Get Hotcars Premium. Start your free trial today

Jay Leno loves the $500,000 Fuse Ducati, especially since it's not entirely a Ducati in the first place.

After shooting to fame as one of the most popular late-night TV hosts of all time, Jay Leno is equally renowned for an envious collection of cars and motorcycles, including Ducati motorcycles. While Leno keeps on buying and selling vehicles, adding and deleting from his collection, there are times he cannot stop talking about some vehicles like the Fuse Ducati.

While the exact number of vehicles in his possession keeps on fluctuating, for now, his collection boasts 181 cars and 160 motorcycles. Sadly, the $500,000 Fuse Ducati is not part of the same, but Leno is still more than happy to feature it in his TV show, and his eponymous YouTube channel, Jay Leno’s Garage. The show is a weekly prime-time series where he takes his passion for all things automotive to a whole new level. This is where you can find him enjoying the most when it comes to cars and their engines or perhaps anything that has wheels on them.

In a recent episode of Jay Leno’s Garage, he showcased the stunning custom-build $500,000 Ducati from Austin-based Revival Cycles called the ‘Fuse’. This Ducati’s owner, Edward Boyd, and Revival Cycles' founder Alan Stulberg were also roped in to delve into the nuts and bolts of this masterpiece. Let’s find out what they have to say…

This $500,000 motorcycle appears to be a Ducati initially as it has a massive Ducati logo on its fuel tank. In reality, it’s completely custom-designed by the Austin-based Revival Cycles. Revival Cycles’ Alan Stulberg, its founder and chief designer, and his talented team of craftsmen create exceptional custom bikes. They also focus on restoring collectible pre-war motorcycles.

Alan fell in love with motorcycles when his grandfather gave him a tiny Honda at the tiny age of five. At the time, they had a big family ranch and he would ride it around all day long. In 2008, 28 years later, he founded Revival Cycles and the rest is history, at least for Stulberg. Today, the company is a team of 23 like-minded geeks who together give shape to masterpieces for true motorcycling gearheads. Most of their clients don’t forget to visit the annual event called Revival’s Handbuilt Motorcycle Show, held in April every year.

RELATED: Watch Jay Leno Ride The New Ducati Multistrada V4S

So the bike in question here, the Fuse, started as a Yamaha Virago. Edward Boyd, former Head of Design at Dell Technologies and the owner of the bike, had approached Alan to learn how to design a custom motorcycle. He wanted to use what he had at the time, a Yamaha Virago engine frame rolling chassis. After months of pondering, Alan started the project with a Ducati motor instead, buying a Ducati Monster 1,100-cc V-Twin motor from eBay. This is the bike’s sole mass-market component as the rest of the paraphernalia were either off-the-shelf or fabricated in-house.

After this, they renewed the internals and externals of the motor, building the remainder of the motorcycle around the engine. Upgrades include custom throttle bodies and a handcrafted exhaust so neat that it doesn’t sound like a Monster mill anymore. It now boasts a bespoke stainless-steel frame, swingarm, and rear-set foot controls, including the 18-inch racing slicks that make this two-wheeler a one-of-a-kind machine.

However, the most complex part of the project was the chrome-plated hand-beaten aluminum bodywork. Created from a strong block of aluminum, this unique one-piece skeleton fits in the fuel and oil tanks, tail section, and seat. It also houses the cables and wiring that are internally routed within this frame for a cleaner look and hide as much of the mess that you see in a normal bike. Besides that, the clutch and brake master cylinders, hand levers, throttle, controls, and instruments are also knitted in as a single unit. Alan went for the individually-welded sections for the exhaust pipe so that it goes well with the hand-made nature of the motorcycle.

RELATED: Jay Leno's Motorcycle Collection Is Out Of This World

It took well over 1,000 hours of fabrication and seven years before the Ducati Fuse was ready to hit the streets of Los Angeles. Every bit of this motorcycle is so unique and complicated that reproducing it would be expensive. However, if the bodywork comes in carbon fiber, the reproducible pieces would be more reasonable.

Boyd also mentioned that they designed the complete bike utilizing CAD followed by a foam model. They built two versions of the body before zeroing in on one. Initially thought as a $100,000 project, the Fuse burned through half a million dollars before completion. However, for Alan, the most rewarding aspect of this masterpiece was having the experience of working with a talented name like Edward Boyd.

For Leno, it was the thrill of a custom-made motorcycle that started life as a Yamaha but turned into a Ducati later.

Sources: YouTube channel Jay Leno’s Garage, Instagram page jaylenosgarage

Arun Singh Pundir has been a longtime media crackerjack and worked most of his life in sales and marketing. In 2018, he officially flipped and switched sides to the editorial. He lives with his wife, two rascally sons and is a car and motorcycle nut in his free time. Not that he has too much free time. He currently writes news, features, and listicles for HotCars on anything that has any number or kind of wheels. He is also penning pop culture, lifestyle and all things rich for TheRichest. For now, he considers his Isuzu D-Max V-Cross, Suzuki Ciaz, and Royal Enfield Classic 500, the three current flames of his life. His dream is to drive around the world; even if it takes more than eighty days.