Bimota is a small Italian maker of custom motorcycles. The company was formed in 1973 by three men Valerio Bianchi, Giuseppe Morri and Massimo Tamburini. The company name is an amalgamation of the first 2 letters of the founders’ names. Tamburini is a well-known, respected motorcycle designer who’s also helped other manufacturers develop their high-performance machines, like the Ducati 916 and Agusta F4.
Bimota initially concentrated on tweaking existing products from other manufacturers, especially Suzuki, Honda and Kawasaki, but later moving to Yamaha and Ducati as well. At one time the company even produced motorbikes branded ‘Lamborghini’.
Bimota bikes have been involved in racing, winning several early Superbike championships. However, the bikes went a long time without victories, but finally caused a shocker by winning a wet Australian race in the year 2000 with rider Anthony Gobert. Also, in a recurring problem among small motorcycle companies, the firm went bankrupt around the year 2000 (because of recalling one of their major products and abandonment by one of their key sponsors) but was revived by a group of enthusiastic optimists in 2003.
Bimota’s model names consist of the maker of the bike’s engine. Models with a Yamaha engine begin with a ‘YB’, those with an engine from Suzuki begin with ‘SB’, those with an engine from Ducati begin with ‘DB’, those with an engine from Kawasaki begin with ‘KB’, and in-house bikes begin with a ‘V’. Current models are the 500 V, the DB series, the TESI series (with Ducati engines), and the YB series.
Looking at buying a Bimota motorbike? Check the history of any Bimota bike by entering its number plate in the field above.