Vijay Krishnan Oct 11, 2019
Motorcycles are like any human being in that their traits can be improved with love and a lot of patience and hard work over a period of time. Most of the time, it is the motorcycle’s peripherals that need sprucing up and as for the rest of the time, it is the beating heart of the motorcycle that needs upgrade.
Credits- Bimota
Have you ever thought your stock motorcycle engine is too good for its clothes? It is as if every part on the motorcycle apart from the engine does not want to go fast. For those who want to rip out their motorcycle engines and give it to the gods to make better use of it, fear not! There are few gods of wrenching on Earth as such to make the most perfect body for the perfect soul. One of the most prominent of these masters of motorcycle engineering are Bimota.
Credits- Bimota
Only ardent fans of Motorcycles would have heard of the moniker that has created some of the most exotic motorcycles that are wild and high-tech at the same time. Although the company has now shut down its factory and are now struggling to get existing orders over the line, its legacy still thrives in the minds of the enthusiast.
A small Italian manufacturer of some very exclusive custom and production motorcycles, they started of building high end motorcycles around existing engines. Founded in 1973 by three individuals including a certain legendary designer by the name of Massimo Tamburini, the philosophy of the company had been to originally create high quality and capable frames for the (then) new wave of Japanese motorcycles such as Suzuki, Yamaha, and Kawasaki.
Credits - Wikipedia
The company started customizing Ducati and Yamaha motorcycles in the 80’s and business took off with their bikes achieving success in the European moto racing circuit. Bimota became the staple of champion riders like Agostini, Cecotto and Jon Ekorold. By the end of the 80’s, they were on top of the motorcycling world and making the best bikes money could buy and it was smooth sailing for a while after.
Credits - Wikipedia
The company hit the rocks for the first time when Massimo Tamburini left the company due to a conflict of interest with one of the co-founders who wanted to take a more ambitious and eventually destructive path of trying to turn the company into a fully-fledged motorcycle manufacturer producing complete bikes powered by those same, fabulous Japanese Fours.
Bimota V Due a.k.a. 'The Bike that killed Bimota'
( Credits - Wikipedia )
This was compounded by the company trying to come out with their own engine called the V Due and failing miserably, leaving the company in dire straits and in hot water with its customers. The stumbling brand eventually filed for bankruptcy and was soon acquired and put under new ownership in 2012.
Credits- Bimota
Although the company seemed to be on the up with some spectacular bikes such as the popular BB3 and the revolutionary Tesi 3D, which is the only production bike in existence with a hub type steering. The brand was also back to racing in the Superbike championships with the BB3 in 2014.
Bimota BB3 ( Credits- Bimota )
The Tesi 3D ( Credits- Bimota )
However, the revival was short lived as the company again shut their Rimini facility, with the spares and incomplete bikes mothballed elsewhere, possibly Switzerland.
Credits- Cycle World ( Photo by Bruno dePrato)