Road or Track, Sir? This 1098 cafe racer is the latest Ducati custom to roll out the doors of Neil & Jim's ShedX workshops in Australia, and it's been given the monika, Malizia. The donor was a very clean bike with just 9000 miles on it and I think it's fair to say that you just know it's gonna go as good as it looks. Jim & Neil made the subframe themselves and plan to have them in production in the next month or so. They already produce the two different seat units shown - as options in these photos - one in a more traditional cafe style, with lights, and the other more of a track unit. The seats will fit the 848, 1098, 749 and 999. They've had a lot of interest down under where the guys tell us that the sport bike market is on a serious slow down. Shed X also produce the 2 into 1 exhaust system using a Radical Spark megaphone end can, which they tell us sounds superb. The power remains the same as OEM at a very healthy 160bhp but the weight of the bike is down to around 185kilos with 4 litres of fuel. Hmmmm. Expect to see a lot of this view (below) if you go for a ride out with the new owner... Road trim: Track-tastic: The guys intend to make a new top clamp so they can swap the clip-ons for bars to give a more upright riding position for those (like Neil) who like to give their back a break. The suspension and brakes remain the same as stock, which is fair enough as there's not much anyone can do to improve on the Ohlins units that came with the donor. The same goes for the brakes and running gear. "We were contacted by Anthony when we put “Bastardo” on the market. He was keen to see the bike and test ride it, but he had one reservation. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to sell his mint 1098S quickly enough. 1098 prices have gone down dramatically on the used market and the main dealer here in Sydney had offered peanuts for the bike. As soon as I test rode the 1098 I knew we could do something with it to make it more enjoyable around the streets. That’s when we struck a deal to trade his bike against “Bastardo”. The guys decided there must be quite a few people in a similar situation: Having bought their 1098/848 a couple of years ago they now realise they'd like something a little more rideable, and a little more timeless. "We felt if they could purchase a bolt-on subframe/seat and exhaust system without too much hassle then they can change the whole look of their bike for a lot less than the figure they would drop by selling it." Seems like the guys at Shed X have the formula nailed. Keep 'em coming fellas. See more from Neil & Jim on their Shed X Facebook Pages and here on the Bike Shed.