Source: Bike Bound
[[{“value”:”A “Super Café” from Luuc Muis Creations…
The Cascabel (Crotalus unicolor) is a highly endangered pit viper native to the Caribbean island of Aruba off the coast of Venezuela. The venomous rattlesnake lives in thornscrub and desert habitats on the southeastern half of the island nation and just ~200 of the animals are left.
We can’t think of a better name for the machine you see here, a 2014 Ducati Panigale 1199 completely transformed by two men: former Aruban Minister of Health and Sport Dr. Richard Visser and Lucas Muis of Luuc Muis Creations, best-known for his Indian Scout Bobber and BMW “R00” EV conversion kits.
“Hasty Flaming Buffalo” Indian Scout Bobber from LMC
The two men had collaborated in the past with Visser as client and Muis as fabricator, and together they decided to go all-out with Visser’s V-twin Panigale, turning the Ducati into a modern “super café” with as much rattle and bite as anything on the road.
“A sleek predator of a bike. Hence the name Cascabel, a deadly rattlesnake found on Aruba, mimicking the carbon fiber with green and gold in its scales and the rattle of the stationary running 1199.”
Photo: Sideburn, Bike Shed London 2022
Visser is a long-time Ducatista with a passion for design who brought Luuc an initial concept based on two bikes — the Ducati MH900e and the MV Augusta Super Veloce — and gave him the green light for an exhaustive, unrestrained makeover of the V-twin Panigale 1199.
“The mission was for it to look way better than the original a motorcycle with so much soul that it would inspire people to dream.”
The work would incorporate all of the skills and methods in the LMC repertoire:
“Digital drawing, 3D scanning, 3D engineering, clay modeling, sheetmetal work, 3D printing, carbon fiber, TIG welding — all and all the complete package.”
All of the bodywork is bespoke, designed and shaped from aluminum, carbon fiber, polyfiber, or 3D-printed. Many of the parts were modeled on a 3D scan of the bike that combined the clay molds before proceeding to manufacture in carbon fiber or 3D-printed resin. The Panigale also received a high performance cooling system and a Project SC exhaust.
The aluminum bodywork
The resulting “Cascabel” is one of the most distinctive modern customs we’ve seen, a “chariot of the gods” that looks less like the work of a single shop than a factory Ducati concept bike or limited-edition special — a point of pride for Visser.
“The whole look and feel, the color, the lines of the bike — I really believe we one-upped the Ducati designers.”
Below you’ll find our full interviews with both Luuc Muis and Dr. Visser for further details on the build and backstory.
Cascabel: Builder Interview
• Please tell us a bit about yourself, your history with motorcycles, and your workshop.
My name is Lucas Muis, I’m 31 years old, and my passion for motorcycles and engineering started at a young age. As my dad used to be a graphic designer I got familiar with Adobe software from around the age of 10, drawing bikes and motorcycles in Illustrator and Photoshop. I always had an attraction towards motorcycles; my uncles used to ride as well as my dad’s best friend, who also worked on them, and I found the mechanics and engineering just as interesting as the design lines.
This interest in bike design and engineering never stopped till this day. I started studying Industrial Product Design when I was 17 and bought my first motorcycle when I was 18 and started changing and designing parts the very first day. I overhauled all the mechanics and majorly refabricated the bike after the first 6 months.
The combination of my engineering and design skills lets me work out visions and mechanical challenges from a user and esthetic point of view. Reworking the bike into proper will thought lines and making sure a certain level of quality is maintained through the use of 3D CAD engineering and designing of parts.
• Why was this bike built?
As a project build for a private customer who is passionate about Ducatis. We first started working on two of his other bikes, which were built and maintained in the US. As the customer migrated to the Netherlands things had to be modified for EU certification and with some new personal touches. Two bikes done, we then still had the half-built Panigale project. As we were talking about the options and potential this donor has, we came to an agreement to go all-out and build a mind-blowing modernized top fairing café racer-inspired super cafe.
• What was the design concept and what influenced the build?
The inspiration for the bike that started the project was a design render that Richard showed me from Jakusa Design from his MH900 heritage concept based on the V4. I adopted the front fairing principle of the lines and reworked them to the V2 into a more classic lined design.
Jakusa Design MH900 V4
This combined with the color and material schematic of carbon fiber with Candy Goldgreen, Ducati classic Gold (as on the frame of the of the 996 SPS) with the Green and black turned the bike into a sleek predator of a bike. Hence the name Cascabel, a deadly rattlesnake found on Aruba. Mimicking the carbon fiber with green and gold in its scales and the rattle of the stationary running 1199.
• What custom work was done to the bike?
A lot, basically everything has been changed or modified apart from the rolling chassis. Technically the bike was upgraded with a high performance cooling system as well as an SC project GP exhaust system. All the body panels were custom-built one-off out of aluminium, carbon fiber, 3D printed, or polyfiber. Using traditional metal shaping techniques going from 2D design onto a clay model on the bike itself to the aluminum Sheetmetal fairing and tank modification.
Clay Modeling
The 3D-designed body panels on the tail and belly were modeled on a 3D scan of the frame combining the clay model in 3D. For these 3D-modeled body panels, the molds were rapid manufactured for the bike achieving a perfect symmetrical design.
The front, rear, and indicator lighting housings were 3D engineered as well and manufactured using 3D resin printing giving these components a factory finish and look. Overall the Ducati got a complete makeover into the bike you see right now.
• Any idea of horsepower, weight, and/or performance numbers?
Probably very similar to the OG version of the bike but with the added numbers of the exhaust as per SC Project’s specs. We didn’t dyno test the bike afterwards.
• Can you tell us what it’s like to ride this bike?
Riding a bike with so much power is truly mind-blowing. The engineering that goes into a bike like this and the reworking of the look and feel of the bike creates a nice combination of personal identity for the bike and the rider with the absolute insane mind of the Ducati Factory.
• Was there anything done during this build that you are particularly proud of?
I’m particularly proud as a builder of the project’s extent and how it was possible with a client like Richard to do the full A to Z approach to it. Going from a vision for the design to several 2D designs to a clay model and eventually to the physical build using all the methods I have to build and design bikes: digital drawing, 3D scanning, 3D engineering, clay modeling, sheetmetal work, 3D printing, carbon fiber, TIG welding — all and all the complete package.
• Is there anyone you’d like to thank?
The customer Richard for his commitment to the extent of the project and giving me the freedom to design it with to the full extent and sharing that same vision throughout the bike build.
Cascabel: Owner Interview
• Please tell us a bit about yourself, your history with motorcycles, and your workshop.
I’m a doctor of medical sciences, a Chiropractor, and a sports medicine trainer — a former Minister of Health and Sport for the Island of Aruba. My mother was strongly against me ever riding motorcycles so I hid it from her. My family is riddled with artists and I have a keen eye for design in general. My first was a minimalist upgrade of my 1997 916 SPS, then I completely transformed my 2007 Sport 1000 into a cafe racer with Beverly Hills Ducati’s owner John and his wife Christine.
In 2017 I started work on the 2014 V2 Panigale, stripping it and moving towards a bobber — that just didn’t work for me. In the mean time I moved to Amsterdam and started looking for a fabricator and found Luuc Muis, famous for his retro Indian tracker.
I figured he had the skills to make my vision come alive, so we started penning the Cascabel and eventually presented it at the London Tobacco Docks Show in 2022. I am currently doing the finishing touches with Ducati of Amsterdam. Luuc Muis did 99% of the work on this bike.
• What’s the make, model, and year of the donor bike?
2014 V2 Ducati Panigale.
• Why was this bike built?
After the success of the GT 1000 cafe racer, I wanted to see what was next in terms of taking the cafe racer to truly new heights and reinterpreting the future of biking, the passion of design, so called singer of motorcycles. The mission was for it to look way better than the original a motorcycle with so much soul that it would inspire people to dream.
• What was the design concept and what influenced the build?
Two bikes really: 1.) Ducati MH900e and 2.) MV Augusta Super Veloce.
• Can you tell us what it’s like to ride this bike?
It is a chariot of the gods.
• Was there anything done during this build that you are particularly proud of?
The whole look and feel, the color, the lines of the bike — I really believe we one-upped the Ducati designers.
• Is there anyone you’d like to thank?
Luuc Muis for actually making my vision into a reality.
Photo: Sideburn, Bike Shed London 2022
Follow the Owner
Youtube: @thevisserpodcast
Follow the Builder
Web: lmcreations.eu
Facebook: @lmcreations.eu
Instagram: @lmc.ompany”}]]
