Vintage Motorcycle Restoration

Bimota In 1973 an Italian motorcycle manufacturer named Bimota was founded in Rimini, Italy by Bianchi, Morri, and Tamburini. Because the company name is derived from the first 2 letters of the 3 founders names it is known as a portmanteau. In the beginning Bimota focused all its efforts on frame design around existing engines. They started out by modifying models of Honda, Suzuki, and Kawasaki. Bimota aided in the building and development of brands such as Lamborghini in the late 1970’s. Ducati and Yamaha motorcycles were taken on during the 1980’s. Tamburini was the chief designer for a long time at Bimota and had a lot of influence in the design and development of other Italian brands like Ducati. In 1980 Jon Ekerold won the 350cc world championship on a Yamaha powered Bimota which gave them their first international racing success. In 1997 Bimota introduced a new motorcycle called the V Due which had a design flaw in the engine causing the intire production run to be recalled. This in combination with a main sponsor disappearing caused the company to file bankruptcy. The Binota company was later started again after a group of investors bought the right to the Bimota name and designs.