Kawasaki Buys Bimota?

The story of Bimota is one of constant change. Some look down on this and suggest that the turn overs, closures, rebirths and restructuring are signs of failures. To me that is slightly missing the point. Bimota was never meant to be a mass market bike, and was always going to be subject to fluctuations as tastes change and the economy goes up and down.

Bimota is well known for the Tesi bike and their strange front ends

Bimota is well known for the Tesi bike and their strange front ends

Throughout the years Bimota motorcycles have been powered by BMW, Honda, Ducati, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Yamaha and once by a Bimota designed two stroke.

The Kawasaki powered KB2 had a frame that was a work of art. Very different then the OEM Kawasaki frame.

The Kawasaki powered KB2 had a frame that was a work of art. Very different then the OEM Kawasaki frame.

The latest rumors circulating are that Bimota is about to be purchased by Kawasaki. This could mean amazing things for the future. Bimota in it's most recent form were exclusively powered by Ducati motors. While the bikes were light weight, and powerful, they were more known for their top tier attention to detail and exotic materials. Imagine what could come out from a company used to working at that level, but now with huge horsepower from Kawasaki.

Something funny has been happening with open class litter bikes in the last couple of years. They are getting heavy. The 2019 Kawasaki ZX-10R is listed as 454 pounds. That is CRAZY. The 2004 was over 20 pounds less. Sure horsepower is now over 200, and lap times have fallen, but weight translates feel and enjoyment. Many have written about how modern cars are saddled with more weight then before, and the same is true with motorcycles.

I for one hope that the Kawasaki owned Bimota releases a sport bike to revolution the market. A real game changer. Something that makes people excited and get them to think about what is possible. I feel that for years we have just seen incremental improvements, no large steps forward. Not like when the original R1 came out, or the 2004 ZX10R. Was the 2009 BMW S1000RR the last major leap forward? I am sure that I am forgetting something and would LOVE to hear about how I am wrong in the comments.

The DBX was not around long enough to find out where it fit in the market. Such a cool bike.

The DBX was not around long enough to find out where it fit in the market. Such a cool bike.

And since this is all rumors at this point, it is just something fun and interesting to talk about. Just to take a stab at some specs. How cool would a 220hp, 355 pound super-bike be at this point? Powered by a Kawasaki 1000cc inline four. Carbon fiber bodywork. Billet frame, the best Ohlins, and wheels. Beautiful Italian style coupled with Japanese reliability. Probably would cost around $40,000 (USD).

Could such a bike be marketed and profitable? Ducati seems to think so with the Panigale, but they have a whole diverse line up to support such a bike.