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 | B and Motion S.A. (50.1%) Kawasaki Motors Europe (49.9%) |
Bimota is a cool Italian company that makes special motorcycles. It was started in 1973 in a city called Rimini, Italy, by three friends: Valerio Bianchi, Giuseppe Morri, and Massimo Tamburini. The name 'Bimota' comes from the first two letters of each founder's last name: Bianchi, Morri, and Tamburini.
Contents
What Bimota Makes
In the 1970s, motorcycle frames (the main part of the bike) weren't very exciting. So, Bimota decided to focus on building really good frames for existing engines. They started by customizing bikes from popular brands like Suzuki, Honda, and Kawasaki.
Later, in the 1980s, they also worked with Yamaha and Ducati motorcycles. One of Bimota's founders, Massimo Tamburini, was a very important designer. He also helped create famous bikes for other Italian companies, like the Ducati 916.
Some of Bimota's more recent bikes include the DB5, DB6, DB7, DB9, and the Tesi. The Tesi 3D was especially unique because it used a special steering system called "hub-center steering."
Bimota in Racing
Bimota first found success in international racing in 1980. A rider named Jon Ekerold won the 350cc world championship on a Bimota bike that used a Yamaha engine.
They also did well in the early years of the Superbike World Championship. In 1987, Virginio Ferrari won a big title on a Bimota YB4 EI. Another rider, Davide Tardozzi, won five races in the first World Superbike championship in 1988.
After some time without big wins, an Australian rider named Anthony Gobert surprised everyone in 2000. He won a race at Philip Island on a Bimota SB8K, even though it was raining!
In 2014, a team tried to race a Bimota BB3 in the World Superbikes. However, the bike didn't have enough units made to meet the rules. They were allowed to race but couldn't score points until more bikes were produced. The team was later disqualified.
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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
Challenges and Comeback
In 1997, Bimota released a new bike called the V Due. Unfortunately, its engine had a big problem. Bimota had to fix the engine and even recall all the bikes they had sold. Only a small number of these bikes were ever made.
Around the same time, in 2000, one of Bimota's main sponsors (a company that gives money to support them) disappeared. This sponsor owed Bimota a lot of money. Because of these problems, Bimota had to declare bankruptcy and close down.
But Bimota didn't stay closed for long! In 2003, new owners bought the company's assets and planned to make new Italian bikes using Ducati engines.
Later, a new group of investors bought the rights to the Bimota name and designs, and they restarted the company.
In October 2019, Kawasaki Heavy Industries bought almost half of Bimota (49%). They announced that they would start making Bimota bikes using parts from Kawasaki. This was a big step for Bimota's future.
Back to Racing with Kawasaki
Starting in 2025, Kawasaki, which used to run its own racing team, teamed up with Bimota. Now, their racing team is called Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team (BbKRT).
Their 2025 World Superbike entry is a bike called the Bimota KB998 Rimini. It's red, white, and black instead of Kawasaki's usual green. This bike uses the powerful engine from the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R, just like Kawasaki's earlier racing bikes.
Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team
| 2025 name | Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team |
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| Base | Rimini, Italy |
| Team principal/s | Guim Roda Team Manager |
| Race riders | 22  Alex Lowes47  Axel Bassani |
| Motorcycle | Bimota KB998 (2025–) |
| Tyres | Pirelli |
Bimota Motorcycle Models
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Here are some of the motorcycles Bimota has made:
- Racing motorcycles
- Bimota GB1
- Bimota HB4
- HDB1
- HDB2
- HDB3
- Bimota SB1
- Bimota SB8K
- Bimota YB3
- BIC 500 8v BM 3
- V 90 BM 4
- KB998
- Recent motorcycles (from 2021)
- Bimota Tesi H2
- Bimota Tesi H2 Carbon
- Bimota KB4
- Bimota KB4 RC
See also
- Bimota V Due
- Bimota BB3
- Bimota DB1
- Bimota DB2
- List of Italian motorcycle companies
- List of motorcycle makers
