Italians Cooking Up A Storm For Milan
ITALIANS COOKING UP A STORM FOR MILAN
Though the Milan Show is still six months away, there's already a mouthwatering array of new bikes promised from Italian companies, including Bimota's fuel-injected, 500cc, two-stroke Twin.
Injected superbikes are coming from Aprilia (1000cc Twin) and Cagiva (750cc inline-Four). There’s an injected Moto Guzzi sport-tourer expected with an eight-valve Daytona engine, and Ducati will unveil its 944 sport-tourer, which replaces its 907 i.e. Also, Morbidelli will show a production version of its V8 (see Roundup, August 1994) with new styling.
For all this mechanical finery, Bimota’s baby-which should be the most powerful production two-stroke streetbike ever built-couid be the show’s star. The unnamed motorcycle features the first powerplant developed by Bimota engineers. One hundred horsepower is claimed and direct injection will be used to meet challenging emissions tests in California and Switzerland.
Prototypes used Bimota’s hub-center Tesi chassis, but production bikes-targeted to cost less than a Ducati 916-will reportedly wear a conventional fork.
“We made enquiries among potential customers, and their preference for a conventional chassis was overwhelming,” says a Bimota insider. “We must achieve volume sales to offset development costs. We believe in the Tesi concept, but we have to be hard-headed about what the market tells us.”
Bimota’s new engine will be carried in an aluminum twin-spar chassis based on that of the Suzuki-powered SB6/SB7. Styling is said to be distinctive, but based on the look established by the SB models, YB9 and Supermono.
As if this isn’t enough, Bimota promises that the bike will sport some hightech surprises, too. -Alan Cathcart
