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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1_~_BI_'m_o_ta_S_B_B_K_G_o_b_er_t_Re_p_';c_a _ Cockpit la y o ut has been improved over Gobert's race version, thanks to a redesigned ram air system that is tucked underneath the tank. er turn while hee led ove r, like it would be o nto the Misano pit straight. This makes it not only an improvement over the o riginal K-bike but places it on a level foo ting with its Aprilia/Ducat i com petition as w ell as t he "o the r " jap anes e- e ngined Italian Vtwin, the Mondial Piega. However, the linearity of the Bimota 's powe r delivery, t han ks to th e patented "iniezione radi- ale" is likely to be to dec eptive som e riders, w ho may en d up finding o ut the hard way they're going a lot faster than they thought they were . The way the engine builds revs so smoothly fro m the 4000 rpm mark (as shown on the very designeresque but ad mira bly readab le LCD dash, derived from the A revised tail section offers more fore V due's), at w hich and aft movement than on the point it starts to original Gobert bike, which was less pull hard, may ergonomically friendly to taller riders. make it seem like you're not accelerating very fast - but yo u are . That's w hen includ ing some you 'll be glad to find that there 's pretty spe nt t rying to goo d bite . from the nonradial Brembo realsimulate brake package. Thanks to the ch assis world road co ndigeome try and prob ably also the balanced tions, I'm a believriding pos ition that prevents excess we ight er in t his syste m Brembo brakes offer solid fee l but are effectively obso lete t ransfer be ing delivere d by you r bod y esp ecially after when compared to the radial units found on competitive under hard braking, the SB8K is very stab le having gra ppled Italian bikes costing thousands less. when stopping hard. The only rea l probwith t he sudden lem is the lack of a slippe r clutch, w hich re sponse of the you'll certai nly be regretti ng the first time The next improve ment comes fro m the original K-bike. The Bimota now has a you get the back wheel chattering into the engine , which not only feat ure s smalle r smo other pickup from a close d throttle, first tight left-hander at Misano because 55mm throttle bod ies than that of both the measurably improving drive out of a turn, you used too much en gine braking o n a 60mm street prototype and t he Go-Show especially on a damp track - such as the bike without an excessively high idle speed racer bikes I rode before - which in conseone at the start of my session . Thanks to to obviate this. However, the Suzuki kit's quence weren't happy at low revs, in chithe revised mapping, the bike now has a far "reverse torque limiter" dry clutch is an canes or city streets - but the remodeled mo re linear build of power, with a more option Bimota does offer, along with a race bike also has an all-new fuel injection sysrefined , less brusque pickup that gives exhaust with its own dedicated map fo r the tem using variable-angle Marelli injecto rs improved low-end acceleration and makes Marelli ECU and the necessary sensors and to opt imize induction at partial throttle the rear 180/55- 17 Dunlop D208GP tire software needed to download the houro penings. After a dozen laps of Misano, work for its living exiting a chicane or slow- 38 SEPTEMBER 29, 2004 • CYCLE NEWS 40th Anniversary long data recordi ng sto red in the dashmoun te d ECU via the Birnota's telemetry though I suspect many potential customers will resent having to pay mo re for this option on top of an already steep price for the Go bert Replica. Fo r that sort of money, there's justification for be lieving it ought to be part of the package . La Gobert has been dialed in to handle pretty we ll. Even in Misano's tight new section where the front 120/70-17 Michelin felt planted in turns and the 46mm Paioli forks rode bumps well on the angle, you can maintain impressive corner speeds and chuck the new Bimota V-tw in about in a way you never felt tru ly co mfortabl e doing with the SB8R. The slimmer tan k co mbines with the redesigned, narrower bodywork to make t he Bimota fee l not only sma ller but also more agile t han th e o riginal bike did; yo u can place it better in turns and it feels more nimble to chan ge direction with than the SB8R. Th is may also co me about thank s to the revised ste ering geo me try, in add itio n to an altered rear ride height and swingarm pivot pos ition used on the new model, thoug h the latter can on ly be adjusted ove r a 6mm range o n t he streetbike rather than the racer's 20mm so as not to adve rsely affect the leverage ratio on the rear O hlins shock without swapping links. The head angle for the Paiolis, whose gold stanch ions denote the low -friction, titan ium-nitra te coating applied to them to improve low-speed response, is adjustable o n an ec centric be twe e n 23 and 24 degre es , and tra il from 87mm to 94mm . O n the 24-deg ree setting chose n for the test , the SB8K had not o nly sweet steerin g but was also ve ry stab le in fast turns leading onto t he main st ra ight at Misano, where the balanced feel helps you pick a line and stick to it inch-pe rfect. Bimota has avoided going overboard on rear tire size, fitting the 180/55- 17 Michelin to the 5.50-inch Antera rim to help the bike change direc t ion easily while st ill putting the power to the ground , which it especially does well out of slower t urns though be prepared to be glad you have the O hlins steering dam per fitted w hen the handleb ars start napping in yo ur hands as the wheel lifts whe n you gas it up hard. This bike is a lot of fun to ride hard. It also sto ps well too; the big bra ke s are Bre mbo's best, w ith loads of bite giving massive stopping power and is coup led with a high degre e of sensitivity. And when you trail-brake into a turn , t he Bimota ho lds its line - even if you overdo the entry speed and have to grab a bigger handful of lever. It doesn't sit up and underste er away, in spite of the fairly radical geometry. However, I do think tha t w ith its 17/42T setup, the bike is geared much too long, though I never got a true top gear at Misano. That's no disgrace - most World Superbikes use only four gea rs here,