Bimota BB3 1000 2015 — Specifications

Thirty years after its beginnings, Bimota has not yet abandoned playing in the big leagues with the means of a craftsman. The BB3, third chapter of a collaboration started with BMW in 1995, perfectly illustrates this boundless ambition: to take the best engine available on the market, dress it in Italian style, and send the bill for €42,790. A constant philosophy from Rimini, which freely assumes its position as motorcycle haute couture.

The choice of engine leaves no room for discussion. By temporarily abandoning the Ducati twin cylinders that have made its reputation, the Italian firm drew from BMW’s catalog the inline four-cylinder engine from the S 1000 RR. Result: 200 horsepower at 13,000 rpm and 111.8 Nm available at 9,750 rpm, all housed in a chassis that weighs 179 kg dry. The comparison with the standard RR stops there, because Bimota does not simply rebadge: the mixed frame, carbon tubular trellis combined with machined aluminum plates, is a bespoke solution designed specifically around the Bavarian block. It’s not the most elegant chassis in the Bimota range, far from the sculptural finesse of a DB7 or a DB11, but it fulfills its function with rigor.

Around this architecture, suppliers list like a dream inventory. Öhlins equips both ends, with a 43 mm inverted fork and a TTX rear shock. Brembo handles braking with its M50 calipers, renowned for their bite and modulation. OZ Racing provides the forged aluminum rims. The fairing, the mudguards, the sprocket cover: carbon fiber. The swingarm machined from solid aluminum is a piece of jewelry in itself. On a machine sold at this price, we expected beautiful equipment; Bimota indeed delivers beautiful equipment.

The BB3 is aimed at a very specific audience: the enthusiast who wants something exclusive, technically impeccable, and capable of holding its own on the track. It’s not a motorcycle for beginners, nor even for intermediate riders. With 200 horsepower for 179 kg, the margin of error is narrow, and the top speed announced at 300 km/h leaves no room for approximation. The onboard electronics, with ABS and traction control inherited from the S 1000 RR, provide a welcome safety net, but do not transform the beast into a docile mount.

What remains interesting about the story of this BB3 is that it opened the doors to the World Superbike Championship for Bimota. Entered with the Alstare team in the Evo category, it proved that the project was viable at the international level. For a manufacturer of this size, this is a validation that counts as much as the technical data. The BB3 is not perfect, it is expensive, probably difficult to live with on a daily basis, and its style has become reasonable compared to the great hours of Rimini. But it embodies something that few brands still know how to do: a motorcycle built with a clear intention, without commercial compromise, for those who know exactly what they are looking for.