Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128209
Bimofa's Lorenzo Ducati and Giuseppe Della Pietra 2004 in Munich and will be available to customers very shortly afterwards. It's the first time that Giugiaro Design, which has an extensive portfolio of smaller capacity models for both European and Asian manufacturers, has ever worked on creating a "maximoto," and I'm certain that the fresh approach they will bring to this challenge, coupled with the personal involvement of such a legendary design figure as Giorgetto Giugiaro, who is himself an active motorcyclist, will bring a new look to the world of motorcycles, and especially "supersportivi" performance bikes. It will be the diamond in Bimota's range and I'm sure will also sit well with comparable Ducati products. AC: Speaking of which, are you not concerned that being so closely identified with Ducati in terms of product, since within two or three years you will be using their engines exclusively, may perhaps be counterproductive, in that Bimota's higher-priced motorcycles will inevitably be compared with the less costly equivalent Ducati model? And won't doing so also restrict your range exclusively to V-twin models, whereas Bimota customers have traditionally focused on the marque's four-cylinder bikes? GOP: How could we choose otherwise, with Mr. Ducati as president of the company?! Seriously, I believe our distinctive, hand-made products will differ so greatly from Ducati's volume production equivalent that this won't present any problems for either of us. Quite the opposite, in fact. Secondly, you're right to consider the four-cylinder issue but don't forget that in a very short time, Ducati will be launching a range of V4 streetbikes powered by the desmosedici engine from its new MotoGP racer. 46 APRIL 16, 2003· cue • e n e I'm sure you can expect to see a four-cylinder Bimota once again not too long after that... AC: What kind of bikes does Bimota intend to make in the future - and in what numbers? LD: We will maintain the marque's traditional focus on high performance sportbikes but also offer alongside that a series of bikes that are more human, less focused, and easier to ride. The Drako will be the first of these, still with a sporting flair, but more an everyday ride, where you don't have to think you're Loris Capirossi when you sit aboard it and turn the key in the ignition! We want to maintain these two distinct product lines, always built in small numbers of not more than 400-500 bikes a year in total, of the two ranges combined. But while one will be targeted at satisfying ultrasport riders, the other will be directed at more leisure-orientated customers, perhaps also including those older riders who've served their time on sportbikes and now want something less hard-edged but nevertheless still bUilt to a high standard of excellence, which they can admire and enjoy owning and using. Our bikes will be expensive, appealing strictly to a limited number of extremely demanding customers - but they will be deservedly desirable. This reflects my own personal passion to create a series of products which represent the cream of Italian motorcycle manufacture, powered by Ducati engines, which only a small company with a human structure staffed by craftsmen working to an extremely high standard of quality, can hope to achieve. This is Bimota's strength, which in the past became a weakness because it tried to become a volume manufacturer without the scale or the resources of a Ducati to achieve that. We won't make that mistake again but will return to vv sa our roots as a small constructor of exceptional products handbuilt by a workforce of not more than 18 to 20 skilled artisans. GDP: That's right - and this will also allow us to deliver a degree of personalization of each new bike we construct that until now has never been feasible. We envisage that when one of our customers orders a bike from us, he or she supplies us with their personal measurements - height, weight, length of arms and legs, and even the boot size - and we will tailor the motorcycle to suit their stature, as well as any personal preferences they tell us about in advance. It's the same as ordering a suit of leathers or when a Grand Prix rider has a bike built to his requirements: made to measure. AC: But how will this be executed? Will customers order directly from the Bimota factory, or will you be appointing dealers in each country, as before? GDP: This is an issue linked to the question of after-sales service, which will depend on the precise outcome of our detailed negotiations with Ducati. If our models will essentially all be powered by Ducati engines, then it's evident that they are capable of being maintained by Ducati dealers. In that case, do we appoint a Bimota-recognized dealer who is also a member of Ducati's distribution network? Or do we establish our own separate chain of distributors, as before - which would perhaps not be viable with a small, handbuilt production of just 500 bikes a Blmota also plans to build the Millone SuperTwins racer in conjunction with Carbon Dream (a supplier to Lamborghini and Ferrari), NCR and Poggipolini, thus tying together four well-respected names in the Italian motorcycle industry.