2006 BIMOTA SB8K GOBERT SPECS AND REVIEWS
Engine and transmission | |
|---|---|
| Displacement | 996.0 ccm (60.78 cubic inches) |
| Engine type | V2, four-stroke |
| Power | 142.6 HP (104.1 kW)) @ 9750 RPM |
| Torque | 105.5 Nm (10.8 kgf-m or 77.8 ft.lbs) @ 8750 RPM |
| Compression | 11.3:1 |
| Bore x stroke | 98.0 x 66.0 mm (3.9 x 2.6 inches) |
| Valves per cylinder | 2 |
| Fuel system | Injection |
| Fuel control | Desmodromic valve control |
| Lubrication system | Wet sump |
| Cooling system | Liquid |
| Gearbox | 6-speed |
| Clutch | Multiplate in oil bath |
Chassis, suspension, brakes and wheels | |
| Frame type | Aluminium alloy with carbon fibre plates |
| Rake (fork angle) | 23.5° |
| Front tire | 120/70-ZR17 |
| Rear tire | 180/55-ZR17 |
| Front brakes | Double disc |
| Diameter | 320 mm (12.6 inches) |
| Rear brakes | Single disc |
| Diameter | 240 mm (9.4 inches) |
Physical measures and capacities | |
|---|---|
| Dry weight | 175.0 kg (385.8 pounds) |
| Power/weight ratio | 0.8149 HP/kg |
| Seat height | 810 mm (31.9 inches) If adjustable, lowest setting. |
| Wheelbase | 1390 mm (54.7 inches) |
| Fuel capacity | 21.00 litres (5.55 US gallons) |
Other specifications | |
| Color options | Silver/red |
| Starter | Electric |
See Maintenance Specs*
*Always verify maintenance and service data with the bike owner’s manual.
MORE PHOTOS OF BIMOTA SB8K GOBERT
PRICE AS NEW AND USED OF BIMOTA SB8K GOBERT
Private Price Guide
Price as new
REVIEWS AND COMMON PROBLEMS WITH 2006 BIMOTA SB8K GOBERT
BIMOTA SB8K History
The SB8K is a sportbike produced by the Italian company Bimota.
Following the company’s hiatus in the late 1990s financial crisis, the bike was added to the current lineup. The bike was constructed using a variety of light alloys and carbon fiber; the materials used in the chassis construction are the most advanced materials available today. Carbon fiber is used for the fairing as well as the fuel tank, which was built using the same techniques used to build parts for the Motorcycle Grand Prix racebike. Many parts of the SB8K are meticulously machined from aluminum alloy, which is a distinguishing feature of all classic and current Bimota products.
The “SB” series denotes that the engine beneath the bike frame was taken directly from the Suzuki TL1000R and has been fine-tuned by engineers to deliver more power and torque at all engine speeds.
The SB8K is the world’s only production bike to use Bimota’s own Radial Injector Fuel Injection (Radial EFI).
BIMOTA SB8K Full review
Bimota is finally back in business after a brief absence from the bike world. Bimota is getting back to basics with a small but focused team of specialists. There are no plans for mass production, but there will be a limited number of revolutionary and one-of-a-kind machines.
The SB8K is the first out, part of the old stock of parts and engines inherited by the new company. Bimota has cast its magic spell over the engine management system, performing remarkable feats in the process.
The current version of the Bimota SB8K engine is ingenious in eliminating the sloppy behavior of the donor TL1000 engine. Because of the modification in the Suzuki V-twin power plant, you’d be hard pressed to guess what propels this fantastic vehicle around the circuit. This is primarily due to Bimota’s most recent fuel injection technology, which uses a servo motor to drive the injector nozzles up and down within the bodies for more efficient fueling at all engine speeds.
The engine pulls strongly from low revs and maintains a flat curve all the way up to its maximum claimed power of 145bhp at 9000rpm. Even so, there’s a strong 1500rpm over-rev capability, with torque increasing well past the point where power begins to fade. There’s a powerful push through the mid-rev range that tempts a quick shift, but it’s worth holding on to since the power continues uninterrupted with a steady heady surge all the way to the redline. The bike is designed with the user in mind from the start, with what appears to be a direct link between the twist grip and the rear wheel.
This is the pinnacle of linear throttle response and is extremely useful, with no surprises in store for the unwary. The SB8K instills confidence from the start, encouraging you to put your head down and go for it. If this bike is anything like the one Anthony Gobert rode to a WSB victory back in 2000, it’s easy to see why he was so quick in the rain against the established front runners and those who are more likely to cross the line as victors.
We rode two distinct injected versions of the machine, one with 59mm throttle bodies and the current production version with 52mm things. The larger bodies are without a doubt the way to go; the smaller jobbies provided a softer power delivery but lacked the stonking top end panic and over-rev capability. The high-level, twin Termignoni pipes sound fantastic, and the tight Misano race circuit allowed the bike to be heard throughout every lap: fantastic stuff.
The Bimota guys claim they haven’t adjusted the TL engine, but it goes like hell, with a 20bhp increase in power and a solid, unbroken torque curve that the Suzuki design team would kill for. If it’s completely responsible for all of this, then new fuel injection system must be something extremely remarkable.
You can’t single out one aspect of the SB8K for special attention because it all works so nicely. All of this useful power would be meaningless without a strong chassis, and the SB8K radiates class and confidence in every aspect, bringing out the best in any rider’s skill. The Bimota chassis weighs 55 pounds less than the TL chassis and has 20 horsepower more.
With its bulbous tank, fairing, and wide bars, the bike appears to be a huge one from the pit lane. The seat height is a tad high for most people, but once on the road, the physical size becomes less of an issue.
Although perhaps a touch stiff for the road, the test bike was great for Misano’s billiard table smooth Santa Monica circuit, which featured rapid hairpin corners, tight chicanes, and sweeping, super fast double apex curves. Every component is top-notch; Brembo brakes and Paioli suspension at each end, while the Rimini-built aluminium and carbon fiber chassis keeps it all securely in place.
The brakes are fantastic, bringing the lightweight SB8K up in a flash, the rear wheel always a manageable inch or two out of line as you drop her in. The engine feels strong and capable of doing anything.
Bimota is on the rise, with solid financial backing and four additional models following the SB8K later this year. There are only fifty of the Gobert representatives planned, so act quickly if you want one. They will be available in showrooms in February.
The design will then continue with the new Santa Monica model, which will feature different suspension and detail fitment to the same chassis and motor unit, as well as a thousand pound price increase.
The bike has a very neutral feel to it, with every touch through the bars having a direct impact. The rigid build up prevented much feedback until you were really moving, but even so, the limited edition copy felt nice and was unlikely to bite the heavy handed.
Bimota is finally back in business after a brief absence from the bike world. Bimota is getting back to basics with a small but focused team of specialists. There are no plans for mass production, but there will be a limited number of revolutionary and one-of-a-kind machines.
The SB8K is the first out, part of the old stock of parts and engines inherited by the new company. Bimota has cast its magic spell over the engine management system, performing remarkable feats in the process.
The current version of the Bimota SB8K engine is ingenious in eliminating the sloppy behavior of the donor TL1000 engine. Because of the modification in the Suzuki V-twin power plant, you’d be hard pressed to guess what propels this fantastic vehicle around the circuit. This is primarily due to Bimota’s most recent fuel injection technology, which uses a servo motor to drive the injector nozzles up and down within the bodies for more efficient fueling at all engine speeds.
The engine pulls strongly from low revs and maintains a flat curve all the way up to its maximum claimed power of 145bhp at 9000rpm. Even so, there’s a strong 1500rpm over-rev capability, with torque increasing well past the point where power begins to fade. There’s a powerful push through the mid-rev range that tempts a quick shift, but it’s worth holding on to since the power continues uninterrupted with a steady heady surge all the way to the redline. The bike is designed with the user in mind from the start, with what appears to be a direct link between the twist grip and the rear wheel.
This is the pinnacle of linear throttle response and is extremely useful, with no surprises in store for the unwary. The SB8K instills confidence from the start, encouraging you to put your head down and go for it. If this bike is anything like the one Anthony Gobert rode to a WSB victory back in 2000, it’s easy to see why he was so quick in the rain against the established front runners and those who are more likely to cross the line as victors.
We rode two distinct injected versions of the machine, one with 59mm throttle bodies and the current production version with 52mm things. The larger bodies are without a doubt the way to go; the smaller jobbies provided a softer power delivery but lacked the stonking top end panic and over-rev capability. The high-level, twin Termignoni pipes sound fantastic, and the tight Misano race circuit allowed the bike to be heard throughout every lap: fantastic stuff.
The Bimota guys claim they haven’t adjusted the TL engine, but it goes like hell, with a 20bhp increase in power and a solid, unbroken torque curve that the Suzuki design team would kill for. If it’s completely responsible for all of this, then new fuel injection system must be something extremely remarkable.
You can’t single out one aspect of the SB8K for special attention because it all works so nicely. All of this useful power would be meaningless without a strong chassis, and the SB8K radiates class and confidence in every aspect, bringing out the best in any rider’s skill. The Bimota chassis weighs 55 pounds less than the TL chassis and has 20 horsepower more.
With its bulbous tank, fairing, and wide bars, the bike appears to be a huge one from the pit lane. The seat height is a tad high for most people, but once on the road, the physical size becomes less of an issue.
Although perhaps a touch stiff for the road, the test bike was great for Misano’s billiard table smooth Santa Monica circuit, which featured rapid hairpin corners, tight chicanes, and sweeping, super fast double apex curves. Every component is top-notch; Brembo brakes and Paioli suspension at each end, while the Rimini-built aluminium and carbon fiber chassis keeps it all securely in place.
The brakes are fantastic, bringing the lightweight SB8K up in a flash, the rear wheel always a manageable inch or two out of line as you drop her in. The engine feels strong and capable of doing anything.
Bimota is on the rise, with solid financial backing and four additional models following the SB8K later this year. There are only fifty of the Gobert representatives planned, so act quickly if you want one. They will be available in showrooms in February.
The design will then continue with the new Santa Monica model, which will feature different suspension and detail fitment to the same chassis and motor unit, as well as a thousand pound price increase.
The bike has a very neutral feel to it, with every touch through the bars having a direct impact. The rigid build up prevented much feedback until you were really moving, but even so, the limited edition copy felt nice and was unlikely to bite the heavy handed.
KNOWN 2006 BIMOTA SB8K GOBERT MODIFICATIONS AND TUNING
Modification 1 - Bimota SB8K Gobert MAGNUM Smart-Tune Motorcycle Fuel Tuner Performance Module
With the Smart-Tune-X power control chip module, you can boost the engine performance potential of your Bimota SB8K Gobert and say goodbye to lean factory programming. Our Bimota SB8K Gobert power tuner will increase the pony by 17% across the entire power curve and improve economy. This fuel programmer interfaces to the ECM via the engine sensors and calibrates the most precise performance tuning. A massive amount of potential horsepower lurks in your engine, waiting to be unleashed with our Smart-Tune-X power chip. With the Smart-Tune-X fuel tuner, you may put an end to the restricted factory settings.
Get it here:
Bimota SB8K Gobert MAGNUM Smart-Tune Motorcycle Fuel Tuner Performance Module (magnumtuning.com)
Modification 2 - Bimota SB8K Santamonica MAGNUM Dyno-Boost Motorcycle Performance Chip
With the Dyno-Boost fuel controller, you can unleash the maximum horsepower of your fuel-injected Bimota SB8K Santamonica and say goodbye to the sluggish OEM fuel map settings. This power control chip module optimizes your motor with a sophisticated fuel map to maximize the power of your Bimota SB8K Santamonica. With this adjustable performance piggyback, you’ll not only have more vigor, but you’ll also have 15% more performance capability and torque. This well-known fuel management chip remaps the lean stock fuel injection timing limits imposed by manufacturer regulations.
Get it here:
Bimota SB8K Santamonica MAGNUM Dyno-Boost Motorcycle Performance Chip (magnumtuning.com)
Modification 3 - Wire mod
Typical disclaimer—- Your warranty may be voided as a result of this. I’m not responsible if you mess something up. Take your time and do it properly. After you finish the mod, start your bike and take voltage readings from a meter at the battery for idle and at 4K rpm’s for reference.
Before the modification, the voltage was 13.4V at idle and 12.7V at 4K rpm.
14.56V at idle, 14.47V at 4-5K rpm after modification
All voltages were measured using a real Voltmeter. In my tests, my dash voltmeter readout is.5 volts lower than the reading taken at the battery with a real voltmeter. Carlos’ dash readout was about.6 volts off from the voltmeter.
Summary. You will connect four wires to the rectifier’s white plug. When finished, two of the wires you add will connect to the negative battery terminal via a ring connector, and the other two will connect to a fuse block (30 amp fuse), which will then be connected to the positive battery terminal via the ring connector you add. The wires will be connected to the male side of the white connector, or the side with the “spades.” 14ga wire was used. After you’ve modified the white plug, you’ll do a quick and easy modification to your “Brown” plug to remove excessive resistance/heat from that connector. Remove your tail section fairing as a quick test. Start the motorcycle. Allow it to idle for 3-4 minutes before touching the yellow wires on the brown plug’s non-rectifier side. ARE YOU SURE? Crimp connectors are useless without solder because the resistance is incredible, and resistance converts to heat, which could melt the plug or, worse, start a fire one day. When we examined Carlo’s brown plug, we discovered that the yellow wires had become extremely hard, and the yellow insulation had turned a brown color due to the excessive heat……
Now it’s time to get into the mods.
Remove your seat, then the 8 bolts that hold the tail fairing in place, and finally the tail fairing, revealing the plugs, wires, and rectifier. To sit it aside, you’ll need to remove the lock cable from the tail fairing.
Before you touch anything, disconnect the battery’s negative terminal (black) and set it aside. Do not install the new 30Amp fuse in the new fuse block until you have completed all of the work and are ready to connect everything.
14ga wire is required.
A single fuse block with a 30 amp fuse.
The voltmeter
Electrical crimping/wire stripping pliers
1 crimp-ring connector in blue (12-14 ga size)
1 crimp-ring connector in yellow (10-12 ga size)
Solder and soldering iron or torch (The torch is the easiest to use.)
Electrical tape and shrink wrap
A screwdriver with a small blade and a pointy tool, such as an ice pick
a sharp knife and a pair of scissors
needle-nose pliers
A clip made of alligator. It’s useful for holding the wire to the spade while soldering.
1 sanding cone/stone tip dremel tool
I purchased red wire for the positive wires that I added (2) and black wire for the negative wires that I added (2). 14ga in any color. I wanted it color coded so I could remember which battery terminal to connect to when finished, and it just makes sense to use a standard color scheme. 2 feet and a half of red wire and 2 feet and a half of black wire This is longer than you require, but you can trim them later. I ran all four wires up through the existing rubber sleeve/loom where the stock wires go, and they will exit directly behind the battery! So one end of the four wires will be hanging out by the plug and the other end will be hanging out over the battery area.
Twist the two black wire ends you just passed through the wire loom on the battery side together (obviously having stripped some insulator off the ends of the wires so the actual wire is exposed). Then, insert them into the blue ring connector. Crimp the connector, then solder it to the ring connector. When you’ve finished the mod and are ready to reconnect everything, connect this to the negative terminal.
Then, on the battery side, twist the two red wires you just passed through the loom and solder them to one end of the new fuse block you’re installing. Don’t forget to wrap the wires in shrink wrap before soldering them. After soldering the two ends of the red wires to the new fuse block, place shrink wrap over the solder joint and shrink it down to cover it up. I used a blade style fuse block to ensure that I only needed blade style fuses because that is what the stock system uses. When finished, you place a 30 Amp fuse in this fuse block. You could use a glass or barrel style fuse block, but that would require two types of spares to carry around, and blade style fuses are less vulnerable than glass barrel fuses. Make certain that whatever fuse block you use is watertight.
Now, take the other end of the new fuse block you’re installing and insert it into the yellow connector, crimp it down, and solder it in place, just like you did with the ring connector on the two black wires. I purchased a fuse block with a wire gauge of 12 gauge. Use the appropriate ring connector size if yours is smaller or larger.
Bottom line, for the best results, solder all connections.
DO NOT YET CONNECT ANYTHING TO THE BATTERY!
Now it’s time to modify the white plug——-
Shrink wrap will not be used here. When re-inserting the spades into the plug after adding the wires, shrink wrap takes up too much space. So I wrapped each modded wire set (existing wire plus the one new one I just sdded to it) with electrical tape one at a time AFTER I HAD THEM PROPERLY RE-INSERTED AND SEATED TO THE CORRECT DEPTH IN THE PLUG.
You will now connect the other ends of the four wires you added to the loom, one at a time, to the existing wires in the white plug on the spade or male side of the plug. On the male or spade side of the connector, I added one wire to the red/blk(+) and red/blue(-) wires coming from the white connector. I took them out one at a time and soldered them.
Look inside the plug for a small tongue or lever on the blade of each spade. It’s a retainer clip. You can push it down with a small flat blade screw driver or ice pick so the wire can be easily pulled out of the connector. Remember to connect the two new red wires to the two existing red/blk(+) wires in the plug and the two new black wires to the two existing red/blu(-) wires in the plug.
After you’ve removed one, place the corresponding new wire on top of the crimp. It is helpful to have two people on hand, one to hold the spade and new wire while the other solders. Needle noses are useful for this. Because I was doing it by myself, I used an alligator clip to keep the wire in place on the spade while I soldered. You want to get solder all over the wire and crimp for good connectivity/conductivity, but not too much. It’s a tight fit to get it back into the plug, so use the dremel to trim it down if you have too much solder. As I previously stated, it is a tight fit because you are adding wire, but they will fit well if you do not over solder.
It will be difficult to replace the spade. Reach into the plug with the needle nose pliers and pull the spade back into place. Make sure you pull it in far enough so that when you reattach it to the female side, it makes a proper connection. This is why I did them one at a time, so I could use the unmodified spades as a gauge to ensure I was inserting the modified spade far enough into the plug to make a good connection when finished. It will take some effort to pull it back in. It is critical to get it into the correct depth for a good connection.
Repeat the process for the remaining three wires. Again, take your time and ensure that the new red wires are connected to the existing red/blk (+) wires and the new black wires are connected to the existing red/blu (-) wires.
After you’ve added the new wires to each existing wire and re-inserted them into the plug to the proper depth, wrap the wires with electrical tape to clean up/finish the plug mod.
Connect the white plug to ensure it fits properly after you’ve added all four wires, wrapped them with tape, and everything looks good. You can now install the 30 Amp fuse in the newly added fuse block.
To fully ensure the system’s integrity, remove the female side of the white plug (4 female spades) and solder each of them. Unplug the white connector/plug once more and do them one at a time, using the others as a gauge to ensure you’re re-inserting them to the proper depth when you put them back in. You are simply soldering the crimps. As you are finished adding wires and such, it should only take a couple of minutes to finish the job the factory should have done.
DO NOT JOIN THE BATTERY TERMINALS YET; WE NEED TO MOD THE BROWN PLUG RIGHT NOW. This mod has nothing to do with voltage gain; rather, since you’ve removed the tail fairing and disconnected the battery, it’s a good idea to do it.
The brown plug on the rectifier also has “crimp” connectors, which have a high resistance and generate a lot of heat. Many Futuras and other 00-03 Aprilias get so hot that the plugs begin to melt or mis-form. NOT AT ALL! Mine appeared to be in good condition, but the wires at the connector had become extremely stiff due to the excessive heat. Examine the brown plug from the rectifier. All this modification entails is applying solder to the crimp connectors on the male or spade side of the connector. I’m not kidding when I say that fucker gets extremely hot.
In the case of Carlos’ plug, in addition to the yellow insulator discoloration and wire stiffening, the little brown plastic wire keeper in the plug had melted to the spade, making it nearly impossible to remove the wires to add solder. IF THIS IS THE CASE, BUY 3 NEW BARREL CONNECOTRS, REMOVE THE BROWN PLUG, AND CONNECT THE WIRES ONE BY ONE VIA THE NEW CONNECOTRS. This way, if necessary, you can remove the rectifier in the future. Alternatively, you could solder the wires together one set at a time to remove the heat/resistance from the stock connector.
I was able to remove my spades from my brown plug, so I used the “additional solder to the crimp” method.
So I removed one yellow wire at a time from the male side of the plug and soldered the spade and wire together. You must first pry a white piece out of the plug, then use a small flat screw driver or an ice pick to pry open the little keeper inside the plug that holds the spade in place.
Once you’ve removed one wire, hold it up/vertically so the solder can run down into the crimp. Make sure all three are soldered, then replace the plug and the white keeper piece. THIS DOESN’T REQUIRE MUCH SOLDER. ENOUGH TO MAINTAIN A GOOD CONNECTION BETWEEN THE WIRE AND THE CRIMP.
When you’ve finished the male side, repeat the process with the yellow wires on the rectifier side of the brown plug. Same thing, just solder the crimps and replace them in the plug.
Following the completion of the brown plug mod. Confirm that the 30Amp fuse has been added to the new fuse block. Assemble all connectors, then connect the new red wires from the new fuse block to the battery’s positive or red terminal using the ring connector you added.
Then connect the new black wires to the battery’s negative or black terminal. All of your dash functions will have to be reset. Technically, you could connect the two black or negative wires you added to any good grounding point, such as a bolt in the frame. For the sake of simplicity, I added them to the negative terminal.
You are now ready to begin and check your voltages. Take another reading on the battery with a meter at idle and 4K rpm’s. Contrast this with your pre-mod readings. You should make a nice profit. Remember that AGM batteries prefer 14.5 volts nominally, which is what you should now be getting at idle and 4000 rpm.
Grab those yellow wires after 3-4 minutes of idling, NO HEAT ON THOSE WIRES THAT WOULD BURN MY HAND BEFORE! It’s amazing how much solder on those spades cured that CRAPPY JOB FROM ITALY. The wires used on one side (the hot side) are clearly too small in gauge, and when combined with a crimp-only connector, you get HEAT and resistance.
So now I have good voltage in the charging system and the excess heat has been removed from that connector. One final note on the brown plug. Yellow wire is used on both sides. The reccy side is traditional bright yellow, and it is the female side connectors; you solder to the other side of the plug, or the male side with the spades, and those wires are more of a washed out yellow or faded yellow color.
Tricks and hints
For the white plug modifications, Unless you are a master solderer (which I am not), I used my dremel to clean off the excess solder so that the wires could be reinserted into the connectors after I added wire. When you go to put the spade back into the connector with the new wire added, it is a tight fit, so keep your soldering as clean and small as possible, but COMPLETE!!!! Instead of pushing the spades back into the connector, I used the needle nose to pull them in to their original depth. Make sure all of your spades are in the proper depth and alignment so that you can mate properly when you reattach the plug. Also, solder the crimps on the rectifier side of the plug so that you now have wires on the male or harness side of the plug and good soldered female crimp connectors on the rectifier side of the plug.
You only need a small amount of solder to the area where the wire comes out of the crimp on the SPADE side of the crimp for the Brown plug mod. I held the wire up to allow the solder to flow into the crimp connection. Again, not much is required. Because the solder is within the crimp, these spades should fit right back in.
Do it, you will gain voltage and reduce heat to the system. Long term reliability and increased battery life without needing a trickle charger except for maybe long term storage and winter months.
AKRAPOVIC, DYNOJET, K&N OR OHLINS?
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*All motorcycle specifications (also called SPECS) on our pages are provided by the respective manufacturers.
**Motobase reccomends to install your tuning parts and modifications only at authorized workshops.
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