A few years back, a customer reached out to Analog Motorcycles with a dream. He wanted a custom motorcycle built, but after looking at the numbers, the cost was more than he expected. The idea sat for a while.
Then, out of nowhere, he called again. This time, he had already bought a Ducati Paul Smart 1000 LE from Motoworks Chicago and had it shipped to Analog.
Tony Prust, the man behind Analog, had not planned on working with this particular bike, but he agreed to take a look. At the time, the shop was fully booked for nearly a year.
That gave plenty of time to talk about what the customer really wanted. He sent a photo of Ryan Reynolds sitting on a stripped-down Paul Smart and said this was his vision.
“I kindly told him that the dealership could handle those mods faster and for less money,” Tony recalls. “We were focusing more on bigger custom builds at that time and not really taking on simple jobs anymore.”
But then came the question that changed the project: What would you do to this bike?
“That’s when the wheels really started turning,” Tony says. He began sketching ideas. The goal was clear: build a Paul Smart that Ryan Reynolds might want to ride.
Something that would impress Ducati purists without upsetting them. Because this was a limited edition machine, everything was designed to be reversible, and every original part was sent back to the owner.
The fabrication was some of Tony’s most challenging work. He hand-formed a new tail section, slimming it down to match the tank’s lines. “That top piece was a compound curve and one of the hardest I have ever shaped by hand,” he says. A custom seat pan followed, with machined parts that allowed it to pop off with the stock key.
The fairing was built from four pieces, welded and hammered into a single smooth form. The dash was relocated, and all brackets were custom-made so the bike could still be taken apart like a factory machine.
The result was much slimmer than stock, several inches narrower and lower, giving the bike a sharper, more athletic stance.
The stainless exhaust system was fabricated from the heads back using Cone Engineering components and coated in ceramic black. The customer’s Alpina wheels, clip-ons, and pegs were installed, and the black-and-gold theme tied everything together.
Just as the bike was ready to go back to San Francisco, the customer decided to go further. “He wanted more power, so we packed it up and brought it with us when we moved the shop from Illinois to Tennessee,” Tony explains.
The engine was pulled and sent to the Duc Shop, where it received a big-bore 1100 cc kit, Ducati performance cam, Corse Dynamics intake kit, and a Kbike slipper clutch. Once back together, the bike returned to Atlanta for tuning.
When it was finished, photographer Steve West shot the bike in studio, mirroring Ducati’s original Paul Smart promotional photos.
They could not find a stock Paul Smart for a side-by-side comparison, but the finished bike did not need one. It looked every bit like a factory special, only sharper, lighter, and more purposeful.
Today, this Paul Smart prowls the streets around San Francisco, its Alpina wheels and hand-made bodywork catching the light with every turn.
The tuned 1100 cc engine breathes through K&N filters and a custom exhaust, filling the air with a sound that matches its aggressive stance. It is still a Paul Smart, but stripped of everything unnecessary — a machine on a visual and mechanical diet.
Years later, it remains one of Analog’s most memorable builds. “If I had known we were going to take it this far, I probably would have started with a Sport Classic instead,” Tony says with a laugh. “But I am glad we didn’t. This one turned out exactly the way it should have.”
[ Some of the parts on this build are available from the Analog Motor Goods Store ]
[ Built by: Analog Motorcycles | Photography: Steve West and Enrique Parrilla ]
