getting the Monster 1200 R but decided I loved the 821 motor. The initial plans for the bike were to build an “821 R”. I was going to Panigale R tank, cut it in half horizontally, and mate it to the bottom of the Monster tank. Deciding to ultimately stick with the classic Monster shape, I enlisted my painter-buddy, Ronnie Simmon’s, help and stripping the tank completely bare, and then applied the Panigale R paint scheme. Opting for black over red, the accents put back in were in bronze to match the engine and swingarm. DUCATI shows through in peek-a-boo steel. A similar treatment was done to the tail cowl and fender with A closely matched silver to replicate the exposed steel on the tank.
A Competition Werkes exhaust slip-on was de-badged and ceramic coated in a ‘burnt bronze’ along with the headers to match the swingarm and engine cases as well. I no longer had any red on the bike and didn’t want to put the original Comp Werkes badge so I worked with them and got a custom badge I riveted in place. A rear Öhlins shock was acquired and added out back. I ceramic coated the spring black – as I do to all my Öhlins. A quick Dremel hit to the rear hugger and she was in place.
I was really into Motodemic’s headlight conversions for some time and thought the Bullitt 821 was a great candidate. Working with Motodemic’s owner, Brad, we made a custom solution utilizing a round Triumph bucket. I really wanted the bigger bucket and think it looks killer. The bucket is gloss black and the rim is a semi-gloss. The contrast works well with the other components on the bike.
Beautiful Ducabike rearsets were installed and the passenger pegs were deleted. The rear brake reservoir was shortened and relocated to keep things tidy. Not being a fan of blinkers in general, I’ve run lots of bikes without them altogether. With this being my daily driver, I needed something discreet. New Rage Cycles provided just what I needed! I have their fender eliminator kit out back and their snap-on blinkers on the forks.
I was debating on dropping in some fork cartridges and anodizing the tubes black but after looking at the bike and ripping the bike through the canyons, I realized that the setup was pretty damn solid as is. I’m happy with where it is, and ended up falling for raw forks, which complement the raw steel in the tank.
“Ooh, baby, I like it raw!” – ODB
Bullitt 821 Specs:
2016 Ducati Monster 821 Dark
Custom paint by Ronnie Simmons
Ducabike rearsets with carbon fiber heel guards & passenger pegs deleted
Ohlins rear shock from M1200S with spring powder coated black
Burnt bronze ceramic-coated exhaust
Competition Werkes slip-on w/ custom badge
Motodemic headlight conversion – Triumph Bonneville bucket
Black powder-coated bars
Black powder-coated gas cap
New Rage Cycles fender eliminator
New Rage Cycles snap-on front blinkers
Bar end mirror
Mileage: 1,500
Clear title
Valid CA registration
Interested in seeing the Bullitt 821 in your garage?
Drop us a line here and; we’ll get back right away.
Photos by Shaik of The Mighty Motor
Bullitt 821 :: Paint Update
Our Bullitt 821 build stalled out for a little while over the summer but we’re back on track and working hard to wrap it up soon. We had dropped our tins with painter buddy, Ronnie Simmons, and went back and forth for some time with the overall design.
The design concept was to take the gloss paint and raw aluminum combo from the Panigale R and apply it to the Monster’s bodywork. Well, the true original plan was to take an actual Panigale tank and a Monster tank, saw them both in half horizontally, and mate them back together. My thought was utilizing the base of the Monster tank so fitment and fuel delivery wouldn’t be an issue and massaging the Pani tank to sit up top…seemed like a match made in heaven.
After many conversations and a whiskey or three, I decided to keep the trademark Monster profile but still wanted to apply the Panigale R-inspired design. Raw steel was exposed and we wanted to confirm that the tank was in good enough shape to leave it exposed. It was.
The ‘DUCATI’ letter was left in peekaboo steel and I decided to run the accent color in a bronze to match the engine case and swingarm.
The Monster 821 Dark comes in a matte finish and while I’ve done some many things matte in the past, I felt it was time to go gloss. We went high-gloss black, and did the raw steel in a matte finish for contrast. To keep consistency across the rear cowl and front fender, we laid down a silver to mimic the raw steel as close as possible.
Not being sure about the gloss decision until I saw the final product, getting it home and on the bench, the vision became clear.
Having the completed bodywork sitting in the shop was the fuel we needed to kick this build into high gear. After sending some bits out for ceramic and powder coating, we’re ready to reassemble and get this baby back on the road. That day can’t come soon enough.
Bullitt 821 :: Quick Update
It’s been way too long since we’ve provided any update on the Bullitt 821. We’ve been busy working away and have a lot to share soon. Paint is nearly done and we’ve got some more mods in the works.
So war we owe updates on the Ducabike rear sets, Competition Werkes slip-on and New Rage Cycles fender eliminator. As you can see from the pics here, we finally pulled those nasty frame stickers.
Black ceramic coating the exhaust is a must – see mock up below.
Can’t wait to share the pics of the new bodywork. Stay tuned for more soon!
New Bullitt build :: the Bullitt 821
So I was thinking it was time for an update on the Bullitt 821 then started going through the archives, only to realize we’ve never made a single post about the newest member to the family. I know we’ve shared a handful of photos to social but I was sure there was at least an intro post here. Well, without further ado, allow me to introduce you all formally to the Bullitt 821.
If you couldn’t tell from the name, she’s a Ducati Monster 821 Dark. I wavered on this or the Monster 1200 R but ended up going for the smaller 821 package. After falling in love with the Bullitt SP, our Hyper SP, I knew I loved Ducati’s water-cooled 821 powerplant. There’s no denying that the 1200R is a killer machine, but this one was calling my name.
The Bullitt 821’s maiden voyage to Alice’s Restaurant in the Santa Cruz mountains
We’ve got big plans for this little girl, let me tell you that right now. While some of them may in fact have to be scaled back, like the BST carbon wheels we were chasing, but many of them are trudging ahead.
Fresh meat!
Part of the thought behind choosing the Monster 821 was that this was by far the less common choice for customs out there. Yes, the single-sided swing arm is a work of art. Yes, it would be nice to have it. We actually had plans to add on the M1200 swingarm, but that’s another story. Yes, the suspension on the M1200S or M1200R is awesome, but we’ve got plans for that too. Stay tuned for more…
