Some people bake donuts. Others fry them. But if you’re superstar custom bike chef, Noel Muller, you machine, weld, and supercharge them. When Noel found himself with a rare couple of weeks spare in mid-2023, he didn’t sit around scrolling parts catalogues in the office of his Black Cycles Australia workshop. Instead, he swept the floor clean, dragged out a pile of leftover parts from years of builds, and decided to cook up something he’d always wanted to make: a one-off, pure-fun custom that screams attitude from every bronze weld and patina part. 

When it comes to the elite tier of custom bike builders, very few on the planet are as prolific as Noel Muller. But from his base at Black Cycles, he doesn't build cookie-cutter copies; every single bike is totally unique and often like nothing we've ever seen before. Using donors that are vintage, classic and modern, he creates old school bobbers, new school cafe cool and everything in between. Supercharged chopper, check, blown and boosted, done it all before, and when customers demand the impossible, the Gold Coast master simply makes it look easy.

Few names in the motorcycle world carry the kind of weight “Monster” does. For more than three decades, Ducati’s naked street machine has been the red-blooded heartbeat of the brand; part hooligan, part heritage. The initial release saved Bologna's bacon, and now the brand’s favourite troublemaker has been reborn once again. Overnight, Ducati pulled the wraps off the all-new 2026 Monster V2, the fifth-generation evolution of a bike that helped define the modern naked category. There's a lot to like under the covers, but it will arguably be the looks that determine whether this is a winner or a write-off.

The first monster was all about that trellis frame, Desmo engine and gorgeous styling, but more than thirty years on, gone is any hint of retro sentimentality. The new Monster V2 is leaner, sharper, and more unapologetically focused than ever. Ducati has treated this as more than just a model update; it’s a complete re-engineering. Ducati, for its part, is keen to put a more subtle spin on it, not wanting to dull any of the gloss that has kept the model a shining example of its success for so long. Describing the new bike as "The continuous evolution of a spirit that has never changed, a legend that has put generations of motorcyclists on the road."

There are customs that tinker at the edges, and then there are customs that blow the whole rulebook clean off the workbench. Led by the fast-rising legend Imanuel 'Nuel' Prakoso, Bali’s Treasure Garage has built a reputation for turning motorcycles into rolling sculptures, machines that don’t just appear otherworldly, but ride every bit as good as they look. Their latest creation, a 2013 Ducati Diavel reborn under the glow of anime and Italian fury, might just be their boldest strike yet. They call it Evangelion, part digital dream, part hand-beaten reality, and it conquered all comers at the recent Kustomfest show.

The original Diavel was never what you’d call subtle. The Bologna factory wanted a cruiser, and they built it to intimidate; low, wide, and muscular, the kind of bike that looks like it should come with its own sledgehammer and AC/DC soundtrack. But where the Italian designers left off, Treasure Garage stepped in with a vision that feels like it rode straight out of a cyberpunk storyboard. The concept began not in metal, but on a screen, conceived by Radite Octavanka (aka @raxe97ninetyseven), whose ArtStation render of an “Evangelion-inspired Diavel” set the tone for everything that followed.

There’s a quiet alchemy at work in Ducati’s new 2026 Scrambler Nightshift. It’s not just a paint job; they’ve cloaked the Nightshift in Emerald Green, a hue that seems to straddle past and present, evoking British racing green but with an Italian twist. The Ducati Style Centre has clearly laboured over this shade, drawing inspiration from motorsport liveries of the 1970s while preserving the model’s clean and uncomplicated aesthetic. And with ten years of development underpinning the mechanical package, this is without doubt the most sophisticated Scrambler to date, and it hasn't lost its soul in becoming the best of the bunch.

First shown at the 2014 Intermot motorcycle show, Ducati has equipped its Scrambler with engines ranging in size from a learner-friendly 399cc all the way through to the big daddy of the brigade, the 1079cc. All have been air-cooled V-Twins, which has ensured that the famous Bologna burble and signature Ducati mechanical appearance is retained across the platform. And over the last decade, the factory has produced literally dozens of models of the Scrambler for markets around the globe.

Rome isn’t exactly short on history, but for one weekend each year, the past and future of motorcycling collide beneath the sinuous steel and glass curves of Massimiliano Fuksas’ “La Nuvola.” Now in its ninth edition, the Eternal City Motorcycle Show has cemented itself as one of Europe’s essential two-wheeled gatherings, and to their credit, the organisers clearly understand just how vital custom creations have become to the motorcycle world. This year, they dedicated an entire level of the venue to that culture: a space where Italian craftsmanship, international innovation, and pure mechanical art all share the same stage.

The show is a mega event, with every major manufacturer worth their salt in attendance, eighteen of whom offer free demo rides of their latest machinery. In total, there are 300 different models you can ride, adding a proper try-before-you-buy experience. There are also the usual displays, great food and drink, live music and talks. And for those in the game, the business-to-business day allows small shops the chance to rub shoulders with the big brass of leading aftermarket suppliers, a vital networking opportunity to help the entire industry thrive.

The Diavel has always been Ducati’s invitation to misbehave: part cruiser with swagger, part sports-bike baked with extra menace. But with the all-new Diavel V4 RS, Bologna has torn up the rulebook. Before clinching his 2025 MotoGP World Championship title just yesterday, Marc Márquez had started the week by strapping on his leathers and helping Ducati put the Diavel through its paces. The GP team's fingerprints are all over the project, from blistering test runs around tracks in Europe to fine-tuning how a 1100 cc V4 feels when stuffed into a muscle-bike frame. This isn’t just another special edition, it’s a Ducati with genuine GP blood coursing through its veins, and yet still sports all the comfort of a cruiser.

If you needed one tidbit to make mates at the pub instantly jealous, here it is, Marc Marquez piloted the new Diavel V4 RS to a mind-bending 0–100 km/h sprint in just 2.5 seconds. That’s hypercar territory, from a motorcycle that still looks more like a sculpted brute than a slender sports machine. It’s this duality that makes the RS fascinating: a cruiser stance that’s been given the heart and lungs of a race-bred predator. Ducati’s launch material makes it clear that this is a limited, high-spec Diavel, where nothing has been left on the shelf.

If you’ve ever wandered the endless aisles of SEMA, EICMA, or the Tokyo Motorcycle Show, you’ll know the game: no matter how much time you’ve got, you’ll never see it all. Which means the big players need something special to drag you off course and into their stand. Gone are the days when a pretty model would do the trick, these days, it takes real creativity. Japanese riding gear legends HYOD had just the thing in mind. They tapped Deus Ex Machina Tokyo’s head wrench, Tomoyuki Soeda, with one simple brief: build us a showstopper. His answer? A Ducati S2R 1000 that takes the “Monster” moniker literally, a snarling brute of a bike designed to snap necks, steal spotlights, and send small children fleeing for cover.

The HYOD brand might be a new name to many, they are primarily focused on the Japanese market, where they sell a huge range of high-end riding gear, focused on the staples like jackets for all seasons, gloves, pants and a casual clothing range. But they are also master tailors, with their 'Origin Works' factory producing beautiful handmade leather jackets for those who appreciate a fine fit. Then they have a stable of Japan's best racers, for whom they make fully equipped, airbag, race suits. Think master of the rain Ryuichi Kiyonari, who has been a big winner around the world, and the seven-time slayer of the Suzuka 8-hour, Takumi Takahashi. 

You don’t need to squint to see what’s going on here. The workshop behind this build is known for crafting machines that are designed to terrorise polite society. Commissioned by a nearby Ducati dealership, the recipe was straightforward: take one fun-loving Italian Scrambler, hand it over to a bunch of Bavarian metal magicians, and the result is a street brawler with café racer swagger and a rear end wider than a powerlifter’s squat stance. RF-Biketech’s Ducati Scrambler isn’t about subtle tweaks or polite nods to tradition; it’s about attitude, engineering, and a fat slice of German precision served with an extra helping of rubber.  

The donor is a 2017 Ducati Scrambler Icon, handed over by the good folks at Motorland Mannheim, who wanted to show their customer base just how crazy you can get with the mild, no-fuss fun machine that is the factory Scrambler. And instantly, Frank and the crew at RF-Biketech saw in its trellis frame the perfect foundation for something a little more menacing. Instead of chasing horsepower figures or reinventing Bologna’s twin-cylinder heart, the team chose to focus on what they know best: radical chassis work, bold design, and that signature Bavarian engineering precision.

The Ducati 748 might not have the legendary status of its big brother, the 916, but it's a hell of a motorcycle and makes for a brilliant track day machine for those who love raw, analogue Italians. Los Angeles-based Michael Vienne has been quietly carving out his own corner of the custom performance world for over a decade at Championship Cycles. His calling card? Bespoke, track-focused machines steeped in endurance-racing DNA, with a laser focus on handling, performance, and weight reduction. In the words of Lotus legend Colin Chapman: 'Simplify, then add lightness', and he's done that and a whole lot more to this dashing Ducati.

At the start of the year, Vienne was handed a project that had been gathering dust for far too long, a Ducati 748 track build that started with good intentions but got swallowed up by life. Born in the pre-COVID days as a budget-conscious track bike, it ended up spending five years in limbo. What rolled into his LA workshop in January was little more than a rolling chassis with a stock motor, stock suspension, brakes, and a set of primer-grey fairings clinging to it like a bad disguise. No cooling system, no electrics, no controls, just the skeleton of a once legendary machine.

It’s been 20 years since Ducati released the Sport Classic range and lit a fire under the modern retro scene, and two decades later, the flames are still raging. Try buying one now and you’ll be coughing up twice the original sticker price. So why hasn’t Ducati brought it back? No one knows. But one Frenchman wasn’t going to sit around waiting for Bologna to get nostalgic. Jérémie Duchamp, the sharp mind behind Jerem Motorcycles, took matters into his own carbon-covered hands. Drawing inspiration from the Paul Smart and Hailwood specials, he’s built a neo-retro missile based on the Ducati 950 SuperSport. It's equal parts performance and poetry, with enough custom swagger to make even Tamburini raise an eyebrow.

This machine isn’t just a nod to the past; it’s a full-bore reinterpretation. Jérémie’s mission was clear: capture the spirit and silhouette of the 2007 Ducati Sport 1000S, but infuse it with modern performance, precision, and a heavy dose of handmade cool. The build starts with a fresh Ducati SuperSport 950 straight from the showroom floor, zero kilometres on the clock and ready for its overhaul. And there is a big advantage to choosing a new bike for a custom build, there's nothing to fix or repair, no failing old school tech, and you even get the benefit of a two-year warranty.