Bimota Tesi 1D

[anatak]

Does anybody know anything about how difficult the maintenance and setup are for the front steering hub of a Tesi 1D ?
I have been told that the original bearings should be replaced with modern bearings to reduce play in the system.
I also think I remember reading something about how the front steering system is fairly delicate and needs a lot of attention/adjusting.

I am more specifically talking about a Tesi 1D 851. A friend is interested in buying one but is afraid that he won't be able to find a mechanic that can maintain this bike for him.

Any experience about this bike would be most welcome.

[Catimann]

I am not sure how many people on this list have a 1D but two for sure. I know there is another mailing list that is very old but not as much used anymore. Join and post there as it has a longer history, I think. You can also search the archives for years for that info. Back when the bike was new and thus much talked about.
This is where I found and got all the info on my DB2. It would be well worth reading/looking over!

http://micapeak.com/mailman/listinfo/bimota

[daotoys1]

Originally Posted by anatak

Does anybody know anything about how difficult the maintenance and setup are for the front steering hub of a Tesi 1D ?
I have been told that the original bearings should be replaced with modern bearings to reduce play in the system.
I also think I remember reading something about how the front steering system is fairly delicate and needs a lot of attention/adjusting.

I am more specifically talking about a Tesi 1D 851. A friend is interested in buying one but is afraid that he won't be able to find a mechanic that can maintain this bike for him.

Any experience about this bike would be most welcome.

A friend of mine who also has owned a number of BIMOTAs including a Tesi 1D told me that to service the bike is time and labor intensive. For example; he told me that to check and/or adjust the valves required removing the engine from the frame .

In fact, he told me that after owning the Tesi 1D for a few years he finally sold it because he got tired of spending so much money on servicing the bike.

In my past I owned/raced a Husqvarna ( made in Sweden at the time early 70s) and in order to change spark plugs you needed to pull the engine out of the frame.....sounds silly, but true ( this was Husqvarna's first 450cc racer based on a slightly smaller 400cc engine design. When they upped the displacement they failed to plan ahead and research service issues....thus the crazy engine removal required to change spark plugs).

There are a number of Tesi owners that frequent this site, so maybe you will get some good information from some of them.

Good luck.

[Ducatierv]

I had a Tesi 1D with 944 motor and had many years of trouble free riding. I wished I never had sold it to be honest. Never had issues with the front end or from being in storage for a few years either. I had the Ohlins kit for front and rear but never fitted it as it rode pretty well with the Marzocchi units.

[dnovo]

The "labor intensive" issues you list have nothing to do with a Tesi 1D or any other Tesi, they relate to maintaining a Ducati 4V engine. The Tesi 1D used either a bone stock 851 Ducati 4V or a Bimota-modified line bored/stroked 904 version of the 851. No difference in valve setting, belts, etc that made them harder or easier to work on. One could say the same as to any 4V Ducati.

I have a 1D and have had zero problems maintaining or setting the front suspension. Dave

[Bruce_Allison]

Oh great....a 1st time for everything....I'm going to disagree with Dave on a subject.

While it's true that the motor needs "only" the typical Ducati maintenance attention regarding belts/valves, the issue with the 1D is that the engine is a stressed frame member. The (gorgeous) Bimota billet main frame members sandwich the motor, being directly bolted onto the engine. To change belts, the frame on one side must be unbolted...which requires not only the usual bodywork removal, but also the 2 trellis subframes for the seat & steering, and the removal of the front and rear swingarms.

Pretty much, the major parts of the bike are disassembled to access the belts. It's very labor intensive.

Regarding the steering> I forget how many rod ends (aka Heim joints) are in the steering system...12..15...whatever....but once these begin to wear a thou or two, the combined clearances can rapidly add up and cause the steering to become a bit vague. Nothing tricky to fix, but it can be an issue.

Front wheel bearing> I've heard that the original 851's had an inferior bearing, but my 904Dsr bike was upgraded to the newer stuff early in its life, and I've had no issues.

The bike itself is very cool though. I do enjoy it!

Bruce

[anatak]

I ll inform my friend and I think he will not buy the Tesi 1D. It would be end up being a "look at it" bike in his living room because of the maintenance issues.

so if someone is looking for a Tesi 1D there is one for sale here in Japan for 8000 dollars / 800 000 yen (actually a bit less since the dollar is worth less than 100 yen now)

Not too expensive I think but I will also stay away from it. I think it is a very nice looking bike and I would love to ride it to feel the difference between a conventional front and the hub steering.

thank you again for all the information.

[Bruce_Allison]

You've got a PM.

Bruce

[goodoldguy]

for real, most of us have one or a few bikes and riding them alot things about design problems will surface soon enough. If your the wealthier guys that have 30 + motorcycles , dont tell us you ride them ALL with similar miles as a guy with one bike .
Imagine taking practically the whole bike apart to get to those cheap belt changes. Squeezing a motor into that frame without regard for ease of repair, thats the Italian thinking. Let me tell you how many Ferrari mechanics who deal with this same problem in the older Ferrari designs.
See, the Italians really figured they would have no problem just selling their expensive machines to people who will let their mechanics bust their knuckles in tight spaces.
So if your the flamboyant excentric wealthier guy who boasts about having no problems with
( YOUR slightly used bikes ) talk to the rest of the owners of Italian machinery and get a real world picture before you make your opinion seem like all is ok just because of your experience alone.

[daotoys1]

IMHO.......if I were looking to buy a BIMOTA Tesi I would get the newest model, the Tesi 3D. The newest design had one of its many goals a simplification of its functional designs to make the bike less complicated. Using simpler designs and less numbers of parts also was to improve ease of service to the machine.

Personally I like the looks of the 3D over the earlier 1D or 2D models. The 2D is rather high tech looking, and those who know more than me can tell you what they think of the 2D vs the original 1D model. The 2D does look unique but to me the 3D is a large improvement looking less over designed and more well thought out. Alot of the 2D looks like bolt on after thought preproduction prototype level of R&D.....were the 3D looks like a finalized fully thought out and excellently executed production modeling.

But of course this is my opinion and there are some here I know that would pick the 2D over the 3D, or even the 1D over either of the later models.

The good thing is that they are all BIMOTAs......so from this point of fact, they are all good choices to a BIMOTA rider/owner/collector.

Good luck with what ever you get.....please share by posting pictures....