Tag

Bimota

Browsing

In addition to leaking us a plethora of photos and details about the Bimota BX450 enduro model (the first dirt bike from the Italian brand), our Bothan spies tell us to expect another debut at EICMA from this iconic motorcycle brand.

As such, we are getting indications that the third pillar to Bimota’s on-road lineup will be more of an adventure-sport machine, and use the supercharged inline-four engine found on the Bimota Tesi H2.

With semi-active suspension, a variable ride height, and probably more horsepower than you can shake a stick at, the Bimota Tera has the ingredients to be the King Kong of the ADV space.

Another EICMA show is on the horizon in Italy, so that means no sleep for the wicked and our Bothan spies, as they scour the corners of Milan for information about next year’s bikes – ahead of their official release.

Already it seems that Bimota is going to be the talk of the show, as the boutique Italian brand is making a foray into the off-road world, first with a limited-series Kawasaki-powered enduro.

Dubbed the Bimota BX450, this enduro model is an intriguing offering. The power plant comes from the 2023 Kawasaki KX450X “cross-country” dirt bike, and we can see that much of the chassis comes from the green machine as well.

That makes sense considering Kawasaki’s sizable investment in Bimota, and the obvious ability to tune an already stout package. Bimota takes the trail bike and adds a proper headlight, tail light, and larger fuel tank to the offering.

Looking beyond the surface, we understand that Bimota has also added a robust electronics package to the green machine, offering an adjustable traction control setup and selectable throttle maps.

A fatter 140/80 profile 18″ rear tire is another change, and it is mated to 80/100 profile 21″ front tire – both featuring Metzeler 6 Days Extreme rubber.

For more details, we will have to wait for Bimota’s official unveiling at the 2022 EICMA Show, but if our report of a possible ADV model is true, then it is an exciting day to see the Bimota brand getting its feet dirty.

Source: Bothan Spies – More photos and analysis available below to our A&R Pro readers.

The Bimota workshop in Rimini is hard at work. The Italian brand debuted two new bikes at this year’s EICMA show, the KB4 and KB4 RC, both based off the Ninja 1000 four-cylinder platform.

However, it is the craziness that is the Bimota Tesi H2 that is putting the Italian marque back on the map, help by the machine’s supercharged 228hp wedged into hub-center steering chassis with avant-garde carbon fiber bodywork.

Now, Bimota is set to follow-up that hub-center steering madness with another “Tesi” model, this time one that’s focused on the adventure/touring segment.

The folks over in Rimini have been quiet lately, likely hard at work on getting the Bimota Tesi H2 out the door after its delay during the pandemic.

We have covered the supercharged motorcycle with its hub-center steering a bit already, and day’s news turns to what will be Bimota’s second motorcycle since its rebirth, the Bimota KB4.

Finally caught in its final form, we can see what this retro-inspired machine will look like, once its paint has dried.

The arrival date of the Bimota Tesi H2 is getting closer, so it doesn’t surprise us that today a Bothan spy dropped off these photos in our inbox, showing the supercharged sport bike in its final production form.

Not too much has changed since we first saw the Bimota Tesi H2 at the EICMA show in 2019, as the basic lines from the Italian boutique have remained throughout the machine.

The bike is still built around the Kawasaki Ninja H2 power plant, with the addition of an iconic and unique hub-center steering design chassis, which itself is clad with carbon fiber bodywork.

We are deeply pleased to see that the Bimota brand is back in the motorcycle game, and already the Italian manufacturer has some interesting models for us to see. 

The Bimota Tesi H2 is a bonkers supercharged sport bike with a hub-center steering chassis design, whereas the Bimota KB4 promises to be more retro-modern in its approach to a full fairing street bike.

Caught getting fuel in Rimini by the eagle-eyes at Young Machine, we get a good glimpse of the KB4 ahead of its official debut (which we assume is later this year, during the new bike season and trade shows).

It didn’t take long for Bimota to respond to stories about its next model, the Bimota KB4, as the Italian manufacturer has released two photos of the bike on its Facebook page…sort of.

The photos are purposefully blurred, thus obfuscating many of the bike’s details, but we can see that the round retro-styled headlight from the concept drawings is still a prominent feature on the KB4.

The Bimota story is about to get another chapter added to its pages, this time in the form of the the Bimota KB4 motorcycle.

It seems like a lifetime ago since we first heard about the KB4, though the bike was only briefly talked about at the EICMA show in Milan, just a handful of months ago.

An eventful week for the Italian brand, the headline for EICMA was Kawasaki’s purchasing of 49.9% of Bimota’s stock, and the unveiling of the Bimota Tesi H2.

While the Tesi H2 was on display for all to see, and was very provocative with its hub-center steering layout and supercharged inline-four engine, there was also a very quiet murmur about a second bike that would come from the business acquisition, the Bimota KB4.

One of the most polarizing motorcycles released at the 2019 EICMA show in Milan, the Bimota TesiH2 started impassioned conversations just by mentioning its name.

Maybe that doesn't surprise us though, as the controversial motorcycle represents a crack in time for the Italian brand, as it is reborn with the green euros from Kawasaki Europe.

Pivotal moments in a motorcycle company's history should be historic motorcycles in their own right, and it is hard to think how a supercharged two-wheeler with a hub-center steering chassis can't burn its place into Bimota's story.

If you can't tell, I fall into the camp that loves this motorcycle (though, I will admit there aspects of the machine that I do not care for), but overall I love the audacity of the Bimota TesiH2 - and it is for this reason for which Kawasaki invested in the boutique Italian brand.

To continue reading this story, you need to have an A&R Pro subscriber account. If you have an A&R Pro account, you can login here.