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Difference between revisions of "Bimota DB3 Mantra"
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The power plant itself is standard, producing a claimed maximum of 86bhp at 7000rpm. Like the Monster, its closest rival, the naked Mantra is well served by the V-twin's relatively modest top-end performance and huge reserves of midrange grunt.In town the bike was a revelation after previous racy Bimota's, with none of the normal wrist-ache. Steering lock was pretty limited, but the Mantra's lightweight - just 381lb dry - helped low-speed maneuvering. At walking pace the motor felt rather snatchy, making for erratic progress in heavy traffic. But it smoothed out above 3000rpm, and midrange response was predictably brilliant. Cracking open the twin 38mm Mikunis sent the bike charging instantly forward, its front wheel coming up easily in first gear.On the open road the Mantra's instant urge made for rapid progress and effortless overtaking, without need to cane it to the 9000rpm redline or make too much use of the six-speed gearbox. Riding a Bimota gently has never been so much fun. Revved harder, the V-twin stayed fairly smooth as it rumbled towards a top speed of about 125mph. Neither the top-end delivery nor the riding position encouraged ton-plus speeds, although a detachable windscreen is available as an optional extra.Unlike many naked bikes, the Mantra felt rock-solid at speed. | The power plant itself is standard, producing a claimed maximum of 86bhp at 7000rpm. Like the Monster, its closest rival, the naked Mantra is well served by the V-twin's relatively modest top-end performance and huge reserves of midrange grunt.In town the bike was a revelation after previous racy Bimota's, with none of the normal wrist-ache. Steering lock was pretty limited, but the Mantra's lightweight - just 381lb dry - helped low-speed maneuvering. At walking pace the motor felt rather snatchy, making for erratic progress in heavy traffic. But it smoothed out above 3000rpm, and midrange response was predictably brilliant. Cracking open the twin 38mm Mikunis sent the bike charging instantly forward, its front wheel coming up easily in first gear.On the open road the Mantra's instant urge made for rapid progress and effortless overtaking, without need to cane it to the 9000rpm redline or make too much use of the six-speed gearbox. Riding a Bimota gently has never been so much fun. Revved harder, the V-twin stayed fairly smooth as it rumbled towards a top speed of about 125mph. Neither the top-end delivery nor the riding position encouraged ton-plus speeds, although a detachable windscreen is available as an optional extra.Unlike many naked bikes, the Mantra felt rock-solid at speed. | ||
This is a Bimota, after all, and that oval-section alloy frame looks massively rigid. But handling was less quick steering than previous Rimini bikes. Presumably that was intention, as the Mantra is aimed at city dwellers and sports touring types who wouldn't normally consider a Bimota.Not that you'd suspect a thing from a glance at the spec sheet. With 24 degrees of rake, trail of just 92mm and wheelbase of 1370mm, this bike's vital statistics are almost identical to those of the super-sports DB2. Adjusting the length of the Paioli rear shock, though, so those steering geometry figures are only approximate, can alter geometry. The bike I rode was set up to turn fairly quickly and easily, but required noticeably more effort than the ultra-flickable DB2.The multi-adjustable shock sits diagonally on the right of the bike and is worked directly by the oval-section alloy swing-arm. Front suspension is similar to that used by other Bimota models, with 43mm diameter Paioli forks whose sliders are machined from solid billet.Both ends were softly sprung, at least by Bimota standards, and superbly controlled, making the bumpy hill roads south of Rimini feel deceptively smooth. Either that, or they'd all been resurfaced since my last visit. If anything the forks were slightly soft for aggressive riding, using up much of their travel under hard braking. In the absence of spring preload adjusters (optional kits are available for both preload and rebound damping), winding on a little extra compression damping helped slightly | This is a Bimota, after all, and that oval-section alloy frame looks massively rigid. But handling was less quick steering than previous Rimini bikes. Presumably that was intention, as the Mantra is aimed at city dwellers and sports touring types who wouldn't normally consider a Bimota.Not that you'd suspect a thing from a glance at the spec sheet. With 24 degrees of rake, trail of just 92mm and wheelbase of 1370mm, this bike's vital statistics are almost identical to those of the super-sports DB2. Adjusting the length of the Paioli rear shock, though, so those steering geometry figures are only approximate, can alter geometry. The bike I rode was set up to turn fairly quickly and easily, but required noticeably more effort than the ultra-[[flickable]] DB2.The multi-adjustable shock sits diagonally on the right of the bike and is worked directly by the oval-section alloy swing-arm. Front suspension is similar to that used by other Bimota models, with 43mm diameter Paioli forks whose sliders are machined from solid billet.Both ends were softly sprung, at least by Bimota standards, and superbly controlled, making the bumpy hill roads south of Rimini feel deceptively smooth. Either that, or they'd all been resurfaced since my last visit. If anything the forks were slightly soft for aggressive riding, using up much of their travel under hard braking. In the absence of spring preload adjusters (optional kits are available for both preload and rebound damping), winding on a little extra compression damping helped slightly | ||
[[Image:Bimota DB3 Mantra 4.jpg|400px|thumb|Bimota DB3 Mantra 4]] | [[Image:Bimota DB3 Mantra 4.jpg|400px|thumb|Bimota DB3 Mantra 4]] | ||
The Mantra certainly stopped as fiercely as any race-replica, too, thanks to its light weight plus a front brake combination of twin 320mm floating discs and four-pot Brembo [[caliper]]s, backed up by a 230mm rear disc. Its 17-inch wheels wore fat Michelin Macadam's, which gripped well although they're not pure sports tires. Ground clearance was excellent, with just a corner of the belly-pan touching down under extreme provocation.Despite its relaxed riding position and slightly slower steering, there's no doubt that the Mantra is a seriously quick machine that, if well set-up and ridden hard, could keep up with most sports bikes. It's a true Bimota, even if it doesn't look anything like any of the others.All of which, of course, is pretty much what its creators intended. The Mantra achieves Bimota's aim of broadening the marque's appeal, providing great performance and handling in a stunning visual package that some riders will love, others will hate and few will ignore.Naturally it's also expensive, costing considerably more than Ducati's similarly powered M900 Monster. But for riders who've always appreciated Bimota's dedication to high performance and engineering excellence, and prefer a more rounded bike to the normal Rimini diet of racy sportsters, the Mantra could just be the answer.}} | The Mantra certainly stopped as fiercely as any race-replica, too, thanks to its light weight plus a front brake combination of twin 320mm floating discs and four-pot Brembo [[caliper]]s, backed up by a 230mm rear disc. Its 17-inch wheels wore fat Michelin Macadam's, which gripped well although they're not pure sports tires. Ground clearance was excellent, with just a corner of the belly-pan touching down under extreme provocation.Despite its relaxed riding position and slightly slower steering, there's no doubt that the Mantra is a seriously quick machine that, if well set-up and ridden hard, could keep up with most sports bikes. It's a true Bimota, even if it doesn't look anything like any of the others.All of which, of course, is pretty much what its creators intended. The Mantra achieves Bimota's aim of broadening the marque's appeal, providing great performance and handling in a stunning visual package that some riders will love, others will hate and few will ignore.Naturally it's also expensive, costing considerably more than Ducati's similarly powered M900 Monster. But for riders who've always appreciated Bimota's dedication to high performance and engineering excellence, and prefer a more rounded bike to the normal Rimini diet of racy sportsters, the Mantra could just be the answer.}} | ||