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Test and technology: Printing JvB-moto-Ducati Flat Red 2

Flat iron

Striking, wiry, muscular. More compact, powerful and blatant. The Ducati Flat Red 2 by the Cologne designer Jens vom Brauck (JvB-moto) is a daring driving machine, pure and puristic. As a sporty one-off piece, this noble monster mutates into a Beau de Cologne.

September 2013, on the former Solitude race track at the gates of Stuttgart. At the motorcycle festival Glems-eck 101, 32 men compete against each other for the international sprint over 200 meters. Pardon: 31 men and a woman, the racing driver Nina Prinz, decide among themselves who gets the fastest from the spot. Always in pairs, in the knockout system. Also at the start: TT heroes Guy Martin and Conor Cummins, British racing legends in Rau-Suzuki and tuned Buell XB 12 S. But in the end, a petite, screamingly simple motorcycle is the fastest in the drag strip race over the eighth mile: the D.ucati Flat Red 2, piloted by the builder himself, Jens vom Brauck.

Test and technology: Printing JvB-moto-Ducati Flat Red 2

Flat iron

Monster 1100 S donated Desmo-V2, tubular space frame, upside-down fork and brakes. Jens vom Brauck converted everything else himself, refined and changed it. How much can be seen weeks later during an on-site visit in his individual workshop. It is located at Cologne’s Rheinhafen in an ex-factory site, with brick buildings all around. The Flat Red 2 is parked here, surrounded by the beat of industrial culture and two or three other, heavily rebuilt Ducatis.

A dream in black-red-silver. Compact, cool and damn casual. The well-proportioned power pack looks dynamic even when the car is stationary. The flat iron shares all of this with the Flat Red 1 from 2003. Jens first created it on a scale of one to twelve as a plastic model. And thus won the Ducati design competition. Only then did he actually build it on the basis of a 900 Supersport. And now, a decade later, the same in red? Well, very similar, but not the same. Today’s machine is more refined, noble, more valuable in the finish, more polished in the details. Jens just continued to develop.

More elongated and sportier

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That thing goes like the devil! The Ducjavascript: {} ati Monster 1100 S, rebuilt by Jens vom Brauck.

The Flat Red 2 looks more stretched and sportier than the first Ducati from JvB-moto. This is due to the even more consistent design, the completely continuous line from the steering head to the rear wheel axle. And their wirier, more crouched appearance with deep, narrow handlebar stubs. Jens built this absolutely unique piece on behalf of an industrialist from Saudi Arabia, who had seen the Flat Red 1 on the Internet. The name is a play on words and a program at the same time: "Flat Red" means both flat and red as well as matt red.

In the eye-catching color, the striking, hand-made aluminum tank is an eye-catcher. Visually a counterpoint to the rounded fuel bladder of a standard monster: with a volume of only 9.5 liters, flat top edge and emphasized drawn-in rear flanks. Making the slim Winz tank was “a lot of theater,” says Jens. The injection pump, the entire electronics and the heavily modified airbox in the carbon cover had to fit underneath.

In fact, the elegant air scoop as the crowning glory of the tank catches air, direct and direct it vertically downwards. Just like on the hoods of US hot rods, hot pick-ups with powerful V8 engines. A single promise of speed. The air-cooled two-valve engine looks particularly beefy in a minimalist environment and gives the machine a strong technical aura. The oil cooler sits extroverted upright, below the 1078 cubic engine to the left. The V2 wears the front stainless steel elbow as a standard as a metal scarf thrown over the right shoulder. AT cool car for that kind of driver.

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"A motorcycle has to look the way it feels"

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Form, function, emotion. The aluminum hood on the dull red aluminum tank really gasps for air. Hydraulic containers for clutch and brake are neatly hidden in the Ex handlebar mount.

Like fanfares, two Shark silencers protrude to the rear next to the rear carbon fender. Jens found the right counter-cone for every exhaust in the form of stainless steel measuring cups for cooking – perfectly welded and polished. The 43-year-old can work metal, forms sheet metal or aluminum parts himself. Such as the rudimentary front fender. But it can also be made of carbon, laminated at a high level. The lamp mask installed here – black, square with a central round headlight – has meanwhile become his trademark. Fits. “A motorcycle has to look the way it feels,” says Jens. As sensual as possible.

Because the Cologne-based man “doesn’t really like single-sided swingarms”, he transplanted the stockier, more massive-looking double-sided swingarm of a Monster 696. Its blasted aluminum adds flavor. In the front swing triangle there was space for a very light lithium-ion battery. Particularly important: The whole machine had to be flatter, closer to the ground, the road. So put the fork through the black fork bridges. Tea Ohlins service shortened the inclined shock absorber and adapted it to the new geometry.

Damn low, this pure power roadster, not for giants. Take a seat! The self-foamed, minimalist solo seat roll rests deep above the radically shortened, tight frame rear. Follow the basic instinct: want to drive! Submissively stretch yourself to the handlebars, bend your knees sharply. In front of the open jet helmet, the self-made airbox roars and rattles, behind you pure nothing yawns. Now hold on tight. The lively V2 sweaters mightily on the chain. The finest four-stroke feeling. This is one of Ducati’s best drives for the country road. With this flea, the monster that has been slimmed down by several dozen kilos, the engine has an easy job. Not a gram too much. Holla, something’s going on!

Motorcyclists have become more open

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The lamp mask installed here – black, square with a central round headlight – has meanwhile become Jens vom Bauck’s trademark.

The thing burns brutally, pushes forward powerfully. But the low center of gravity keeps the front wheel on the ground. Mostly. "The big manufacturers somehow forgot what motorcycling is all about," says Jens. "It’s about feeling, about sound, the rhythm of the engine, about contact with the machine, as pure and unfiltered as possible." Modern motorcycles have become far too sensitive and too unemotional. Small and compact, the Flat Red 2 goes back to its roots: "A motorcycle is great if it gives you the perfect experience."

Jens knows from experience that “ten years ago motorcyclists couldn’t do anything with a bike like this”. Today they are more open, “no longer think in terms of categories”. The lines between bobbers and cafe racers, athletes and custom bikes are allowed to blur. When JvB-moto presented its latest work on the popular BikeExif internet platform and on Facebook, it received worldwide attention and recognition. Heated discussions, thousands of "likes" and recommendations included. Comments in many languages ​​ranged from overwhelmingly unreserved enthusiasm to complete rejection.

The puristic Cafe Dragster shines with hidden hydraulic tanks for the brakes and clutch. She transplanted Jens into the holes for the rubber mounts of the standard handlebars and covered them with aluminum lids. The enormous turning circle is Ducati heritage – the tubular space frame is quite wide behind the steering head. Dowel the house route once with this impulsive bundle of energy, that’s it. Find out how easy the feather-light forged wheels from OZ make the machine tilt in an inclined position. Or how Brembo’s radial four-piston stoppers press your eyeballs against your glasses when you brake hard. Turns on to bend high.

Okay, none of that is possible today. No mirrors, no turn signals, no license plate disturb the tidy line, the clean look. The transport box is already waiting. Too bad. The Beau of Cologne will so on become tea flower of the desert. Have a good trip, Flach-Eisen!

Vita: Jens vom Brauck

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Jens vom Brauck is considered one of the best and most talented self-made motorcycle designers in Germany and is a man with practical experience.

Jens vom Brauck is considered one of the best and most talented self-made motorcycle designers in Germany and is a man with practical experience. Born in the Sauerland and trained industrial mechanic, he knows what is important and how it works. Also driving. On his purist stripped Yamaha SR 500 alone, he has unwound well over 250,000 kilometers. The 43-year-old’s first conversion project is his “Kawasuki”, The transplant of a 650 single-cylinder from a Suzuki Freewind into the heavily stripped chassis of a Kawasaki GPX 600. It was followed by the daring Ducati Flat Red.

Jens vom Brauck brought it to the service of the industry even without a university degree: For MZ he designed the spectacular Streetfighter study SFX, which unfortunately never got ready for series production due to tight budgets at MZ. The Cologne-based designer, together with the tuning company Urban Motor from Berlin, designed the Triumph Brit Bob with parallel twin; The D-Track, a very independent SR 500, grew out of the collaboration with Kedo from Hamburg, experts for Yamaha SR and XT. Jens now produces square, black lamp masks for round headlights from SR 500 and Triumph Twins in small series. For Triumph Bonneville, Thruxton, Scrambler & JvB has many parts up its sleeve, including radically wiry complete conversions.

Contact and information at: www.jvb-moto.com

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