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Bimota Motorcycles

About Bimota

Bimota is a small, Italian manufacturer of custom and production motorcycles. It was founded in 1973 in Rimini, Italy by Bianchi, Morri and Tamburini. The company name is a portmanteau derived from the first two letters of each of the three founders' surnames, i.e. Bianchi Morri Tamburini.

Bimota concentrated initially on building high-quality motorcycles around existing engines. From the beginning they customised the top models of Suzuki, Honda and Kawasaki. During the late 1970s, Bimota also helped develop and build motorcycles branded as Lamborghinis. In the 1980s they also customised Yamaha and Ducati motorcycles.

Bimota's co-founder and long-time chief designer Tamburini has been an influential player in the development of other Italian brands, most significantly his work on the popular Ducati 916, the Ducati Paso, and the MV Agusta F4; other designers such as current Bimota chief Sergio Robbiano have also been involved with larger-volume manufacturers.

Bimota models currently in production include the DB5, DB6, DB7 and the Tesi, with a DB8 featuring the Ducati 1198 engine in development. The latest model features the Vyrus which is said to be the only bike on production to house Hub Steering.

Bimota first experienced international racing success in 1980 when Jon Ekerold, a true privateer, won the 350cc world championship on a Yamaha-powered Bimota. They also experienced success in the early years of the Superbike World Championship. Virginio Ferrari won the 1987 Formula TT title aboard a YB4 EI, partnering with Davide Tardozzi. Tardozzi won five races in the inaugural 1988 world superbike championship, more than any other competitor, but inconsistent results relegated him to third place in the final standings. After many years without success, the Australian rider Anthony Gobert caused a major shock in 2000 by winning a wet race at Philip Island on a Bimota SB8R.

The V Due, introduced in 1997, had a design flaw with their engines. Bimota was forced to ditch the novel fuel injection system and re-engineer the entire engine. Bimota ultimately recalled the entire run of the motorcycle. While this was occurring, during the 2000 World Superbike season, one of Bimota's main sponsors disappeared, owing the company a great deal of money. The combination of events forced Bimota to file for bankruptcy and close their doors.

In 2003, a new group of investors purchased the rights to the Bimota name and designs and restarted the company.

Moto blog

2011 Vyrus Moto2 Grand Prix Racer Preview

Fri, 14 Jan 2011

Motorbike cognoscenti recognize the Vyrus name, the Italian brand producing exotic sportbikes based on the amazing hub-center-steered Bimota Tesi. The Vyrus story begins when Bimota filed for bankruptcy in the early 2000s. Vyrus principal Ascanio Rodorigo, a former Bimota employee, began producing his version of the Tesi after Bimota let its patents expire while it was in bankruptcy.

Zero-mile Bimota V-Due on eBay

Wed, 04 Aug 2010

A RARE opportunity to snap up a zero-mile Bimota V-Due two-stroke race replica has come up for grabs on eBay. Launched in 1997, the V-Due was fitted with a 500cc, liquid-cooled, two-stroke, fuel-injected v-twin engine. It was the first time Bimota built an engine in-house, instead of sourcing engines from existing bike manufacturers.

Bimota Mantra - Remember this?

Wed, 26 May 2010

REMEMBER THIS? If you don't, or can't quite put your finger in the futuristic-looking V-twin, it's a 1995 Bimota Mantra DB3 - and it's up for grabs on eBay.Complete with wooden, yes wooden, dashboard and a 900cc Ducati air cooled motor, the Mantra was Bimota's £13,500 take on Ducati's highly successful Monster 900. This one's covered jusr 1,10 miles new.

2010 Vyrus 987 C3 4V [video]

Wed, 14 Apr 2010

The new Vyrus 987 flies high even in the rarefied air of ultra sportbikes. It marries a 185-horse Ducati 1198R engine with a hub-center-steered Bimota chassis unlike anything else on the market. Still not cool enough for ya?

EICMA 2008: First Impressions

Mon, 03 Nov 2008

I have had a little walk around checking out the preparations for the show. I haven’t seen anything that I haven’t already seen or heard about previously, but here’s a selection from three of the halls. Yamaha are the only manufacturer to use an industrial crane to place some of its bikes up on high rise stands.