This is an original Walt Siegl Leggero, one of the most prized low production volume motorcycles in the world today, and this example is believed to be one of only 2-3 in Europe and the only one that has passed the stringent TÜV vehicle exam in Germany.
This Leggero has a bespoke chromoly steel trellis frame that was designed and built by Walt Siegl, it’s both lighter and stiffer than the original Ducati trellis frame. The engine is a comprehensively rebuilt L-twin from the Ducati 1000SS that now makes close to 100 bhp.
Fast Facts – The Walt Siegl Leggero
- Walt Siegl is one of the most celebrated custom motorcycle builders in the world today, and he’s often referenced as a source of inspiration from the new up-and-coming generation of bike builders.
- Over the decades Siegl has build dozens of motorcycles but his most famous are almost certainly the Leggeros, a series of low production volume motorcycles that are each made by hand.
- The Leggero you see here has a Kevlar fuel tank and bodywork, a handmade Trellis frame using chromoly tubular steel, and an engine that’s been rebuilt and significantly improved by Bruce Meyers Performance.
- The bike now weighs just 150 kilograms or 330 lbs, it makes approximately 96 bhp, and it has just 3750 kms on the odometer – meaning it’s in essentially new condition.
The Walt Siegl Ducati Leggero
The Leggero is perhaps the best-known Ducati that isn’t built by Ducati. The chromoly steel trellis frame is cut and welded by Walt in his workshop, the completed frame weighs in at just 15 lbs.
This is Walt Siegl, seen here next to one of his earlier custom motorcycle builds. Image courtesy of Walt Siegl Motorcycles.
The body work is also made in-house by Walt from Kevlar, using a design he developed to be both aerodynamic and to evoke some of the styling queues of the iconic racing Ducatis from years gone by.
Each Leggero is fitted with a Ducati Desmodromic two-valve L-twin that’s been blueprinted and rebuilt by Bruce Meyers Performance, with either Keihin FCR carburetors or a fuel injection system.
These engines will never produce the same power as a modern Ducati engine, but that’s not their purpose. They’re built to give the rider a direct connection from their right wrist to their rear tire – there are no traction control systems, no ride by wire, no ABS, and of course, no rain mode.
Who Is Walt Siegl?
Walt left art school at the age of 19 and found work in a train yard in France, over the course of the next few years the young Austrian was trained up as a toolmaker, and worked in this capacity in Germany and Italy.
It was whilst working at an Austrian steel company that he was transferred to Moscow – where he joined the Austrian Foreign Service. He was so adept at his new career that he was given a coveted transfer to New York in 1985 to promote contemporary Austrian art and culture for the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The engine in this Leggero started life as a Ducati 1000SS L-twin, it’s now been completely rebuilt and produces considerably more power than stock.
Decades after first arriving he left New York in 2007 to move with his family to a picturesque old mill town in southern New Hampshire, and he began building motorcycles as a full time business.
His Leggero series of production Ducati-based motorcycles are now in demand around the world – with over 20 having been delivered to customers from Australia, America, France, Canada, and further afield.
The Ducati Leggero Shown Here
The motorcycle you see here is a Leggero that was built by Walt in 2019. As noted in the introduction it’s one of just 2 or 3 in Europe and it’s believed to be the only one that has ever been through the complex German TÜV vehicle exam, meaning it’s now road legal anywhere in the EU (and beyond).
It rides on rebuilt and optimized Showa forks up front with an Öhlins monoshock in the rear, and as you would expect it has the Walt Siegl chromoly trellis frame. The wheels are ceramic coated Marchesini units shod with sticky Dunlop Sportmax tires, and the brakes are Brembo front and back.
This is the only Leggero that was ever built with this color scheme, and it’s now being offered for sale out of Germany with an asking price of $39,909 USD or €38,500 Euros. If you’d like to read more about it or contact the seller you can visit the listing on Classic Driver here.
Images courtesy of photographer Michael Haegele
Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
