The new brand count goes on for the Cayenne Group with the recent landing of the famous Italian Bimota brand for Southern Africa.
“The Bimota built machines are very popular in South Africa and have been for some time now” said Craig Langton The plan is to rebuild the brand in this country. ”
“We will be importing the full Bimota range including the exclusive BB3 powered by the BMW S 1000 RR power plant” he went on to say
The Bimota brand adds to the Cayenne Groups list of famous Italian motor cycles joining MV Agusta and Beta, this latest acquisition grows their brand tally to 8 with more to come according to sources.
Cayenne Kyalami is a very successful Honda dealer with the group having its own brands as well these being the Hyosung, Johnny Pag, Kuberg, Norton, Beta, MV Agusta and now Bimota.
Bimota is a small, Italian manufacturer of custom and production motorcycles. It was founded in 1973 in Rimini, Italy by Bianchi, Morri and Tamburini how it all started is a very interesting story.
In September 1972, Massimo Tamburini crashed his Honda 750 Four at the Misano racetrack. The accident left him with three broken ribs. If the accident hadn't occurred, Bimota may never have come into existence. While Massimo was recuperating, he constructed a tubular steel frame that could withstand the horsepower being produced by the big Japanese manufacturer's engines. The frame Massimo constructed lowered the centre of gravity and reduced the weight of the original Honda. With the creation of the HB1, the Bimota was born. Only ten of these first motor cycles were ever produced.
The Bimota name was derived from its founder's initials; Bianchi, Morri and Tamburini. However, it was the enthusiasm and engineering excellence of Massimo Tamburini that carried the Company to success. In the 1970’s, Bimota produced racing frames that caught the attention of serious bike racers. Frames such as the YB1, YB2, YB3 and HDB1, HDB2 and SB1, were of superior quality and the perception of what a racing bike should be was changed forever.
Bimota discovered a new market niche in 1977. The Company began to produce exclusive high performance bikes. Some of these bikes were sold in the form of kits. However, the development of the KB1, that is legendary today, marked the point where Bimota began the journey to commercial success.
The small Bimota factory still located in Rimini was very successful during the 1980’s, as was the Company's record on the track. Bimota also began to produce dream road machines during this time.
In 1983, Massimo Tamburini left Bimota. A talented young engineer by the name of Frederico Martini filled his position. Martini had worked with Ducati and brought with him a wealth of experience that allowed him to take Bimota to new heights. He led the Company to develop, produce and use basic concepts that he had developed at Ducati. These were used at Bimota during the 1990’ s.
Bimota produced several models during the 1980’s, including the HB2, HB3, SB3, SB4, SB5, YB4ie, YB6, YB6 Tuatara, YB6 Exup, DB1se, DB1rs, KB2 and KB3.
Martini took Bimota to new heights at the racetrack. In 1980, South African Jon Ekerold rode to victory in the 350 cc championship. In 1987, Virginio Ferrari rode an YB4R to victory at the TT F1 World Championship.
When the new decade of the 1990’s arrived, Frederico Martini left Bimota. Pierluigi Marconi took his place as Technical Director. Marconi had collaborated with Martini as a student and he had great technical insight. He directed Bimota to produce bikes with aircraft alloy frames.
Under Marconi's supervision, Bimota produced over 16 new machines the YB8, YB8e, YB8 Furano, DB2, DB2sv, DB2ef, DB3 Mantra, YB9 Bellaria, YB9sri, YB10, YB10 biposto, SB6, SB6R, SB7, SB8R, Supermono and others. The model that showed Marconi's genius and innovation, as well as the superior quality of Bimota was the hub steered TESI 1D. It was created in a wide range of forms that included the 1D, 1DSR, 1DES and 1DEF.
In 1993, the last remaining founder of Bimota, Giuseppe Morri left the Company. Walter Martini filled his position of General Manager. Bimota doubled its production under Martini's leadership. 1,250 bikes were produced in 1995.
Bimota celebrated its 25th Anniversary in 1996 at the Santamonica track in Misano. Fans from all over the world flocked to the track for the celebrations. As the 90’s decade drew to a close, the first all-Bimota bike went from development to the production line. It was the 500 Vdue, designed by Robbiano. The bike, engineered by Marconi, was created for the road as a Moto GP machine
Customer's demands for the 500 Vdue that was powered by the 500 cc twin-cylinder Bimota engine were high. This lead the Company to deliver bikes before the model had been fully developed. All of the bikes had to be recalled, which left Bimota in a financial crisis.
By 2000, Bimota was under new management and the future of the Company looked promising. New models were popular and were displayed at the most prestigious motorcycle shows around the world.
During this time, the top model at Bimota was the SB8R. It was produced in both carbon fibre and fiberglass versions. Bimota had returned to its roots with an innovative frame that carried a powerful Suzuki engine. After being absent from the racetrack for eleven years, Bimota returned. It took part in the Superbike World Championship. Virginio Ferrari managed the racing team. Technical Director was Franco Farne. Anthony Gobert was in the saddle of the new race Bimota it was classified 12th in both the first and second race at Kyalami, South Africa and ended up winning. Shortly after that Anthony Gobert rode to victory the Australian GP on Philip Island - two great victories for Bimota and great come back to racing for the brand.
Even though the results of these two races were amazing, Bimota found itself in dire financial straits once again. The Vdue engine project that had been started in the 1990s went terribly wrong. The Bimota factory went into bankruptcy and the factory closed.
Fortunately, Bimota was able to regain its footing and get back into production in 2003, after many attempts to do so. Under new management, both the Bimota name and the Company traditions were revived. Today, Bimota is once again producing legendary bikes that have innovative design, winning the Motorcycle Design Award in the Supersport category at the Intermot Show. It was won with the Company's popular DB5 model. This recent award is the latest addition to their huge Bimota trophy wall at the fully revived and modified Remini factory.
The future looks good for Bimota and the brand is back in business and well on their way to a successful future.
