1998 BIMOTA DB2 EF SPECS AND REVIEWS

Bimota is one of those motorbike companies that appears to be on the verge of bankruptcy. It has gone bankrupt, been resurrected, been acquired, sold, reworked, and relaunched several times over its history. It has never appeared to earn a profit. However, during its heyday in the 1980s and early 1990s (if you can call it that), Bimota produced some really influential devices.

Bimota was founded in 1973 and is headquartered in Rimini, Italy’s Emilia-Romagna area, which is as well known for its food as it is for its Ferraris. Valerio Bianchi, Giuseppe Morri, and Massimo Tamburini cofounded the company. “Bimota” is a combination of the first two letters of each founder’s surname (Bianchi, Morri, Tamburini).

The engine-building side of the motorbike equation was constantly evolving in the 1970s. Manufacturers were devising methods of providing heart-stopping power to the rear tire almost weekly: three-cylinder, water-cooled two-strokes, inline-fours, V-fours, rotary engines, and even inline-sixes were released at an astounding rate. The problem was that no manufacturer had worked out how to make anything other than the tubular steel cradles that had kept motorbike engines in place since the dawn of time. Ducati and Moto Guzzi had obviously been designing chassis that employed the engines as a stressed member, but Japanese manufacturers hadn’t gotten that far in harnessing the power of their world-class engines.

Bimota launched at the ideal time to address that issue. The Z1000 was the undisputed king of the liter bikes in the early 1970s, but it had a traditional frame that just couldn’t handle what the engine was capable of. The engine was used in the Bimota, but it was coupled to a frame built of light-gauge chrome moly tubing, and the motorcycle was outfitted with a then-revolutionary mono shock swingarm with an adjustable pivot. All but the most entry-level sportbikes today feature branded components, but in the 1970s, a bike with Brembo brakes, 38mm Marzocchi forks, and magnesium Marvic wheels was a sight to behold.

Beginning with the db1, Bimota began using Ducati engines and pushing the stylistic envelope, a standard that Massimo Tamburini would maintain with him when he left Bimota for Ducati. A straight line can be drawn from the db1’s design to that of the later Ducati Paso and Cagiva Dart, both of which were launched following Tamburini’s arrival. Bimota’s best-selling model to date was the db1.

The db2 was more of a full-on, fanny-in-the-air, wide-open-throttle sport machine than a styling exercise. It is powered by the Ducati 900ss V-twin, two-valve engine, which was one of the world’s greatest motorcycle engines at the time, offering “vivid acceleration, lots of torque, and if we’re honest, more than enough real world performance compared to its Japanese rivals,” as Alan Cathcart noted in 1992.

Bimota walked a tightrope with Ducati engines, though, because many within Ducati saw the company giving engines to a competitor. However, the Bimota db2 was a distinct bike from the 900ss’s café-bike roots. Cathcart complained about the 900ss in the same article: “The bum is too low, the body is too upright, the feet are too far forward, and the knees are too high… The [db2] successfully recreates the characteristic Italian harsh edge without discomfort or compromise.”

And, as expected, the db2 never compromised in terms of handling. Bimota was one of the first manufacturers to include a Swedish Ohlins shock (which is still a coveted aftermarket option), and instead of Marzocchi forks, Bimota utilized Paiolis in 41mm. Massive 320mm Brembo brakes in the front brought the entire bike to a standstill.

The combination was undeniably appealing. So much so that our own “Fix It Again” Tony Pearson purchased one that was almost new, only three months old. “The person I got it from found a 356C that he wanted more of,” Tony explains.

“The combination of the Ducati engine and Bimota chassis in DB2 form represents the epitome of Italian sporting motorcycling, one that, if Bimota can only get it into the market at an affordable price, will have everyone from born-again to cynical Japanese riders smiling with appreciation after a test ride and checking the level of their bank balances,” Cathcart said of the DB2.

THERE WAS A TIME WHEN THE Just Bimota you could buy came with not only the marque’s typical hefty price tag, but also a Japanese engine.

 This turned out to be a ticket to near-bankruptcy for the modest Italian firm.

The DBl, Bimota’s first Ducati-powered model, helped the business return to profitability. The DBl provided a semi-affordable entry point with its rather low-tech 750cc belt-drive Pantah engine.

Bimota-class motorcycle riding

And now the time has come for a worthy successor to that historic machine. The Bimota DB2 was unveiled at the Cologne Motor Show, powered by the current Ducati 900SS two-valve, air-and-oil-cooled engine.

If the DBl was Bimota’s entry-level motorcycle in the 1980s, the DB2 is its 1990s equivalent. Despite the fact that the DB2 and its predecessor share a chromemoly tubular-steel spaceframe, the two bikes are quite different in terms of hardware.

Pierluigi Marconi, the designer of the DB2, has carried the tubular motif to the swingarm, which is also composed of steel tube rather than alloy. And, in possibly the most drastic departure from the Bimota-Duck of the 1980s, the DB2 is available in two versions: one with a half-fairing, which makes full use of the V-Twin engine as a styling feature, and one with a full-fairing, which leaves the chassis and engine partially exposed.

Whatever your thoughts are on its styling, what truly counts is that it goes, not that it shows, and the DB2 goes magnificently. Despite a relatively modest output of 73 stated horsepower at the rear wheel, Ducati’s 900SS has a fantastic engine, providing vivid acceleration, plenty of torque, and more than adequate real-world performance when compared to its Japanese rivals. It’s no surprise that the new 900SS is not only Ducati’s best-selling model, but also has waiting lists at Ducati dealers all over the world. However, it is far less hard-edged than the legendary 900SS of old, which some die-hard fans lament.

The DB2 captures the rough edge of the classic 900SS, but without the discomfort. Despite its small 53.9-inch wheelbase, the DB2 has a spacious and comfortable riding position. More importantly, the interaction between the footpegs, seat, and multi-adjustable handlebars is great. The high-set seat not only allows the twin exhausts to run beneath the seat in a clever design feature that also prevents them from ever grounding, but it also shifts enough of the rider’s weight onto the front tire to enhance weight distribution without being overly taxing.

Those exhausts, by the way, provide 2 horsepower to the otherwise unmodified 900SS engine—75 horsepower at 7000 rpm at the wheel—despite making the DB2 a touch quieter than the 900SS. The only difference between the twin 38mm Mikunis and the stock Ducati is the air filter. Because Bimota did not use a vented clutch cover like the 900 Superlight, the clutch does not produce the characteristic dry-clutch jingle when disengaged. The bulge in the exhaust system beneath the seat is noteworthy. This allows for the installation of a catalytic converter in markets that require it, such as Switzerland.

Bimota’s suspension suppliers for the DB2 are intriguing. At the back, a specifically built hlins shock sits offset to the right, operating without linkage in a pure cantilever form. It performs admirably, particularly on the bumpy roads in the hills that serve as Bimota development rider Gianluca Galasso’s regular suspension-testing course. Trying to keep up with the flying Galasso over the bumps, dips, and evil-looking tarmac sections of these “roads” confirmed how effectively the DB2’s rear end worked. Despite the lack of a linkage, the hlins shock has a progressive action that allows you to hammer the throttle wide open and utilise the Ducati motor’s tremendous midrange power coming out of curves on a smooth surface. Even on the most difficult bumps, it never bottomed out, nor did it skip or hop over ripples, making the DB2 the best-handling cantilever-rear-end-equipped bike yet, a two-wheeled testament to Galasso’s development work in collaboration with the man he insists should get all the credit-hlins tester/technician and former works Yamaha Superbike ace, Anders Andersson.

Even if Bimota’s budget for the DB2 had allowed for the installation of a hlins upside-down fork, the Swedish business is unlikely to have the capacity to produce them in sufficient quantities for a relatively high-volume motorcycle like the DB2. So Bimota resorted to Paioli, a small company that has recently advanced in technical abilities. The DB2’s 41mm conventional-format fork is proof of that. Unlike the Marzocchi MIR design that Bimota was likely to utilize, the Paioli unit had compression and rebound damping in both legs, as well as a remarkably smooth action. When you brake hard into a turn, there is some discernible stiction, which is presumably due to the unavoidable deflection you get with a conventional fork, but it isn’t bad enough to freeze the suspension or affect responsiveness, even when panicstopping downhill into a tight hairpin corrugated with bumps.

The DB2’s light frame and superb suspension make it a joy to drive over winding country roads. Fast or medium-speed corners are where the DB2 really shines. It’s a one-way trip to hustler heaven. The bike’s 23.5-degree head angle and 3.8-inch trail achieve the tough goal of combining excellent high-speed stability through fast turns with sure-footed agility around slower corners. Designer Marconi appears to have capitalized on the inherent advantages of the Ducati V-Twin layout by creating a small, nimble machine that just slides through curves.

Back-to-back rides in the DB2 and Bimota’s Yamaha-FZR 1000-powered YB8 proved this. The DB2 was more user-friendly, losing only in a straight line to the larger-engined bike. The 900SS motor’s excellent torque allowed the DB to accelerate out of corners and up hills as rapidly as the YB8, and the six-speed gearbox has a smooth transition that almost compensated for the usual tight Ducati clutch action.

The DB2 not only goes well, but it also stops quite well, thanks to a combination of two things. The first is its light weight in street form (a stated 370 pounds dry, compared to a dry weight of 414 pounds on Cycle World’s scales for the 900SS). The second is a set of enormous 12.6-inch Brembo front rotors clamped by a four-piston caliper, as seen on the 900SS. Because the discs are fixed rather than floating, as well as the adoption of low-cost master cylinders and calipers, the DB2’s brake action is substantially less progressive than the factory setup. The DB2 stops quite well; simply use your entire hand and squeeze hard.

The front of the DB2 has an indisputably Japanese appearance, maybe due to its Yamaha FZR-derived headlamp, but the rest of the style is different, even revolutionary, particularly at the back. The mirrors are attractive and functional. There are numerous Bimota-style Good Bits, like as solid metal footpeg hangers and upper fork yokes. Most importantly, the bike feels highly integrated and taut.

The combination of the Ducati engine and the Bimota chassis is the pinnacle of Italian sport motorcycling. If Bimota’s US importer can get the DB2 into the market for less than the SI9,000 price tag, plenty of riders who previously regarded Bimotas as pricey boutique bikes may reconsider. Cathcart, Alan