Bimota Forum

[vort28]

Saturday saw me with some garage time available due to bad weather and the girlie being away , and as Sunday was mean't to be OK , I thought I would finish checking and PDI'ing the SM for its first ride since it was built 8 yrs ago.
Sunday arrived, dry but cloudy , and after the initial problems of starting for the SVA test , with a new set of plugs in , she started up fine . Few last minute checks, everything tight, all electrics working, full tank, it was off to see if she was worth the £ paid.
Initial thoughts were the TL motor is a bit rough down low , had a bit of a bark , but not quite a Ducati, and missing some of the character, but can't say what.
Bike feels ok size wise for my 6ft frame, bit on the big side and the 180kg's are all apparent , even though I have removed/replaced all I can with titanium or alloy, except exhaust well not yet anyway.
Few miles under the belt, and now with a whole full 10 miles on the clock, there was a quick stop at the end of the dual carraige way and a final look over followed by a shake and a waggle of cycle parts to ensure nothing was going to fall off as I headed into country roads.
Motor still noticably a twin, but smoothing out as the revs rise , and the noise from the hugh sealed airbox/inlets increase's with revs. Still nervous of the 6yr old rubber ( power pure's on order but thought I would run motor in with originals), 4.5k rpm good for 80 mph and the ride seems harsh on the country road surface. Corner confidence is building with the bedding in of new brakes/disc's/tyre's etc, and now 20 miles on the clock and still bike is 100% complete.
Still limiting myself to 5k rpm, so motor not going to show its true form, but corner speeds and angles are definately increasing, and whether its me or just the riding position of the bike, but this things seems to know no bounds on the lean angle, feels like I could get my chin on the ground.
Corners come and go, smooth ones, rough ones, but nothing seems to upset the Ohlins or push her off line. This is one sweet handling bike.

This has been a dream bike since I first saw one in NLM in 2004, and I have to say, although it seems to have all purple wiring that scare's the living crap out of me in case they go wrong, I will take the risk for now.

20 miles later , and back home for a check over, and WOW, only one fairing dzus fastener missing, and one loose foot rest ( noticed 5 miles previous) , but not bad for a Bimota maiden ride I thought !!

[crankcase]

good to hear that it's all paying off, nice one
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Bimota DB2 tricolore, Bimota YB4e.i, Ducati 851 tricolore, Ducati Hailwood Replica, 1968 Gitan Grillo sport, Yamaha GTS1000, Honda Deauville, Honda GB500 Clubman
http://thecrankcase.com

[crankcase]

good to hear that it's all paying off, nice one
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Bimota DB2 tricolore, Bimota YB4e.i, Ducati 851 tricolore, Ducati Hailwood Replica, 1968 Gitan Grillo sport, Yamaha GTS1000, Honda Deauville, Honda GB500 Clubman
http://thecrankcase.com

[2bims]

Almost missed this post, strange to see you posting in the SB series without it being a 4 cylinder

8 year old bike, 6 year old tyres? not really an issue, as yours haven't been run first removing the protective coating, THEN sat for 6/8 years.

Besides to scriub in takes a 100 miles and the bike and tyres could be a year or 2 older by that time

[Pompey]

Hope it feels worth it Vort. I get the same thoughts when I jump from the modern Triumph which does everything so easy onto the old dukes. You have to be nailing the dukes to feel their true character and then its worth every drop of blood sweat and tears.
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Pomps
Bimota's Db2, Db5 ,Ducati's 851' 92, 888' 93, Honda blade' 93, Triumph speed triple' 07, kawasaki zxr 750 k1

[vort28]

[brian]

[vort28]

[GeeKay]

interesting first impressions there Stuart - mirrors almost exactly what I felt first time I rode my SB8R - harsh suspension, top-heavy feel, ponderous steering that felt like it would drop the bike in any corner.
All that changed when I got up to speed - fabulous motor (once mine was sorted with the PC3 and dyno time), unflinchable steering and cornering capability way beyond my modest limits. Only thing that failed on mine was the taillamp bulb - a recurring problem only solved by fitting an LED unit from a Yam scooter.
Enjoy!!
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Bimota SB6 and Benelli TNT 899S road bikes.
Beta Techno trials iron. Project bikes:- Suzuki V4 500, TS185 cafe racer, XR11/71, Kettle/Katana, TDRGV250, OR50, Gag125,Triumph T595 and a Triumph X75 Hurricane replica.
Too many projects...............

[vort28]

Hopefully the SM will not suffer from the same fueling issues as he 8R, as it seems that the ability for dyno shops to change the ecu is ZERO. I could sit and watch those shower injectors doing their thing all day
Bike running mighty rich at the moment , but hopefully that will clear when I can get the revs up.
Just need for it to stop raining so I can get some more road time.

[akito-man]

Geekay- i think it depends on what you came off prior to the 8, but as for fueling on the sm, them extra injectors smooth out a lot, hope you enjoy the sm vort, and looking forward to reading more of the big twin!
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wot you got ?...me..well--
sb8r,98 R1,aprilla factory peg,gl1100aspencade!oh yes ford rs turbo s2 ,coz fast bikes n fast cars go together!

[vort28]

Think I should have bought a jet ski, all it seems to do is rain these days. : Need some sunny days to put some more mileage on the SM motor
How you getting on with your 8 akito ?

[akito-man]

Its samey sorta here too mate, wot with my shoulder getting better day by day, i got out on a sunny day on friday , but only done 40 mile as it was too sore, but yes! Ive re- fitted the tunnel pipe , so the rear number plate/indy hanger looks freaky, and ive seen the trellis hangers you can get from bimota for later models, ive toyed with making my own carbon one and ive found a company that would bespoke one, but do a generic carbon one/ nice too /good price! And no leaks from my clutch cover!
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wot you got ?...me..well--
sb8r,98 R1,aprilla factory peg,gl1100aspencade!oh yes ford rs turbo s2 ,coz fast bikes n fast cars go together!

[vort28]

Another 50miles under the belt and she is still getting better.
After a few hundred miles on the BD4 over the weekend the SM feels so much more like a complete bike. OK not taken it down any serious country roads and not really breaking many road laws yet, but feels very well mannered. Just got to get another few hundred miles on her to see how she really goes. Probably be just in time for winter. given the amount of sunny days we have.