Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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later this summe r from Rimini to Tuscan y, to a location betwee n Florenc e and Siena. Severa l of our most experie nced employ ees from the Riviera Adriatica have already agreed to follow us there. They feel attache d to the Bimota marque and want to continu e playing a part in its history, which is very gratifyi ng and shows the depth of their commi tment to the compa ny and its produc ts. AC: Even so, why go to the other side of the Appen ines? Are there financ ial attract ions in terms of moving there, perhap s in the form of HI subsidi es? GDP: No - but there are organiz ational ones. Carbon Dream has been our bodyw ork supplie r for many years, and not only have we becom e good friends, we've also got to know each other's business very well. We will therefo re be moving very close to them, not only geogra phically , but corporately as well - effectiv ely, our two busines ses will be merged . Bimota will still functio n as a separat e physic al entity within the Carbon Dream factory structu re, but we will work togethe r on each other's project s - Carbon Dream is a supplie r to Lambo rghini and Ferrari, for exampl e, as well as to firms like Aerosp atiale and of course Ducati, so there's sure to be ways in which we will be able to strengt hen their capabi lity to serve such deman ding clients, specifi cally in terms of high-te chnolo gy produc ts involvin g innovat ive design and/or materia ls. It's a marriag e which will bring benefits to both sides. AC: What new model s are you planni ng to relaunc h Bimota with, and when will they be available? GDP: You've already ridden the prototy pe of the first one! It's the Drako, the DB4-ba sed desmod ue Naked Bike, which was underg oing final road tests when the compa ny shut down in the summe r of 2000 and at that stage was powere d by a Ducati 900SS engine. We will comple te develo pment of this model in time to begin produc tion in June or July this year, though it will now almost certain ly be fitted with the latest 1000DS dual spark desmod ue engine, but using the same oval-se ction alumin um spaceframe chassis as before, which will make it stand out in compar ison to Ducati' s equival ent Monste r. LD: The great advant age of this new Ducati engine is the extra torque it delivers , which will be ideally suited to the Drako's light weight, as much as 20kg or so less - it'll be an enjoyab le real-wo rld performan ce bike that can be used every day. Distinc tive and exclusi ve, but practic al and enjoyab le. AC: What about the last of the Japane se-eng ined Bimota s, though , the uncom pleted SB8Ks , which you've also acquire d? GDP: We will comple te the homolo gation process and bring the SB8K up to Eur02 emissio ns levels, which we know can be achieve d relative ly quickly with this engine, as Suzuki has now done with their new SV100 0 Naked model. We will then marke t these 53 bikes from July onward s as street- legal replicas of Anthon y Gobert 's factory SB8K-R racer, with which he won the World Superb ike race at Phillip Island in April, 2000, all painted up in the same distinc tive color schem e, with sponso rship decals , etc. Regar ding the other 160 Suzuk i TLl OOOR engine s we have, we will display a new model employ ing this motor at the Salone di Milano in Septem ber, but with a differen t chassis and bodywork - I don't want to reveal more at this stage, but it will be very distinct ive. This will be the end of the road for Bimota 's Japane se-eng ined models , though , and alongsi de it at the Salone will be not only the Drako, but anothe r new Ducati -engin ed model which I believe will receive great acclaim . This is a cafe racer version of the Millone SuperT wins desmod ue racing prototy pe built by Poggip olini in conjunc tion with NCR, which has alread y achiev ed great recogn ition since its debut last summe r, and we will also constr uct a small numbe r of race version s to special order for those who wish to go SuperT wins racing with them. Bimota has acquire d the rights to manufa cture the Millone in conjun ction with Carbon Dream by forming a partner ship with Poggip olini and NCR - four very well-kn own names in Italian motorc ycling, which both individ ually and collect ively stand for high perform ance, hand-m ade excelle nce, and unique design. Togeth er with Ducati at the center of this family, I believe we will offer an extrem ely desirable series of exclusi ve produc ts, which will appeal to Italian bike enthusi asts all over the world. AC: You'd better get ready to start taking orders now for the Millone ! But so far you've only mentioned future Bimota models powere d by the older, less powerf ul desmo due Ducati engines . Does the Testas tretta Superb ike engine in the 999 not figure in your future plans? GDP: Yes, it does - but we need time to develop a Bimota Superb ike from scratch . I can confirm that Giugiar o Design in Turin is already hard at work on such a motorc ycle, which will share the same engine as the 999 but will represe nt a comple tely differen t approa ch in terms of design and styling to Ducati' s own produc t - while of course being made in much smaller numbe rs. This will be launche d at Intermo t The remaini ng Suzuki- powere d, World Superb lkewinning Bimota SBSRs will be sold off In Anthon y Gobert -replica paint. When these and one other TL 1OOO-p owered model are gone, Blmota produc ts will be powere d exclusi vely by Ducatl engines . cue I e n e _ 50 • APRIL 16, 2003 45