It’s hard to believe that Icon Motosports has only been around since 2002; in a few short years, they’ve created a stable of oddball, off-the-wall customs that perfectly evoke the company’s rebellious spirit. The TiFighter is the latest bike to join that stable, and it’s the personal bike of Icon’s design director Kurt Walter.
“She's my ‘beater’ track bike,” says Kurt. “She’s not fast but she brakes and turns like toy.” At the heart of the TiFighter is an aircooled Ducati 1000 DS motor—as found in the Multistrada, the SportClassic and some Monsters. It’s suspended from a very trick titanium frame built by Doug Cook of Arc Fabrication. “I think my frame and exhaust were the last ones he ever made,” says Kurt. “It took over a year to get them from him—I had actually written them off. Then one day they showed up, in the most incredibly small and incredibly light box ever. There is no way a full frame and exhaust should be so light or fit in such a small box, but they did.”
The TiFighter is crammed with go-fast components from all over the world, but the focus is on weight rather than outright power. It’s the principle espoused by Lotus’ founder Colin Chapman: "Simplify, then add lightness." The bike has a chequered history, and only just made it into the Icon stable. “I launched her across the infield last season—punching a hole in the carbon gas tank,” says Kurt. “A full tank of gas was dumped over a very hot motor: Luckily she didn't catch fire, but it was a tense few minutes.”
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