Bimota facts for kids
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Bimota Honda HB1 at Imola racetrack in 1973
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| Private | |
| Industry | Motorcycle manufacturing |
| Founded | 1973 in Rimini, Italy |
| Founder | Valerio Bianchi Giuseppe Morri Massimo Tamburini |
| Headquarters |
Rimini
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Italy
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Area served
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Worldwide |
| Products | Motorcycles |
| Parent | Italian Motorcycle Investment S.p.A. (IMI) (50.1%) Kawasaki Heavy Industries (49.9%) |
Bimota is a cool Italian company that makes special motorcycles. It was started in 1973 in Rimini, Italy, by three friends: Valerio Bianchi, Giuseppe Morri, and Massimo Tamburini. The name 'Bimota' comes from the first two letters of their last names: Bianchi, Morri, and Tamburini.
Contents
What Kind of Motorcycles Does Bimota Make?
In the 1970s, motorcycle designs weren't changing much. So, Bimota decided to focus on making super high-quality frames for motorcycles. They used engines from other famous companies.
They started by customizing popular motorcycles from brands like Suzuki, Honda, and Kawasaki. Later, in the 1970s, they even helped make motorcycles for Lamborghini! In the 1980s, they worked on Yamaha and Ducati bikes too.
One of Bimota's founders, Massimo Tamburini, was a very important designer. He also helped create famous bikes for other Italian brands. These included the popular Ducati 916 and the MV Agusta F4.
Some newer Bimota models include the DB5, DB6, DB7, DB9, and the Tesi. The DB8 used an engine from the Ducati 1198. The Tesi 3D was very unique. It was one of the only motorcycles at the time to use a special "hub-center steering" system.
Bimota in Motorcycle Racing
Bimota first found success in international racing in 1980. A rider named Jon Ekerold won the 350cc world championship on a Bimota bike with a Yamaha engine.
They also did well in the early years of the Superbike World Championship. Virginio Ferrari won a big title in 1987 on a Bimota YB4 EI. Another rider, Davide Tardozzi, won five races in the first-ever 1988 world superbike championship.
After many years, Australian rider Anthony Gobert surprised everyone in 2000. He won a race at Philip Island on a Bimota SB8K, even though it was raining!
In 2014, the Alstare team entered a Bimota BB3 into the World Superbikes championship. However, the bike didn't have enough units made to meet the rules. So, they were allowed to race but couldn't score points. The team was later disqualified.
Challenges and New Beginnings
In 1997, Bimota released a new motorcycle called the V Due. Unfortunately, its engine had a problem. Bimota had to fix the engine and even recall all the V Due bikes they had sold. Only a small number of these bikes were ever built.
Around the same time, in the 2000 World Superbike season, one of Bimota's main sponsors stopped supporting them. This caused big financial problems for the company. Because of these issues, Bimota had to stop making motorcycles for a while.
In 2003, new owners bought the rights to Bimota's designs. They wanted to start making motorcycles again, using Ducati engines.
Later, a new group of investors bought the Bimota name and designs. They restarted the company. In October 2019, Kawasaki Heavy Industries bought a part of Bimota. They plan to make new Bimota bikes using parts from Kawasaki.
Recent Bimota Motorcycles
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Here are some of the cool motorcycles Bimota has made:
- Racing motorcycles
- Bimota SB8K
- Bimota YB3
- Bimota HB4
- Newer motorcycles (2021 models)
- Bimota Tesi H2
- Bimota Tesi H2 Carbon
- Bimota KB4
- Bimota KB4 RC
See also
- Bimota V Due
- Bimota BB3
- Bimota DB1
- List of motorcycle makers in Italy
Images for kids
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Bimota YB3
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Bimota YB4
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Bimota SB8K of Anthony Gobert
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Bernat Martínez on Bimota HB4 at the 2010 British motorcycle Grand Prix
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Brandon Cretu on Bimota BB3 at the 2015 Senior TT
