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Driving report Bimota KB 1 and SB 6 R

Temporarily further

As things stand at the moment, the Bimota story is over. MOTORRAD went in search of a myth with the legendary KB 1 and an SB 6 R..

The revolution gives birth to legends, not evolution. In historiography as in technology. Here, as there, it only takes less active and determined minds to make the world happy with what they think is right. Ghosts like Massimo Tamburini. The legendary designer, who was a hobby racer at a young age, crashed in 1973 due to suspension problems with his Honda CB 750 in Misano. Decided that from now on the pitfalls of the material should no longer be the cause of falls. Bimota was born, the idea of ​​a stiff tubular space frame for a powerful high-volume engine. No Bimota stands for this concept as convincingly as the KB 1, which also became a commercial success with 827 machines sold.
The same applies to the SB 6 and SB 6 R. A total of 1744 units have left the assembly halls in Rimini since 1994. It was of little use to Bimota, production stopped in March 2001 (see MOTORRAD 2 and 8/2002). The positive side of this actually sad fact: It has never been so cheap to fulfill your dream of a Bimota as it is today. Because the German importer ZTK (phone 05193/964305) has secured a decent position and is now offering the last SB 6 R for 11499 euros. A price that is well below the exclusive 32,999 marks at market launch and is even exceeded by current Japanese high-volume 1000s.
The fact that the Bimota exclusivity is now available at a dumping price is also made clear by the comparison with KB 1. In 1978 (!) It cost a nightmarish 19,980 marks, the frame kit alone cost 11500 marks. At that time, you could buy a complete motorcycle elsewhere for this. But nowhere this image, this fascination.
And that – as every refueling stop with the divas shows – continues to this day. The reasons for the admiring looks are quite different. While the connoisseur delights in the brand name, in the technical subtleties from very different motorcycle epochs, the layman simply enjoys the background noise. And contrary to expectations, it is not the KB 1 with its short silencer stub that is responsible for that, but primarily the SB 6 R with its ?? at that time still avant-garde? Aluminum silencers positioned under the self-supporting rear frame made of carbon fiber. The 1100 of the Suzuki GSX-R in the SB 6 R shoots out the power it has found again after many disappointments in the SB 6, measuring 146 hp at 10300 / min and 109 Newton meters at 8200 / min with every throttle blow Guess the airbox. No question about it, the 6 Series impresses with its pure volume, it was already at 87 dB (A) driving noise in 1996 – an enormous seven dB above the limit value. Regardless, the admiring glances consoled the fear that not every village sheriff will look after this Signorina for her extravagances. Two or three more short roars, the smooth, hydraulically operated clutch pulled, the first of five gears pushed in – and the SB 6 R shoots from the yard. Into a motorcycle day wrapped in the aura of the special.
With regard to conveying a very special feeling, the old lady KB 1 ?? Kindly provided by MOTORRAD reader Heinz Dieter Meyer from Bremen ?? no difficulties. The cause is of course quite different. While on the SB 6 R the awareness of the exclusivity of the pedestal meets contemporary driving characteristics and ergonomically acceptable conditions, on the KB 1 you literally dive into a different era. Example seat height: 750 millimeters. This is a better chopper level and well below the current Supersport 600 series, which is between 790 and 830 millimeters. It is important to fold your legs twice, because the footrests are at a height that was dizzying for the time. The handlebar ends are only 690 millimeters apart. So compressed in this way, you can hardly believe that a full size 1000 is doing its job under the long tank, because the tubular space frame, welded together from 22 individual chrome-molybdenum steel tubes, nestles so tightly around the engine from the Kawasaki Z 1000 MK II. One might believe that this chassis, as MOTORRAD attested in issue 20/1979, was a model of stability. This classification also throws a significant light on the state of chassis technology at the end of the seventies.
To the same extent as the SB 6 R, which premiered six years ago, still displays contemporary driving behavior, the KB 1 conveys pure nostalgia on every meter. So it must have been when daredevil men rode their flying boxes. Back then, when 94 hp were at the very top of the performance scale, with which the chassis technicians had their dearest need. The rear section, in which a mono spring strut supports the triangular swing arm against the frame, hangs low, the stanchions of the 39er Marzocchi fork look delicate, the two-piston calipers from Brembo are stale (alternatively, the original fork and brake were used). The positive aspect: Equipped in this way, the limits of man and machine can often still be experienced within the framework of the STVO, if you approach technical limits with the necessary respect – and thus also very close to the Bimota myth. “What the hell did the others build when this motorcycle was so inspiring, especially because of its driving stability?” One wonders today in view of a rather idiosyncratic self-steering behavior, a hindquarters pumping at every opportunity and a braking system that takes the name by today’s standards not deserved.
The answer lies in the technical data sheets of the large-scale competition at the time: Spindle-thin forks, tuberous arms and frames, which despite their geometry designed for straight-line stability (the 64.5 degree steering head angle and 105 millimeter caster of the KB 1 were still considered extremely user-friendly values ) would have endured the maximum speed of the Bimota of 237 km / h determined by MOTORRAD in 1979 only with the worst twisting. If only they had been able to, because the Italian’s performance was exorbitant in comparison. From zero to 100 km / h in 4.1 seconds: Even the over-motorcycle Honda CBX took 4.2 seconds. And it ran just 222 km / h. With a full tank of 223 kilograms, the KB 1 was significantly lighter than Japanese ready-made goods, and it had full fairing. A well-known car manufacturer would call this Vorsprung durch Technik. And the myth of Bimota manages to convey this credibly even today.
D.How this Vorsprung durch Technik melted away over the years is clear from the SB 6 R. Not because Bimota was standing still. After all, the YB 4 I.E. the aluminum bridge frame and the fuel injection made acceptable. No, the others followed suit, sometimes even passed. Honda CBR 900 RR, Yamaha YZF 1000 Thunderace, Kawasaki ZX-9R ?? At the time of the SB 6 R, there were both handy and stable motorcycles with powerful engines and brilliant brakes. And from a technical point of view there is no longer any reason to buy an SB 6 R that is almost twice as expensive. A fact that is even more true today, six years later, because Fireblade, R1 and GSX-R 1000 can do a lot better. With a full tank of around 200 kilograms, they are significantly lighter than an SB 6 R that weighs at least 226 kilograms, have the same or more power, and are just as handy. And yet, even today, sitting on a Bimota is something else. The myth always goes with you. Stretched out over the long and wide tank, legs spread wide, the large rev counter always in view, the enthusiast spurs the 1100s on. She is happy about the brute thrust, registered the very hesitant throttle response compared to modern injection engines, she accepts. Just like the happily vibrating cockpit, while the fairing brackets and mirrors, which start to vibrate even at brisk country road speeds, are a real nuisance even among enthusiasts. On the other hand, the chassis with the mighty 46 Paioli fork and the noble Ohlins shock absorber are on a contemporary level. Apart from the fact that the hindquarters only respond unwillingly to short strokes, the SB 6 R can be easily directed through bends of any kind, has sufficient reserves and is also neutral on bumps. On this terrain as well as at the top speed bolt on the autobahn, the standard steering damper helps to nip any unrest in the bud, while it thoroughly spoils the line in the inner-city turmoil. But – and there it is again, the phenomenon: You can just as easily neglect the SB 6 R, never just moderately biting brakes with a slightly spongy pressure point. Disengages, enjoys the hoarse gasp from the airbox with two or three short bursts of gas, lets the environment participate in the babble of the silencer, is registered as something special. Still, even if the quality and technical defects were annoying in the models between the SB 6 R and KB 1. Because it has this very special frame, a self-supporting subframe, carbon fiber on every corner. Because there is a lot to discover on an SB 6 R, which makes you sure that there were enthusiasts at work who only had one thing in mind: to build an uncompromising sports motorcycle. And not least because KB 1 existed. Because it was really ahead of the competition in essential criteria.

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