Now I'm not saying that some customs can be easy to build, but very few get into the level of engineering that Chris Barber from Crossbreed Cycles often goes, in this case by deciding to mate two Ducati 900ss Cylinder heads to a Harley big twin bottom end, and mounting it all in a hard tail chassis. Quite what possessed him to do this is a mystery, but it's a work of insanity and/or genius. What's even more impressive is that Chris does everything himself, from drawuing up CAD images of what he wants to build, to engineering it all himself, while licking all his own stamps and making his own brew and sarnies - but the outcome looks more like the work of a huge team of Americans in a hangar-sized chop-shop in Cali. Bloody impressive stuff. The engine uses Carillo Rods, with stock stroke crankshaft and flat top Keith Black pistons, providing 10:1 compression ratio. Axtell cylinders are made to Chris' own design from ductile cast iron.

From the drawing board... to the workshop

Two rear 900ss heads are used because the front has vertical fins, the front mounted head is turned through 180 degrees and runs a cam from the front cylinder of a 900ss. Lubrication is via a high volume pump running high ratio gears for more scavenging.

Ducati cams run off the reduntant Harley cam via a series of gears and toothed belts,the train of gears of various tooth numbers, allows for fine adjustment of valve timing... Apparently it's also a bit confusing to time! Chris is clearly driven by a passion for machines, and the beauty in his engineering is a match for the beauty of his bikes as a whole. Check out more of his work at Crossbreed Cycles.