Editing Bimota SB8R

{{Infobox Motorcycle
|name             = [[Bimota]] SB8
|image            = [[File:Bimota-SB8R-01.jpg|frameless|Bimota SB8]]
|aka              = SB8R, SB 8 R Special, SB 8 R, SB8K Santamonica, SB8K SantaMonica, SB8K Gobert
|manufacturer     = Bimota
|parent_company   =
|production       = 150 units (combined with the SB8RS)
|model_year       =
|predecessor      =
|successor        =
|class            =
|engine           = Four stroke, 90°-V-twin, DOHC, 4 valves per cylinder
|bore_stroke      =
|compression      = 11.3:1
|top_speed        = 255.9 km/h / 159 mp/h
|power            =
|torque           =
|fuel_system      =
|ignition         = Electronic inductive
|spark_plug       =
|battery          =
|transmission     = 6 Speed
|frame            =
|suspension       =Front: Telehydraulic upside-down fork with 46mm stanchions and compression, rebound and preload adjustments <br>
Rear: Fully adjustable shock absorber
|brakes           =Front: 2x 320mm discs 4 [[piston]] calipers, Brembo <br>Rear: Single 230mm disc 4 piston caliper, Brembo
|front_tire       = {{tire|120/65 ZR17}} 
|rear_tire   	  = {{tire|190/55 ZR17}} 
|rake_trail       =
|wheelbase        = 1390 mm / 54.7 in.
|length           =
|width            =
|height           =
|seat_height      = 810 mm / 32 in.
|dry_weight       = 179 kg / 394.6 lbs
|wet_weight       =
|fuel_capacity    = 20 Litres / US 5.3 gal.
|oil_capacity     =
|fuel_consumption =
|turning_radius   =
|related          =
|competition      =
}}

It could reach a top speed of 255.9 km/h / 159 mp/h.  

==Engine==
The engine was a Liquid cooled cooled Four stroke, 90°-V-twin, DOHC, 4 valves per cylinder. The engine featured a 11.3:1 [[compression ratio]].  

==Chassis==
It came with a 120/65 ZR17 front [[tire]] and a 190/55 ZR17 rear tire. Stopping was achieved via 2x 320mm discs 4 piston calipers, Brembo in the front and a Single 230mm disc 4 piston caliper, Brembo in the rear. The front suspension was a  Telehydraulic upside-down fork with 46mm stanchions and compression, rebound and preload adjustments while the rear was equipped with a Fully adjustable shock absorber. The SB8R was fitted with a 20 Litres / US 5.3 gal. fuel tank. The bike weighed just 179 kg / 394.6 lbs. The wheelbase was 1390 mm / 54.7 in. long.  
== Photos ==
[[File:Bimota-SB8R-01.jpg|600px|Bimota SB8]]
[[File:Bimota-SB8R--3.jpg|600px|Bimota SB8]]
[[File:Bimota-SB8R--1.jpg|600px|Bimota SB8]]
[[File:Bimota-SB8R--2.jpg|600px|Bimota SB8]]
[[File:Bimota-SB8R--4.jpg|600px|Bimota SB8]]
[[File:Bimota-SB8R--5.jpg|600px|Bimota SB8]]
[[File:Bimota-SB8R-03.jpg|600px|Bimota SB8]]
[[File:Bimota-SB8R-02.jpg|600px|Bimota SB8]]

== Overview ==
Bimota SB8R
















That Bimota's new model , the one they've
been talking about in my local café" ? asked the toll collector at the
Rimini Nord autostrada exit as he leaned out of his booth to get a closer
look while I fumbled for some change . "It looks pretty fast , and judging
by how long this ticket tells me it's taken you to get here from Pesaro , it
obviously is - very ! That Ducati engine inside has molto grinta (lots of
poke) and it sounds like nothing else on two wheels . The Japanese couldn't
make a bike like this , could they - eh!" .

Well , actually , amico , I'm sorry , but they already did , sort of . And
sorry again , but isn't the new Ducati desmodue-powered Bimota DB4 that your
mates at your favourite watering hole have been telling you about, but the
other new model from your friendly local bike manufacturer that just been
bailed out of bankruptcy by former Laverda boss Francesco Tognon .

And this is a much higher profile , much faster bike that is even more
important to the company's continued existence than the entry level (for
Bimota) DB4 .
For this here is the SB8R , and not only is it the first time anyone outside
Bimota has ever ridden it in real world conditions out on the street , it is
also - how can I tell you this - an Italian bike with a Japanese heart .
Because the SB8R is powered by not a Ducati desmoquattro but by Suzuki's
TL1000R engine , the 90 degree V twin Superbike motor that the Japanese
company launched alongside it's similarly fuel injected four cylinder
GSX-R750 barely a year ago , but in which it now seems to have lost interest
after just a single season .


That makes the SB8R a haichi balbu eight valver instead of an otto valvole .
And as far as Tognon is concerned , Suzuki gave him the handsome present of
a leading edge engine design that will allow him not only to bring Bimota
back to the World Superbike arena in 2000 but also to rebuild the company
the same way it built its prestige the first time around , before the 500
Vdue two stroke troubles sent it off the rails over the last five years .




The SB8R is Bimota's passport to the way back , which is also the company's
way ahead - a return under Tognon's direction to its former pre-eminence as
a chassis specialist supreme , bringing race track frame technology to the
street by re equipping other firms engines with Bimota's own avant-garde
chassis design . However , this is also Bimota's visit to the last chance
saloon . The success of the SB8R in delivering an improved package in terms
of handling , performance and , yes , looks compared to the Japanese bike
from which it sources its engine is crucial to Bimota's continued existence
in terms of rebuilding the reputation of the troubled company .

They wont have another chance - and nobody knows this better than its new
owner . That's why the customer SB8R's long awaited arrival in Bimota
dealership has taken so long , as Tognon's R & D team under new chief
designer Francesco Medici has worked had and long to refine the new bike
with an attention to detail that no other Bimota model has ever had before .
This one has to be right - and from day one at that . Fortunately , my 200
mile day trip from Rimini factory out into the hills of central Italy came
up with the right answers . This is a very good motorcycle , and I defy
anyone to test the SB8R back to back with a TL1000R and avoiding concluding
that this is the V twin sports bike that Suzuki should have made but
couldn't or just plain didn't .


Because what is on offer here with the SB8R , apart from being the first
road bike to feature a carbon fibre composite chassis , is a $23,595 entry
ticket to the same kind of no compromise race track technology for the
street that Yamaha's even more costly R7 delivers .
In doing so,  Bimota has produced the kind of motorcycle that the heavy ,
lazy revving , bulky TL1000R promised to be on paper but turned out not to
be in practice .

There are several things about the SB8R that , on paper , appears to allow
it to provide the best of both worlds . There's the composite chassis
designed frame by Pierluigi Marconi , his final creation for Bimota , using
technology borrowed from Cagiva's 500cc Grand Prix bike . This frame uses
vacuum sealed carbon fibre lower frame spars keyed into the fabricated alloy
uppers to increase front weight bias as well as a self supporting carbon sub
frame for the seat (just like on Aprilia's World Champion GP racers) .

Then there's the engine Bimota has improved performance from the 90 degree V
twin engine via Magneti Marelli EFI with a single high pressure injector
per cylinder , that's part of a system that replaces the TL1000R's stock
Japanese engine management system and is equipped with massive 59mm throttle
bodies (up from 52mm on the TL1000R) made in house at Bimota . It should be
a potent challenger to it's Ducati and Aprilia rivals as the chequebook
choice of the twin cylinder tifoso .

Mind you , initial impressions are less than promising , however , stylist
Massimo Giovagnoli's multi sectioned body work (to improve access and reduce
the cost of accident repair) was , in prototype form , all red with white
flashes . Now in production form , it has the carbon fibre upper fairing
left unpainted .

The result is not just an after market kit part look at
odds with the presumed objective of this costly , limited edition (350 bikes
in the first '99 year batch) motorcycle , but the black muso (nose fairing)
combines with the TL1000R headlamp and large , matched air ducts to create
what appears to be a rather wide bike for a V twin .

At first sight , it
makes it seem a pity that Bimota wasn't able to avoid falling into the same
trap that Suzuki did in making a V twin that's as wide as a four . But throw
a leg over the Esse Bi Otto , and those first impressions are shown to be
false . The Bimota does push a lot of frontal air , necessitated mainly by
the KTM made radiators as well as the ram air ducting to those big throttle
bodies , so that the view from the bridge is dominated by the big twin
carbon fibre air ducts leading to the voluminous airbox between the
cylinders .





Though large , the air ducts stop seeming intrusive after a few miles , by
which time you've also gotten used to operating the switch gear by feel ,
since the ducts obscure them from your view . Nevertheless , the SB8R feels
slim to sit on , with your knees tucked into the flanks of the sculptured
fuel tank . It is also agile and responsive to steer , and as nimble as any
Superbike when you chuck it through twisting mountain passes or winding
cliff top roads . And that's with the adjustable steering geometry dialed
in using the most conservative settings , with 24 degrees of head angle
rather than 23 and 93mm of trail instead of 87mm .
The more radical settings make the bike
race track friendly . Yet there a relatively spacious riding position that
will suit taller customers , in spite of it's short (for a V twin) 54.7 inch
wheelbase , and surprisingly low footpegs that somehow do not compromise
ground clearance .
Still the seat height is rather high at 31.9 inches because of the exhausts
exiting beneath it , 916 style and combined with the low set but wide clip
ons , this results in a lot of body weight on your shoulders that , while
you do not notice when riding hard , does become tiring when you are stuck
in traffic putting through town .
However the SB8R certainly does not feel nearly as much like a boat as the
Suzuki , and in fact it lies somewhere between the Aprilia Mille and the
more hard edged Ducati in terms of riding stance and general layout . Like
the Aprilia , you sit in the Bimota rather than perched on top of it , like
on the Ducati .The SB8R is definitely more nimble than the Mille and it
rivals the 916 in agility . It also has a more rational 52/48 percent static
weight distribution than the 916 , doesn't roast your legs with blasts of
hot air from the radiator ducts , and also has a proper sidestand of the non
suicide variety (equipped with an ignition cut out) . Oh , and the
minimalist designer esque seat pad is also more comfortable than it looks .
And my run down the Pesaro autostrada was to show , the biota is a practical
road bike that's extremely aerodynamic (even if the mirrors are half useless
at any speed) , with such good penetration and rider protection from the
pointy screen fairing that I had to do a double take at the Suzuki speedo to
be certain I really was travelling at 160 mph - in fifth gear ! It did not
seem like it even when I hit the 11500 rpm rev. limiter , which was a good
time to hit another gear and discover this is an effortless speed capsule
with a top speed of what I'd guess is around 175 mph (there were too many
Greek truckies racing each other to the Brindisi ferry to find out) . Yet
which is happy to sit at 150 mph in top gear for as long as the traffic will
let you , with the tacho needle parked on the nine grand mark . All this in
spite of not having seen the inside of a wind tunnel .




Two things impress about the Bimota , as it delivers this A grade (as in
autobahn quality) performance , the muscular , meaty lilt of the off beat
exhaust note issuing through the arrow silencers , which will not just have
tollgate attendants confusing it with a Ducati , and it's superb stability
at high speeds , coupled with fine ride quality and good suspension
compliance from the fully adjustable 46mm Paioli upside down fork and ditto
Öhlins rear shock . The shocks placement is novel , as it is set up high and
forward , and operated by a long rod directly off the asymmetrical alloy
swingarm .
The suspension settings are excellent and when you hit a bump or a series of
ripples once committed to your line in a fast turn , the Bimota just shrugs
it off and resumes normal service - yet this does not have a payoff in slow
steering or heavy handling.
The steering is really light and precise at all speeds , without ever being
twitchy and attacking switchback mountain roads is a real buzz - not only
because the torquey engine spins up so easily and helps you motor from one
turn to the next so fast , but also because the new generation low profile
120/65-17 Michelin TX15 (which further helps increase front weight bias)
mounted to the handsome Antera front wheel feel planted in turns and the fat
Paioli forks - whose gold stanchions denote the low friction titanium
nitarte coating applied to them to improve low speed response - ride bumps
so well on the angle that you can maintain unlikely corner speeds quite
safely on what is after all a big twin .
Yet it is also a very light one by the standards of the class , with the
Bimota's claimed dry weight of 387 pounds a whopping 46 pounds lighter than
the TL1000R in spite of sharing the same 130 pound engine . You feel the
benefits of this in the way the SB8R can be chucked around almost on
autopilot . And for an extra 3 million lira you can have the SB8R special ,
available only in black , that saves another couple of pounds that s to the
use of assorted extra carbon fibre and aircraft alloy hardware .
Bimota has avoided going overboard on the rear tyre size fitting the
180/55-17 Michelin TX25 fitted to a 6.00 inch rim to help the bike change
direction easily while still putting the power to the ground , which it
especially does well out of slower turns . Be prepared , however , to have
the handlebars flapping in your hands as the wheel lifts when you gas it
hard .
And on fast corners , well , you just pick a line and know the Bimota will
hold it . There's absolutely no power understeer , no deflection from bumps
and loads of ground clearance - nothing drags . This bike is a lot of fun to
ride hard .


It stops well too . The big brakes are
Brembo's best , with loads of bite giving a huge amount of stopping power ,
coupled with a high degree of sensitivity . And when you trail brake into a
turn , the Bimota holds it's line , even if you overdo the entry speed and
have to grab a bigger handful , it does not sit up and understeer away , in
spite of the fairly radical geometry . Totally sorted .
Though the 996cc (98 x 66mm) V twin Suzuki engine is otherwise completely
unmodified , save for Bimota's very trick Siamesed stainless steel exhaust
system , this and the Marelli EFI have resulted In a remarkable 10 percent
power increase compare to the TL-R . There is a claimed 137 bhp at the rear
wheel in standard form , at just 10000 rpm , with hardly any fall off in
power over the remaining 1500 revs . And that's without fitting any of the
trick race parts obtainable directly from Suzuki or Bimota's own promised
aftermarket kits ,which should raise output to 160 bhp or more .
But back in the real world , this extra top end performance has not
compromised the SB8R's effectiveness as a street bike . The only thing that
needs more attention is the low rpm EFI mapping on this 5000 mile old
development hack , to eliminate a reluctance to settle down to the 1200 rpm
idle when starting up .
Otherwise the engine is as tractable and forgiving as you would expect a V
twin to be , even on the bottom end , in spite of those massive throttle
bodies .


The throttle action is stiffer than on the Suzuki , probably
through using a stiffer spring to counter the suction . But once you have
survived the slightly jerky pick up from the closed throttle , you are
rewarded with smooth instant response from an engine that spins up notably
quicker than it does in Suzuki guise . This is thanks to the single injector
positioned close to the butterfly and fed with a high 6 bar fuel pump
pressure . This is the same basic set-up Ducati uses on it's '99 factory
Superbike engines .
And once motoring , the Bimota's TL engine has an extra kick at 7000 rpm ,
when the rasp from the exhaust - slightly higher pitched than a Ducati -
hardens , and the engine heads determinly towards the rev. limiter . The
only glitch is a slight hesitation if you roll it on hard below 5000 rpm
above that and it is instant response , but lower down each big air funnel
takes a moment to clear it's throat .
The solution is to use the gearbox a little more enthusiastically , which is
no problem , because it is made in Japan and therefore has a clean , precise
change is a carbon fibre rod linkage . But if you want to just lope along in
traffic , the engine's quite happy ticking over at 2500 rpm in fourth gear ,
ready to come on strong when a gap appears - pickup is strong after the
initial stutter .
When you settle aboard the Bimota for the first time and thumb the starter ,
and that trademark engine note rumbles into life with the sound of thunder ,
you have to pinch yourself to be sure you are not about to head for the
hills on a Ducati , But you are not and instead , what the new Bimota has
finally delivered to the marketplace is another kind of yes Italian twin
that unquestionably sets a new benchmark for V twin handling , while
arguably also moving the goal posts in terms of engine performance for the
street .
As it starts it's second quarter century of existence, Bimota's not out of
the woods yet on it's comeback trail - but the SB8R is such a good bike that
the company must now be deemed to have a serious shot at survival . At least
, along the way , it's bought Francesco Tognon and his men another round of
drinks at the last chance saloon !
Source Alan Cathcart for Cycle News



{|  class="wikitable"
|- 
!Make Model
|Bimota SB8R
|- 
!Year
|1998 - 2000
|- 
!Production
|150 units (combined with the SB8RS)
|- 
!Engine Type
|Four stroke, 90°-V-twin, DOHC, 4 valves per cylinder
|- 
!Cooling System
|Liquid cooled
|- 
!Displacement
|996 cc / 60.8 cub. in.
|- 
!Bore X Stroke
|98 x 66 mm
|- 
!Compression
|11.3:1
|- 
!Induction
|Marelli fuel-injection 59mm throttle bodies
|- 
!Ignition
|Electronic inductive
|- 
!Starting
|Electric
|- 
!Max Power
|98.4 kW / 135 hp @ 9500 rpm
|- 
!Max Torque
|104 Nm / 10.6 kgf-m / 76.8 lb-ft. @ 8500 rpm
|- 
!Transmission
|6 Speed
|- 
!Final Drive
|Chain
|- 
!Front Suspension
|Telehydraulic upside-down fork with 46mm stanchions and compression, rebound and preload adjustments
|- 
!Rear Suspension
|Fully adjustable shock absorber
|- 
!Wheelbase
|1390 mm / 54.7 in.
|- 
!Seat Height
|810 mm / 32 in.
|- 
!Front Brakes
|2x 320mm discs 4 piston calipers, Brembo
|- 
!Rear Brakes
|Single 230mm disc 4 piston caliper, Brembo
|- 
!Front Tire
|120/65 ZR17
|- 
!Rear Tire
|190/55 ZR17
|- 
!Dry Weight
|179 kg / 394.6 lbs
|- 
!Fuel Capacity
|20 Litres / US 5.3 gal.
|- 
!Standing ¼ Mile
|12.0 sec
|- 
!Top Speed
|255.9 km/h / 159 mp/h
|- 
!Reviews
|Moto-euro. COM / Motocorse

|}
== External Links ==
* http://www.motocorse.com/info/prove_moto/28_Bimota_SB8R_1999.php
* http://www.moto-euro.com/sample_article_5.htm

[[Category:Bimota motorcycles]]