Stone Cold Crazy: A Ducati Monster Wrapped in Basalt

We've seen builders manipulate steel, aluminum, titanium, fiberglass and carbon fiber. But this creamy smooth Ducati Monster 400 cafe racer features a material that very few people know about: basalt fiber. Indeed, we've only come across it once before, on Mark Atkinson's breathtaking BMW Alpha landspeeder. For 25-year-old New Zealander Max Betteridge, it was a material he wanted to use even before he had a bike to try it out on. “In many ways, basalt is the new carbon,” he tells us. “It has similar performance to carbon but at a lower price. What captured me was the subtle gold...