Curiously, we have known the racing version of the Bimota KB998 Rimini before than its street version, but we can finally say that we know one that will eventually be a dream motorcycle. It is Bimota’s return to competition in style, and it does so with the help of its new owner, Kawasaki.
That is why we already knew some details, such as the fact that it would have the engine from the Kawasaki ZX-10RR, although now we have been able to see in more detail what the new Italian-Japanese mount will be like. And at EICMA, we have been able to learn some very interesting details about the model.
Something that stands out is the aerodynamic effort that the motorcycle uses. It is not limited to a sharp fairing and aerodynamic appendages that we could already see on the racing motorcycle, but in the registrable model we find electronic management of these devices.
It does not mean that the user also has to be aware of them, since this electronic management will be carried out automatically by the Bimota KB998 Rimini itself. Both these appendages and many other parts of the motorcycle have been made of carbon, and that ends up giving a unique appearance to each of the 500 units that will leave the factory over the next two years.
Therefore, it will be a tremendously limited edition, because only 250 will be manufactured for each of the two years to comply with the WSBK requirements in terms of homologations and, in addition, Bimota has confirmed that there will not be a cheaper version.
Now that you know that if you want one you will have to hurry, you should also know that the price has been set at 44,000 euros, a relatively tight figure taking into account the rest of the motorcycle’s equipment.
The Bimota KB998 Rimini offers 197 HP as standard
As we said, the Bimota KB998 Rimini uses the engine from the Kawasaki ZX-10RR and declares a power of 197 HP at 13,600 rpm with 111 Nm of torque at 11,700 rpm. It is known that few changes have been made to the engine, although it does stand out that the exhaust system is directly Akrapovic.
As for the cycle part, the chassis is a mixture of steel tube and areas of machined aluminum right in the area where the rear part of the engine is anchored. A quite peculiar hybrid system that, thinking about the competition motorcycle, can provide certain advantages when looking for the necessary rigidity at all times or that best suits each rider.
The swingarm is another key piece in the set and its aluminum has been machined. If we focus on the suspensions, Showa takes care of both the front and rear axle. At the front, a fully adjustable inverted fork and at the rear, a rear shock absorber that is equally adjustable in all directions. Brembo is responsible for braking with its Stylema calipers for the front axle, while Marchesini designs the wheels.
Finally, we must not lose sight of the electronic configurations that it will offer, such as ABS when cornering, traction control, exit control, quick shifter up and down, four driving modes and even cruise control. An almost collector’s piece that only a few lucky people will be able to enjoy.
