It's simply amazing how much your perceptions change when you own a Ducati. I never imagined just how passionate towards these Itailian  twins I would become. I feel very fortunate to own such a wonderful machine and wish I could take more credit for the conceptualization and fulfillment of this project, however, I acquired it largely as is because I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time.

I saw the bike at an open house sponsored by Pro Italia and  immediately fell in love. Unfortunately, it was not for sale, and plans to reproduce the unit were undecided. Several months later, I saw the unit on display at Ducati Island during the 2000 Laguna Seca  round of World Superbike. It was for sale, but several high rollers had already expressed high interest in the bike, and I knew I didn't stand a chance.

Several months later, I visited Pro Italia looking for a superbike. I  knew the Terblanche-designed replacement was on the horizon, and I wanted to get a Tamburini-superbike before they came unavailable. For some reason, the Terminator was in the showroom and still for sale. I joked with the sales staff and asked them what it was like to ride. They said, "Swing a leg over it, and take it for a spin." I politely  declined, having my heart newly set on a superbike. They insisted,> offered it to me at a price that was below the price of the parts and mods that were added, and dangled the last carrot in front of me: they  would give me the custom molds for the bodywork (They said that the owners were motivated to sell the unit). The rest is history...

The bike was designed by John Keogh, and the list of mods is almost  endless. Aside from the 916 front and rear end, the most notable features are the exhaust (designed and built by Andy Bondio of the  Indy Car world -- unparalleled sound) and the rearset mounts which are 40 layers of carbon fiber (built by John MacQuillan of the Jordan F1  team). Other mods include custom bodywork, Penske shock, Marchesini magnesium wheels, high comp pistons, Carillo rods, Keihin flatslides, custom headlights, clipons, integrated LED rear turnsignals, GP radial master cylinders, full-floating superbike rotors and calipers, custom  wiring harness, custom paint, instruments, and much more. Time and  funds permitting, future mods will be STM slipper clutch, BST carbon 5-spoke wheels, Ohlins R&T forks, and Brembo radial calipers.

 In many respects, the Terminator rides like a project bike: shortened  wheelbase makes the bike wheelie-prone, increased ride height makes the front end very nervous, speedometer inaccurate, heavier single-sided swingarm shift weight bias further to the rear, underseat-mounted shock has a different linkage causing rear to be  less progressive than stock, etc. I guess that this should be expected for a bike that has so few stock part remaining, but I have never ridden anything nearly as exciting. It really does stir the heart and  the soul and has inspired me to start a project of my own, Terminator2. Stay tuned.