In 1977, the first Star Wars movie was released, followed by The Empire Strikes Back in 1980 and Return of the Jedi in 1983. I have vague memories of going with a group of school friends to watch The Empire Strikes Back (I think) as part of a friend’s birthday celebration. On that day I became a Star Wars fan, and since then I have watched all of them several times over the years. That includes the prequels and the various live-action series, such as The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Andor.
The Mandalorian, Disney’s first Star Wars live-action series, with Pedro Pascal in the title role, was, in my opinion, the best of them all. Plus it gave us Grogu (Baby Yoda). The design of each Mandalorian’s armour in the series is distinct, including that of the lead character Din Djarin/Mando, with differences in colour, accents and other features.
Randomly wandering down digital rabbit holes in the increasingly toxic and fake world of social media, every now and then I find something that makes me stop for longer than five seconds. Scrolling through Instagram one day, I came across the Ducati Streetfighter 1098 Mandalorian, designed and built by Star Wars fan and French custom motorcycle builder Jérémie Duchampt.
Based on the Ducati Streetfighter 1098, Duchampt reinterpreted Mando’s armour and built an engineering work of art. The long list of modifications on the motorcycle includes rebuilding the original fork and covering it in brown ceramic; custom front and rear rims machined from Ducati performance billet; the frame repainted in black and brown; a round jeep LED headlight and spaceship-style LED front signals; a full engine overhaul and a rebuilt radiator; CNC aluminium mirrors; a custom leather saddle, carbon rear shell, headlight mask, protection frame and engine guard; a chrome petrol tank and rear shell; and the Ducati logo in brown ceramic on the tank. There are also references to Baby Yoda and The Mandalorian motto, “This Is The Way”.
Duchampt started Jerem Motorcycles in the southern French city of Béziers. Originally a chemist and then an owner of two car washes, Duchampt says, “I started a bit by chance. Six years ago, I had a fall with my bike – a Ducati Streetfighter 1098S – and I thought to myself, ‘you’re a good handyman, and you have taste, so go ahead, make yourself a café racer.’“
He stripped the motorcycle of all its stock bodywork, retaining only the fuel tank, and proceeded to create new components, including a fabricated subframe, seat pan and custom tail end. He also overhauled the suspension, added clip-on handlebars and bar-end mirrors and gave it a Gulf Racing livery.
With Jerem Motorcycles, he has gone on to build motorcycles that truly stand out. Duchampt describes himself as “a motorcycle customiser who tailor-makes personalised and unique creations. A person with passion, attention to detail and consistent lines who leaves nothing to chance.”
He adds: “I try to make what has not been done or seen before; I like to create a buzz, to get people to exclaim ‘whoa!’ when they see the end product. I want them to see me as an artist. I take a lot of pleasure in creating new things, but always with well-defined codes, such as the lines of a motorcycle. For me, this is very important.”
That artistic thread is manifested in his design process, which is intuitive — Duchampt never draws his projects but rather imagines the full design and goes with that. Inspired by café racers, a coherent and clear design aesthetic is important to him.
“Often I see motorcycles where the work is crazy, but the motorcycle is not beautiful; it is not harmonious, and that’s something I just can’t stand,” he says.
He has been garnering acclaim in the world of custom café racers and high-end bespoke motorcycles. That includes winning the top café racer at the Lyon Motorcycle Show 2024 with the BMW R100 Goldeneyes, where the judges included Fred Krugger, Fred Duban and Arnaud Mary.
“This motorcycle is particularly close to my heart because a huge amount of work and development went into making the frame and the rear chassis, especially the carbon leaf suspension,” he adds.
Asking Duchampt to choose his favourite motorcycle build is like asking a parent who their favourite child is. While his customers are mainly France-based, he is increasingly getting demand from beyond. And his vision for Jerem Motorcycle? To continue pursuing detail and excellence, and to reach people from all over the world.
He is well on his way.
