NCR Millona One Shot -116HP 275 lbs! 2WheelTimes Quickie

Story by Michael Hannas
Photos courtesy NCR Factory

You may have heard of the NCR from back when they raced Ducati's in World Superbike with a certain Ben Bostrom. Ben had been “demoted” to the private NCR team after a less than stellar start to the season on the factory team, and then suddenly found his mojo and started winning races. The Italian NCR team made Ben feel at home as well as allowed him to set the bike up the way he wanted, which enabled him to regain his confidence and ride the machine with his trademark loose and wild dirt track-derived style. Wins seemed to come effortlessly once Bostrom felt at home and comfortable on the machine. Although NCR doesn’t race World Superbike any longer, their ability to build a confidence-inspiring race machine is stronger than ever if the NCR Millona One Shot is any indication.

The NCR Millona One Shot is powered by a Ducati motor, however, it is not the new Superbike motor but rather a bored-out version of the desmodue dual-spark 992cc 2-valve engine used in the Monster S2R 1000. In the One Shot version NCR claims 116 hp, although a 1200cc 138 hp kit is also available! This motor was chosen because NCR wanted to build an extremely light and purposeful hand-built race machine with performance that was more accessible for a club-level racer or track day rider than a full-on superbike. They wrap the light and torquey Ducati engine in their own feather-light 3.9 pound aluminum trellis-style chassis on the One Shot version, although the standard Millona uses chromoly tubing. The aluminum frame uses the engine as a stressed member of the chassis a la Ducati, but attaches to a carbon subframe and NCR Corse rear suspension system. The monoshock system employs a custom shock built by Mupo with an Ergal Alu7075 cylinder built from billet that is fully adjustable.  NCR fitted the latest Ohlins forks off a Ducati 1098S and the superb monoblock Brembos with their own custom billet fork lowers to accept the carbon fiber BST wheels, 16.5” front and 17” rear. Beautifully-woven carbon is also used for the fuel tank, fairing, belly pan, tail section, fender and airbox. A custom titanium exhaust by Zard looks trick and is super light and the NCR corse slipper clutch by APTC makes for drama-free downshift action. All together it looks absolutely stunning, with so many trick parts you don’t even know what to look at first. To be honest it was overwhelming for this Italian race machine, so sick.

The NCR Millona One Shot may only make 116 horses, but when the whole package weighs an absurdly light 275 pounds, you don’t need much more power. Yes, I said 275 pounds, which is lighter than anything short of a 250GP bike and almost 100 pounds lighter than a 600 Supersport machine with almost as much power and more torque.  Just to give you a different perspective, it is like the weight of an Aprilia SXV450 supermoto with twice the horsepower. I don’t know if I’ve ever been so excited to ride a particular bike prior to throwing a leg over, and I’ve had the chance to ride some really trick and unique bikes so far in my life.

As the mechanics were removing the tire warmers before I got on the bike for my one and only test session, the NCR crew had a quick debriefing on pit lane. This was humorous as they looked like worried parents letting their child stay overnight at a friend’s house for the first time as they tried to explain in their limited English that the bike was very, very light and would probably turn much quicker than I would be used to, and I should be careful not to turn too quickly and go off the inside of the track at the apex. The also said the brakes were very sensitive since the bike was so light and to be very careful. Oh, and first gear was very tall for racing and I would have to slip the clutch until like 65 mph or so off the line. I listened very carefully, and then right before I put my faceshield down and they lifted the rear stand, I nodded and told them, “no worries, I used to race a 125GP bike.” They looked somewhat relieved immediately, and then suddenly more worried than before.

As I gave the big Ducati some throttle and let the clutch out, she began to roar down pit lane with a lot more ferocity than my old 125 ever did. I did have to slip the clutch all the way down pit lane but the One Shot was pulling with a lot more authority than I expected out of a breathed-on desmodue motor. As I made my way over the hill down Laguna Seca’s long and narrow pit exit onto the track, I immediately noticed how light and nimble the NCR felt.  It felt like a 250GP bike underneath me, not a big torquey four-stroke. With warm sticky race slicks and plenty of laps around Laguna in the past as well as a few warm-up laps in the morning on a 1000DS-powered Ducati Sport 1000 Biposto, I wasted no time in getting down to business. The NCR was a willing companion around the technical Laguna Seca circuit, allowing multiple line changes per corner if one wanted, although the NCR crew was right in that it did take a few corners to get used to just how quick the bike would go from upright to full lean after riding production-based machinery for so long. As I came around turn eleven onto the front straight for the first lap, I got on the gas early and hard, lofting the front wheel ever so slightly as I glanced over at the pit wall to see the NCR crew looking even more worried than before. I banged through the gears with the quickshifter and kept it pinned all the way over the hill to turn two.  After less than a lap, I had the confidence in the machine to keep the throttle to the stops over Laguna Seca’s notoriously difficult turn one hill the very first time over! Anyone that has ridden at Laguna knows exactly how much that says about how confidence-inspiring and easy to ride the NCR Millona One Shot is.

Since the bike only weighs 275 pounds, the Ducati desmodue has plenty of power and it delivers it in such a smooth and linear fashion that you find yourself getting on the gas earlier and harder than ever before. The rear tire just hooks up and launches the bike to the next corner.  Even getting on the throttle super hard at the apex intentionally trying to cause a slide only resulted in a slight rear tire slip before the bike regained traction and drove to down the straight. I don’t know if I’ve ever ridden a bike with such predictable and forgiving rear traction, and the front tire was just stuck no matter what at my “remember you are riding someone else’s really expensive bike” pace. The engine wasn’t a powerhouse but had more than enough juice to stay with the Ducati 1098s on hand at Laguna during the Ducati dealer track day at the tight and technical track, but would probably run out of steam to run with liter bikes at a longer track like Miller or Willow Springs. At a technical track with not very many long straights like Laguna Seca or Infineon, the NCR would be a potent weapon against anything in the right hands, and I can’t honestly think of anything else I’d rather own for track day shenanigans if money was no object.

Photo: Brian J. Nelson; Rider Michael Hannas

The Brembo brakes were awesome with their power and feel, and to be honest were almost overkill considering the weight of the machine and the ultra-light carbon fiber wheels, only needing one finger to put the bike on its nose at any speed. The NCR flicked into turns so quickly that I had to resort to my 250GP lines to use the chassis to full effect, and could simply ride right around the 1098s on track at the same time.  No other four-stroke I’ve ever ridden has had such a GP-like feel to it, nothing even comes close. There is no way to explain how a bike that weighs under 300 pounds with over 100 horsepower feels to someone that hasn’t ridden one except that it does everything better. It stops, turns, and gets off corners with less effort and maximum fun. It makes you scream in your helmet it is so much fun.  Unlike traditional lightweight machines like 250GP bikes or lightweight four-stroke twins, the One Shot has the torque of a liter-bike. The NCR has so much grunt you can ride around the whole track in one gear if you really want to, so you aren’t punished so severely if you loose a little momentum but you still have razor-sharp handling. They say you can’t have your cake and eat it too but after riding the NCR I would argue with that.

As I rounded turn eleven on my final lap, lifted the front wheel and looked over at the NCR guys again, I saw this time they were smiling like proud fathers who had just seen their baby take its first steps. After I gave the bike back and thanked the crew, got dressed, and started the long drive home, I was thinking about the look on their faces.
 
I asked my girlfriend who was also on pit wall watching with the crew about their reaction when I went by the first lap. She said when they saw me on the NCR coming out of the corner obviously much harder than the rest of the track day crowd had been previously, they looked at each other with frightened looks, starting mumbling in Italian nervously, then watched silently as the NCR flew over turn one on the gas full song. She said they then turned back to each other and started smiling and laughing like they had just won a race or something. She said then each lap after that they would watch the bike roar past and over the hill and do the same thing again like giggling schoolgirls at a Jonas Brothers concert.

It was then I realized exactly what makes NCR and the bikes they build so special: it was the people that build them. They have such a passion for building race bikes and watching them ridden to the ragged edge on the track: that is what they live for. They realize that for a rider to go fast they have to be confident in the machine first, and they have built a machine that instills more confidence in the rider than anything else you can buy. Just like they worked magic for Ben Bostrom, NCR can work magic for you too. Just bring your checkbook.