Well, finally got around to downloading and editing all the pics...
Right after visiting Ducati in the morning, we drove to Rimini from Bologna (approx. 1+ hour - at Italian-style driving speeds!) to see Bimota.
Navigating Italy was a nightmare without the GPS. The "Tomtom" - the brand of the GPS over in Europe - decided to not work that morning (and for the rest of the trip!) but fortunately the contact person at Bimota was nice enough to give me detailed directions to a meeting place over the phone and then drove to meet us there.
The Bimota factory (which has been in the same spot since it was first established over 30 years ago) in a very unassuming neighbour hood - looking from outside, it could be easily mistaken as just any office / warehouse in a sleepy residential area of town. There's no big sign announcing this is Bimota, just a Bimota sticker on the buzzer and a small logo on the outside of the building.
Our guide, who also happens to be the financial controller(!), kindly showed us into the small foyer, where a Tesi 1D EF (serial #001 as I have been told), a Tesi 3D (must be a protoype test version as the tires have been nicely scrubbed in - right up to the edges), a DB5 and a DB6 proudly sits. A KB1 is nicely tucked away in the side corridor.
We first visited the assembly floor which is located on the top floor. The rows of DB5s, DB6s, and Tesi 3D (plus the odd Tesi 2D) are enough to make the most hardened non-bike person salivate!! Each technician follows the bike from start till finish and the production is approx. 2 bikes per day. As most of the parts are sourced from smaller suppliers, it is not uncommon to have to stop production half way and wait for more parts to arrive - there were 3 Tesi 3Ds that were half assembled waiting for parts to be put on.
Along the walls of the stair well are lined with poster boards documenting the history of Bimota from different eras - all the wins and milestones. Would be awesome if Bimota published a set of those!
The first floor are the administrative departments. Back on the ground floor, we went to the back, where the R&D and repairment department is located. We took a peep into the R&D and had a quick glimpse of the DB7 (this was before the DB7 was officially unveiled). Outside in the hallway was the legendary #501 bike of Gobert (yes, the ACTUAL Gobert bike!) and a V-Due.
Further along, there were a bunch of bikes - SB8K Santamonica, Tesi 2D...etc. - waiting to be repaired. Hmmm...maybe I can get a refurbished one for cheap?
Then there's the "secret protoype" DB7 prank which they slapped a DB7 on an old Bimota (don't know what model?) that belongs to one of the staff.
Too bad I didn't have enough cash (or credit!) to pay for a Tesi 3D, but I DID get a Bimota Tesi 3D
watch.
Sadly, the time has come for us to leave, but I was excited that I would be seeing the DB7 at the show the next day. That and I got myself a Bimota Tesi 3D that I can wear on my wrist!
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