Bimota SB1

[dnovo]

The second of two fully restored and roughly contemporary Bimota GP bikes, this one specially commissioned by Suzuki Italy as a series to house their water cooled 500cc two stroke race engine:











Of course, whenever Bimota built anything, for the track or the street, their metal work was pure art, as this detail shot reveals:



Dave

[henk155]

did you start this one all ready up?
it must make quite some noise i guess.

henk!!!

[dnovo]

Start or run? It runs just fine, but any replacement parts are nonexistent. We plan on display and shows only for this bike. The YB3, on the other hand, uses an engine/gearbox that has parts available for it, so we are planning on running that bike for demo laps and historic events. Dave

[Catimann]

There comes a time where almost all old bikes will be that way, no parts available!
The thing is that one can make almost everything that was made before so should we stop riding them just because it may break? Is there a difference between "It broke and you can not ride it" and "I don't ride it because there are no parts to fix it" Either way you are not riding it and that is a shame for the pleasure of the ride. Maybe I'm wrong, just my thoughts.

[The Saint]

Originally Posted by Catimann

There comes a time where almost all old bikes will be that way, no parts available!
The thing is that one can make almost everything that was made before so should we stop riding them just because it may break? Is there a difference between "It broke and you can not ride it" and "I don't ride it because there are no parts to fix it" Either way you are not riding it and that is a shame for the pleasure of the ride. Maybe I'm wrong, just my thoughts.

Interesting point of view. But when you have 70+ other bikes in the garage - many of them more enjoyable to ride - it probably doesn't matter...

[bevel450]

Originally Posted by The Saint

Interesting point of view. But when you have 70+ other bikes in the garage - many of them more enjoyable to ride - it probably doesn't matter...

Always easy to say that someone should be doing something with something they own....and of course we would do it better.

It is amazing that this collection was achieved at all, and that we would expect the owner to cough up the operating budget for all 70+ is just unreasonable in my view. I've seen many car/auto collections that purport to have all vehicles in running condition, but few actually are so. It is a MASSIVE effort.

70 bikes in running condition ? Wow...they would have to be someone constantly changing out the tires just to keep them in spec alone ! Not to mention the fuel systems.....

I say bravo for his efforts !

[dnovo]

Couple of responses: First, the 'if it can be ridden it should be' as to the SB1, that reflects a lack of knowledge of both the bike and the concept. True GP bikes are a rara avis. The Japanese GP racers rarely left factory hands. They were either scrapped after the season, kept for the factory museum, or, on very rare occasions, to a team rider such as Sheene or Hailwood. The latter is the source of the tiny handful found today outside of the factory museums in Japan.

The British and Italian GP bikes went from the original teams to privateers to amatuers to novice riders, etc. They were destroyed in track accidents, rebuilt, modified, or used up. Finding one, such as my SB1 and YB3, in original condition and in a form where they had NOT b een modified in a time piece that needs to be preserved.

"No, take it out and run it to show that you are real macho."

Bat Puckey!!

I was around the vintage racing car scene some years ago and owned a piece of a restoration shop. I did the engine work, someone else did body, electrical, someone else paint, etc. I saw too many twits who would take out a rare and beautiful vintage racer and get over their head or do something stupid, just so they could show up at a track and preen in front of a crowd of complete strangers. (My favorite was the doctor who brought his newly restored Porsche 917 to Elkhart Lake, and decided to rev up the engine in the pits so the admiring crowd could hear that flat 12 clear its throat. He reved it way up. The stone cold engine scattered itself all over the place on the fifth trip up to 8,000 rpm. Very impressive, very expensive, and a terrible insult to a car that deserved better.)

So no, I don't need to squeeze myself onto this bike, which is far beyond my capacity to ride as intneded just to say, "look at me" or to say, "I ride everything I own." The latter is simply an exercise in ego, and at my age and having spent most of my life on or around motorcycles, I don't need this indulgence.

As for maintaining the collection in running order, I do some of the work myself. Next, Wisconsin Motorcycle Museum, which is the collection as of 1/1/10, is housed with its sister company, MotoRider LLC. MotoRider is a service and parts/apparel/race and road prep full time business in the saem 10,000 sq.ft operation as the Museum run by my partner, a former racer/shop manager/superb mechanic along with another wrench who maintains the collection as an integral part of the business. One of the attractions for the shop is seven day a week service where customers can view the collection, watch race videos, and read up on the bikes in the collection.

Dave

[Cstonerfan]

Well at the last Hystoric Nationals one of these was campaigned in the National event!


and so was this one + many more exsotic strokers and english exotica.

wonderfull to see these being "raced"
what about this one, very fast indeed and expertly driven and fettled!


The Boys "back in Black" from the WEST at there very best,with the ultimate twin,awsome piece of engineering! sadly the gearbox gave in.

and guess who was there, a 4 times world champion winner!

[dnovo]

So? I am 62, raced actively in four wheel in the late 60s, damn near won Daytona in under 2 litre until my co-driver/sponsor/owner trashed the box in the 906, raced vintage in the 80s and 90s and no longer want to campaign a bike. I still track my Lotus Exige 260. My point was that just because I owned a GP bike I did not need to run it to prove my manhood.

Yes there are some who run them and campaign them. Team Obsolete ran the four cycl MVs, and other very exepensive exotics. Bless them, and all sincere praise to them and to you. The vintage racing scene is alive and active, thank God.

My point was that just because I didn't intend to actively campaign the SB1 didn't invalidate my ownership.

As I am sure you know, actively campaigning ANY bike is a demanding task, and a vintage racer, where parts are hard to source or must be fabricated, is even more demanding. Those who chose to do so have my sincere admiration. Just keeping track of an active law practice leaves me little enough time to enjoy my collection, ride most of it, and still have time to eat and sleep.

And my kudos to you. Nice list of very, very nice bikes. Dave

[WYD OPN]

I, for one, greatly appreciate your perspectives and passion, Dave. Your collection has been one of the inspirations for my recent bike acquisitions. I've also been influenced to have primarily low-milers to ride, with only a few "acrylic coffee table" bikes.

Kudos for enjoying and preserving all these pieces of motorcycling history. Gotta make it up to the shop/museum when it's ready. That SB1 is sick.

Ciao!