[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$fZINctP9WLu61Ay4zOOmlVkY9szZ96Gc_ph6mDJ7xbsI":3,"$fmiKH-E8-_RP-y80gq-B7zsTi6QZMUwMs6NMNiZnsVsI":35},{"id":4,"slug":5,"pays_origine":6,"date_fondation":7,"logo":8,"image_hero":12,"translations":13},"a73ffbff-42d8-4b7c-93b9-5edf1094cfbf","bimota","Italie",1973,{"id":9,"width":10,"height":10,"title":11},"9ef5a571-4894-4af0-a8cf-7a7e404b2362",1024,"Bimota",null,[14],{"id":15,"constructeurs_id":4,"languages_code":16,"nom":11,"histoire":17,"sites_production_actuels":18,"sites_production_historiques":19,"adn_marque":20,"caracteristiques_cles":21,"modeles_emblematiques":30,"points_forts":31,"points_faibles":32,"meta_title":33,"meta_description":34},"84da8f9b-b68e-4d63-b0c2-e30897a8cc2c","en","## How was Bimota born?\n\nBimota's story begins with a motorcycle crash and constructive anger. In 1972, Massimo Tamburini, a racing enthusiast and co-founder of an air conditioning company in Rimini, crashed violently at the Quercia turn of the Misano circuit. Three broken ribs later, he didn't curse the track: he cursed the chassis of his Honda CB750 Four, which simply couldn't handle the engine's power. Back home, he designed a tubular chrome-molybdenum steel frame weighing just 13 kg, far less than the original double-cradle setup. The result, christened the HB1 (H for Honda, B for Bimota), reduced the bike's total weight by 50 kg. It was a revolution.\n\nBimota actually existed since 1966, when Valerio Bianchi, Giuseppe Morri, and Massimo Tamburini founded a heating and air conditioning business in Rimini. The name \"Bimota\" is an acronym formed from the first two letters of each surname: Bi-anchi, Mo-rri, Ta-mburini. In 1973, the three partners decided to pivot toward motorcycles. Bianchi, unconvinced by the move, quickly left the venture. Morri and Tamburini dove in headfirst.\n\n## Why doesn't Bimota build its own engines?\n\nFrom the very beginning, Bimota applied a simple but devastatingly effective principle: take the best available engines (from Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Yamaha, Ducati, BMW) and install them in chassis that were vastly superior to the originals. In the 1970s, Japanese motorcycles had powerful engines but mediocre frames. Bimota filled precisely that gap.\n\nThe model naming convention reflects this philosophy: the first letter indicates the engine supplier (K for Kawasaki, H for Honda, S for Suzuki, Y for Yamaha, D for Ducati, B for BMW), followed by a \"B\" for Bimota and a serial number. So the KB1 (1978) uses a Kawasaki Z900 engine, the SB2 (1977) a Suzuki GS750, and the DB1 (1985) a Ducati 750 F1. Elegant, logical, and it tells the entire brand story in just a few letters.\n\n## The golden age: from the 1980s to racing glory\n\nIn 1983, Tamburini left Bimota after disagreements with Morri. He joined Cagiva, then Ducati, where he would design the legendary 916 and later the MV Agusta F4, two of the most beautiful motorcycles ever created. His departure could have been fatal, but his successor, Federico Martini from Ducati, saved the day. Martini designed the DB1 in 1985, the first Ducati-powered model, which became a commercial success with over 700 units produced. He also pushed annual production to around 1,200 motorcycles.\n\nIn competition, Bimota shone brightly. In 1980, South African Jon Ekerold won the 350cc World Championship on a Yamaha-powered YB3. In 1987, Virginio Ferrari clinched the TT F1 World Championship on a YB4. And in 1988, during the very first World Superbike (WSBK) season, Bimota won seven races, including the inaugural race with Davide Tardozzi.\n\n## The Tesi project: when Bimota reinvented steering\n\nThe Tesi project (\"thesis\" in Italian) was born in 1982 in the mind of designer Pierluigi Marconi. The concept: replace the conventional telescopic fork with a hub-center steering system. In practice, the front wheel is mounted on a swingarm like the rear wheel, while steering is handled by a set of linkages independent of the suspension. The theoretical advantages are considerable: no brake dive (natural anti-dive), complete separation between steering and suspension functions, and superior lateral rigidity.\n\nThe first Tesi prototype used a Kawasaki 550cc engine in 1984. The production version, the Tesi 1D with a Ducati engine, arrived in 1991. While the concept fascinated engineers and purists, it struggled to convince mainstream riders accustomed to conventional fork feel. The Tesi nonetheless remains Bimota's technological signature, a symbol of daring that has endured for decades.\n\n## The fall: the V Due fiasco and bankruptcy\n\nIn the late 1990s, Bimota attempted a risky gamble: designing its own engine for the first time. The 500 V Due, introduced in 1997, was a two-stroke twin with direct fuel injection. On paper, it was brilliant. In reality, the injection system was fatally flawed, engines failed, and Bimota had to recall all 340 units produced. Only 21 corrected \"Evoluzione\" examples were ultimately assembled. The financial disaster was total: Bimota filed for bankruptcy in 2000.\n\nA series of ownership changes followed through the 2000s. Milanese investor Roberto Comini revived the brand under technical director Sergio Robbiano, who produced the DB5, DB6 Delirio, and DB7 with Ducati engines, plus a new generation of Tesi models. Swiss investor Daniele Longoni then took over and launched the BB3 powered by BMW's S1000RR engine. But by 2017, the Rimini factory had closed and the brand seemed doomed.\n\n## The renaissance: Kawasaki enters the picture\n\nIn October 2019, Kawasaki Heavy Industries acquired a 49.9% stake in Bimota. The deal was strategic: Bimota gained full access to Kawasaki's supply chain (engines, electronics, homologated components), while Kawasaki benefited from Italian chassis expertise and artisanal prestige.\n\nThe first fruit of this alliance was the Tesi H2, unveiled at EICMA 2019: Kawasaki's supercharged Ninja H2 engine (998cc, 231 hp) in a Tesi hub-center steering chassis, clothed in carbon fiber. A technological monster limited to 250 units at around $72,000. Next came the KB4 in 2022, a neo-retro sportbike with a Ninja 1000SX engine (142 hp, 1,043cc) in an ultra-short, lightweight chassis, priced at approximately $39,900. In 2024, the Tesi H2 TERA arrived as Bimota's first crossover, adapting the Tesi concept for versatile road use.\n\n## Bimota today: WorldSBK return and ambitious future\n\nIn 2025, Bimota made a thunderous return to the World Superbike Championship under the \"Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team\" (BbKRT) banner. The KB998 Rimini, built around the ZX-10RR engine and a Bimota chrome-molybdenum tube chassis, is ridden by Alex Lowes and Axel Bassani. The road version, required for FIM homologation, is being produced in a run of 500 units.\n\nThe current lineup includes the Tesi H2, Tesi H2 TERA, KB4, KB4RC, and KB998 Rimini. Production remains artisanal in Rimini, with legendary designer Pierluigi Marconi back at the helm. The dealer network is expanding gradually, with a UK launch in 2025.\n\n## In summary\n\nBimota is the embodiment of Italian chassis genius: a brand born from a racing accident, driven by visionary designers, capable of transforming any engine into something extraordinary within a shell of aluminum, steel, and carbon fiber. After decades of turbulence, the Kawasaki partnership finally provides the industrial stability it always lacked, without sacrificing its artisanal soul. When you buy a Bimota, you're not buying mere transportation: you're buying an engineering manifesto.","Rimini, Emilia-Romagna, Italy","Via Covignano 103, Rimini, Italy (original headquarters, 1966-1970s)\nVia Giaccaglia 38, Rimini, Italy (historic factory, 1980s-2000s)","Bimota is the art of chassis design taken to obsessive heights. Since 1973, this Rimini micro-manufacturer has taken the world's best engines (Kawasaki, Ducati, Honda, Suzuki, BMW) and clothed them in frames that transform ordinary motorcycles into extraordinary machines. The hub-center steering Tesi system, invented in-house in the 1980s, remains a technological one-off with no equivalent in series production. Every model is hand-assembled with carbon fiber bodywork, CNC-machined aluminum, and top-shelf components from Ohlins, Brembo, and OZ Racing. Now backed by Kawasaki, Bimota finally combines Japanese industrial reliability with Italian creative genius. Prices are steep, production numbers are tiny, but every Bimota is a masterclass in chassis engineering on two wheels. If you want a motorcycle that looks and rides like nothing else, this is where you start.",[22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29],"Chassis specialist","Tesi hub-center steering","Kawasaki engines","Carbon fiber","Artisanal production","WorldSBK","Rimini","Made in Italy","## Tesi H2\n\nUnveiled at EICMA 2019 and produced in a run of 250 units, the Tesi H2 is the technological manifesto of Bimota's new era. It combines the supercharged engine from Kawasaki's Ninja H2 (998cc, 231 hp, mechanical supercharger) with the Tesi hub-center steering system, Bimota's historic signature. The engine serves as a structural chassis member, surrounded by machined aluminum swingarms and clothed in carbon fiber bodywork. The hub-center front end eliminates brake dive entirely, creating a riding experience unlike any conventional sportbike. At around $72,000, it's one of the most radical production motorcycles ever built, equal parts collectible and hypersport weapon.\n\n## KB4\n\nLaunched in 2022, the KB4 is Bimota's neo-retro sportbike, a direct heir to the KB1, KB2, and KB3 of the 1970s-80s. Its Kawasaki 1,043cc inline-four (142 hp) from the Ninja 1000SX sits in an ultra-short trellis chassis with just a 54.7-inch wheelbase, shorter than a ZX-6R. The radiator is relocated under the seat to shorten the wheelbase, a quintessentially Bimota engineering solution. Full carbon bodywork, Ohlins suspension, Brembo Stylema brakes, OZ forged wheels: at approximately $39,900, it's the most accessible model in the range. Kawasaki electronics including cornering ABS, traction control, and cruise control come standard, making it surprisingly practical despite its exotic pedigree.\n\n## KB998 Rimini\n\nA homologation special marking Bimota's return to WorldSBK in 2025, the KB998 Rimini uses the Kawasaki ZX-10RR engine (998cc, 197 hp) in a Bimota chrome-molybdenum oval-tube chassis with a machined aluminum pivot plate. Ridden by Alex Lowes and Axel Bassani under the BbKRT banner, it is being produced in a run of 500 units to satisfy FIM homologation requirements. The street version weighs just 194 kg and represents the sharpest, most race-focused Bimota available. It's the first Bimota world championship racer since the SB8K of 2000, and signals the brand's serious competitive ambitions.\n\n## SB6\n\nProduced between 1994 and 1996 with 1,144 units built, the SB6 remains Bimota's biggest commercial success ever. Built around the Suzuki GSX-R 1100 engine, it perfectly illustrates the classic Bimota recipe: a proven Japanese engine in an exceptional Italian chassis. Significantly lighter than the donor Suzuki, with superior handling and exquisite fit and finish, it became the gold standard for the brand. It remains highly sought-after among collectors today.\n\n## Tesi 1D\n\nThe world's first production motorcycle with hub-center steering, the Tesi 1D arrived in 1991 with a Ducati twin-cylinder engine. Born from a concept by Pierluigi Marconi dating to 1982, it radically separated the steering function from suspension, a principle no other manufacturer has ever replicated in series production. The front wheel pivots on a hub mounted to its own swingarm, with steering inputs transmitted through linkages. Tiny production numbers, colossal historical impact, and a design that still looks futuristic over three decades later.","- Legendary chassis expertise: for over 50 years, Bimota has elevated other manufacturers' engines with exceptional frame designs\n- Unique Tesi technology: hub-center steering is an exclusive feature no other brand offers in production\n- Kawasaki partnership providing engine reliability, modern electronics, and financial stability\n- Artisanal build quality with carbon fiber, machined aluminum, and premium components (Ohlins, Brembo, OZ)\n- Total exclusivity with limited production runs that make every model a potential collector's item\n- 2025 WorldSBK return with the KB998 Rimini, demonstrating renewed competitive credibility","- Very high prices ($39,900 to $72,000+) for motorcycles whose engines are available in machines costing a third as much\n- Near-nonexistent dealer network in many countries, making purchasing and servicing complicated\n- Chaotic financial history (bankruptcy in 2000, multiple ownership changes) that may concern buyers\n- The Tesi steering system unsettles many riders accustomed to conventional telescopic fork feel\n- Uncertain resale value on some recent models, despite collector potential","Bimota — History, Models & Review","Bimota: Italian chassis specialist since 1973. Tesi hub-center steering, Kawasaki engines, handmade in Rimini. Complete guide to history and models.",{"data":36,"hasMore":37,"marques":38},[],false,[39,40,41,42],"Aprilia","KTM","Triumph","Yamaha"]