We've been watching Cafe Racer Dreams' teaser shots of this Ducati 695 Monster for a while now, seeing the rear subframe getting looped and the seat taking shape, and we're surprised to see a modest, but very tasteful, outcome from Pedro and his team - but they've done the right thing. Here's a sneak peek at the bike, almost finished. (...so expect more photos later)

Many custom shops take Ducati Monsters and try to turn them into something they're not really set out for - i.e. becoming a cafe racer. The V-shape in the frame fights with the flat lines people aspire to reproducing from the 60s and 70s so you need to do a lot of messing about to fake that look with overhanging tanks and major work on the rear.

This build isn't actually quite finished yet, but so far the guys at CRD have sorted out the bars, clocks and lights at the front, tiding things up and giving a more timeless look, and then at the back they've solved the ugly rear end that has always blighted these machines, looped the frame and made a useful and pretty two-up seat, and neat back end (although wed like to see where the lights and plate will go).

The engine, exhausts, footrest hangers and the rest all look pretty much as they did when the bike rolled out of the Ducati factory at Bologna, but most Monster owners have no issue with the form or function of these parts. Had Pedro and the guys had a bigger budget, I suspect we'd see a hand crafted 2 into 1 and some funky foot controls and maybe spoked wheels, but does she need all that. Not really. We'd love a clean, lightweight bike like this in the BSMC garage.

We'll edit this feature with more pics of the bike when she's finished, meanwhile, see more from Cafe Racer Dreams and follow the original blog posts on their website HERE