Driving report Bimota SB 8 K
The "Go" road show
After Anthony "Go" Gobert’s surprise victory in the Superbike World Championship, Bimota has followed suit with the Race Replica SB 8 K in road trim.
After countless but unsuccessful attempts by the high-end forge from Rimini to connect to the glorious times at the end of the 80s, the company is now threatened with extinction. It has been in liquidation since June 30th. But it is well known that the Italians are not so easy to get down. And the recently introduced model in particular would be good for a success again.
White and red, framed with fine golden decorative lines, the new edition of the Suzuki Bimota number 8, abbreviation SB 8 K, rolls into the yard of the legendary frame forge on the Italian Adriatic. But the Bimota fan base is no longer satisfied with historical war paint alone. She wants more than expensive carbon fiber clothes in pompous shapes. Curves and small curves, as used by the Bimota designers in recent years, are a thing of the past with the SB 8 K. Finally the flair of real racing machines that write their story on the slopes and not in front of the street cafe. The new Bimota arouses associations with the beautiful YB 4 from 1987, under the research Virginio Ferarri at least TT-F1 world champion, then unfortunately failed because of the capricious injection systems from our own production.
In this sense: slim, drawn-in paneling waist, functional exhaust air slots, a slim, board-hard seating set for the jockey. The expansive Ram Air channels on the tank have disappeared, the former square meter cooling air shaft is now only slightly wider than the fork tubes clamped in huge claws for optimal air resistance. The nominally 1XX PS strong twin snorkels the fresh air between the elaborate radiator front and the steering head. Form follows function ?? Without losing the Italian sophistication of the elegantly modeled sculpture, it stands there, the SB 8 K. We are in love on the spot.
Not only love is blind, but also the typical Bimota details. The Italians transform dull CNC milled parts into passionately accomplished works of art. The Bimota mechanic at the milling machine has not forgotten this in recent years. He must be in love with both ears. High spirits in the Form and Design department too: carbon fiber parts as if they were painted. Whether the intake funnel or the screwed and glued frame segments of the swing arm bearing ?? just awesome. It’s nice that Bimota also responded to the criticism of the unstable wheel covers and stabilized the fenders with circumferential profiles.
Put an end to the enthusiastic droll and saddle up. With starting and inner-city traffic tussles, the richly tuned engine has a bit of a hard time, rushing around slightly out of tune. From the briquettes in the speed cellar, stacked up to the ceiling in the series engine of the TL 1000 R, a few of the outrageously large 59 mm intake pipes (series engine XX millimeters) of the Weber-Marelli injection have fallen victim to the SB 8 K. To speak of weak torque would be exaggerated, because from 4000 rpm the hole is plugged and there is a massive amount of power and thrust available. Bimota man Pierpaolo Catani sees the engine tuning only at the beginning, an optimized ignition-injection program should be added for the series machines.
While the old SB 8 variant still shook the engine screw connections and nerves with caustic vibrations, the current Bimota rumbles much more gently, although according to the builder nothing has changed in the basic frame concept made of aluminum / carbon fiber composite. The higher level of vibration compared to the TL 1000 R is probably due to the lightweight frame structure, which counteracts the engine vibrations with less mass, and the unused engine mounting on the rear cylinder.
Fundamentally better, more accurate and more reliable than the old SB 8 battleship, the emaciated Bimota curves high above the deep blue Adriatic along the coastal road. The new seating position, which integrates the pilot ergonomically and with sufficient space in the machine, makes a significant contribution to the subject of driving pleasure.
Only in tight hairpin bends and opaque curve combinations does a question mark occasionally flicker because the ideal ideal line does not entirely coincide with reality. Small tune-up at the edge of the track: The steering damper that was too tight was removed, the compression damping increased as an antidote to the soft springs, the pressure in the Michelin Pilot Sport increased to 2.5 bar at the front and rear and whoosh, the SB 8 K is still there a tad more stable and manageable. However, this cannot hide the fact that it requires disproportionately more steering force with increasing speed. The suspicion: the high gyroscopic forces of the not-so-light six-spoke aluminum wheels.
Trotzdem: You have waited a long time for such a Bimota. The Superbike team around vice world champion Virginio Ferarri has mapped out the right path with the new SB 8 K. Away from the lifestyle bike, back to the honest, uncompromising driving machine. Whether it will ever be built on a grand scale is currently in the stars. A pity.
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