One of the more interesting bikes displayed at EICMA this week is the Bimota Tesi H2, featuring a supercharged engine from Kawasaki. Reports indicate Kawasaki recently purchased a 49.9% interest in Bimota, and the new Tesi H2 is the first bike developed from that relationship.
Details are a bit vague, but we are seeing reports that the 998cc supercharged, inline-four engine develops more than 206 horsepower and 95 pounds/feet of torque. Curb weight is apparently in the neighborhood of 525 pounds.
One look at the Tesi H2 reveals the unusual front suspension system with swing arms rather than a traditional telescopic fork … a design Bimota has used in the past. The rear suspension appears to feature two electronically-adjustible Ohlins shock absorbers.
Other apparent features include the use of the engine as a stressed member, and a bespoke-look to the milling of various aluminum parts and components — something Bimotas have always utilized.
One report from EICMA indicates the price for the Tesi H2 (which may not be available in the United States) will be in the neighborhood of 50,000 Euros (roughly $55,000 U.S.) when production units are delivered next Summer.
See more of MD’s great photography:
Wait is that a 2020 YAMAHA GTS 1000?
WOW. I think I mentioned Cameron in one of my comments. Check THIS. VERY interesting read.
https://www.cycleworld.com/story/bikes/bimota-tesi-and-supercharged-kawasaki-are-a-rad-combination/
Ralph W
Check out Alto racing team’s website.
They’ve been successfully racing a hub- center Ducati powered bike .
http://www.altoracing.co.uk/team/
These designs have been successful against conventional fork designs. It seems there’s more to the reasons why they’re not more common.
I don’t believe it’s because they are inherently inferior designs.
The Alto and Britten are purpose-built race bikes. They don’t have to deal with harsh bumps, they don’t need a good turning circle and they don’t need long-term durability. This Bimota and the bikes using the Tele-lever and Duo-lever are all road going motorcycles and have to deal with different conditions to race bikes. What is good on the track isn’t always good on the road.
Ralph
Ever heard of John Britten and the V1000 that he and some friends built from the ground up and went on to achieve remarkable racing success , proving its superiority over the best factory backed Telescopic fork equipped machines of the time ?
The V1000 has a Hossack front suspension which BMW later adopted after Norman Hossack’s patent expired, rebadging it as the “Duolever.”
The BMW version was never designed for the purpose of racing success, not because it couldn’t be done, as John Britten conclusively proved.
Check this 1992 Motorcyclist magazine article out written by the respected Alan Cathcart.
https://www.motorcyclistonline.com/1992-britten-v1000/
Also the hub-center design has actually known racing victories including some track records as well.
It’s tragic in a thousand ways that John Britten is no longer alive, but I can still dream of a world where he was providing for a Moto2 team with his unique chassis designs (and winning).
Dave, haven’t you noticed that BMW is moving away from the Tele-lever. New models are coming out with conventional tele-forks instead. They still use it and the Duo-lever on heavyweight models where it is more suited. Why didn’t they put those systems on their top-of-the-range sports bike, the S 1000 RR and its derivatives, the S 1000 R and the S 1000 XR? If they had done it would be eligible to use in WSBK. They have many years of experience with these systems and are better placed to use it in racing than anyone else. Because it’s not as good, that’s why!
It depends so much on your riding style. Conservative riders value a comfortable ride. Aggressive riders value sharp handling and good front-end feel. Some riders will do anything to avoid front-end dive. Other riders use it to their advantage. I still think BMW introduced the Tele-lever with the intention of making bikes with two wheel drive, because that was the talk at the time. It would be of most benefit on the big GS, and so they continue to fit the Tele-lever to that bike. It would have a huge advantage over other big adventure bikes in mud and sand, which is where big adventure bikes are at their worst. But probably, like Yamaha did, they found out it would make the bike so expensive that they would sell very few of them. Maybe it will happen in the future.
Dave, I don’t know what system your mountain bike had and if it had any similarities to these systems. But as with everything, if you create an advantage in one way you also create a disadvantage in another. By changing the angles and length of the linkage arms they can alter the suspension characteristics (not so much on this Bimota). But the “controllable axle path” on the R1200GS has meant many dented front rims when used in rough conditions. When that happens the tire won’t hold air, and the rims are very expensive. On other BMW models people have complained about harshness over big bumps. Years ago there was more interest in alternative front suspension systems. But in the last couple of decades tele-forks have become so refined that their advantages outweigh their disadvantages. The new Goldwing is an exception, but I have no interest in bikes like that. Unless they use alternative systems in racing I would say that systems like this are just a gimmick. For decades now BMW have been the masters of gimmickry, which is why I hate that brand.
For $55,000 I could get a Sportbike, Dual Sport, Touring bike and a new Toyota for the little lady. Just can’t bring myself to spend that kind of money on ANY motorcycle.
That’s not a muffler, that’s a double barreled cannon. This thing would weigh 385 lbs if you put an Akrapovic on it
That’s no muffler…that’s a space station..
I love the way MD keeps this article up as a pinata, collecting more whacks by the day. Save the can, I love the design..
Interesting, but if that front suspension actually performed better than a well developed conventional one, you would see it winning on a race bike.
Not necessarily. Racing helps R&D but there are some unique requirements for each that don’t cross over. I’ll never buy a bike without cruise control and a centerstand, but you won’t find those things in MotoGP.
A front wheel change would be a bitch for a race team.
I measure performance by how well the front end works on the street at the speeds I ride. It’s how I evaluate the other components and subsystems, too. The best tires, brakes, suspension, engine, etc. for a street rider are seldom the best for a motorcycle racer.
Road racers, MXers, dirt trackers, trials bikes…….Britten and the new Gold Wing use similar suspension that still feeds forces fairly high.
I don’t care if they all use it. It doesn’t mean that sliding forks are the best front suspension for all bikes, all riders, all riding styles, and all rider preferences (some hate brake dive, for instance) on all riding areas at all speeds.
In 2015, Cycle World tested the Bimota Tesi 3, writing this: “The only problem I had with the Tesi 3? I didn’t realize how fast I was going around corners, and you don’t have much time to check the speedometer while you are canted over. But who cares! The natural anti-dive effect of the front suspension lets you brake so much later than with any other bike, and in absolute safety. The reduced weight transfer means a greater sense of security and control, plus a perfectly neutral and totally surefooted dynamic response.”
The front suspension system on this Bimota is very different to those on the Britten and new Goldwing, which are similar to BMW’s Duo-lever system. They still have ‘forks’ at an angle similar to tele-forks which steer with the wheel, but the suspension is behind the forks instead of in them. This Bimota has hub-center steering which means only the wheel, brakes and fender turn with the steering.
One of the advantages of tele-forks is their angle means the wheel moves backwards (relative to the rest of the bike) when it hits a bump or hole. This reduces the impact and enhances the suspension action. The system on this Bimota, the new Goldwing and BMW’s Duo-lever and Tele-lever systems don’t do that. That is why the R1200GS has a real problem with denting rims. On the new Goldwing the suspension system allows the engine to be mounted further forward because there is no need for the same amount of clearance as is required with tele-forks. But that’s on a heavyweight (overweight) tourer and not the type of bike I would ride. I think the system on this Bimota is only of novelty value. If it was better, MotoGP would use it.
By similar, I meant to each other. Funny that in the 80’s a bunch of forks were running an anti dive system linked to the brakes and not now. Most racers want the load transferred to the front end under heavy braking. Steep steering head angles and short wheel bases were the way to go. Now both are stretching out.
“One of the advantages of tele-forks is their angle means the wheel moves backwards ”
“The system on this Bimota, the new Goldwing and BMW’s Duo-lever and Tele-lever systems don’t do that.”
Controllable axle path is one of the advantages of linkage forks. I had a linkage suspension fork on my mountain bike in the 90’s that touted it’s axle-path curve as one of it’s advantages, both for small bump sensitivity and consistency of trail.
As Fred_M eluded to, stuff that wins on a race bike does not mean its better in general. It only means that the best riders in the world can use it to go faster. We see carbon fiber discs winning on race bikes, but you don’t see them on street bikes because they wouldn’t work at all.
Even that doesn’t mean that something like the Tesi or RADD system wouldn’t work as well or even be better at a race track. But it is a difficult decision to risk change in such a competitive environment. The Ohlins forks used at the GP level are such a highly refined product at this point that even something with the potential to be superior will have some catching up to do.
I personally loved the Telelever front on my 1150R. I melded well with that bike.
At the time BMW introduced the Tele-lever and then the Duo-lever there was talk going around about two-wheel-drive bikes. It seemed logical that BMW was preparing for that because tele-forks do not work well with 2WD. But that never happened, probably because they decided it wouldn’t be worth the extra weight, complexity and cost.
Not necessarily. Motorcycle racers are highly tuned athletes that have trained themselves to get the most out of a traditional motorcycle. Some other configuration might be better, but unless a rider at the very top is willing to risk his season (or seasons) to develop the system AND himself, we won’t see it.
As an example from an other sport: In alpine skiing the hourglass (or carving ski) made traditional “straight” ski outdated within a season in the mid-nineties. Whole production runs were driven straight to the landfill. Still, at the very top of the sport the clearly inferior ski persisted, because that was what the pros were used to. The last slalom world championship with straight skis was won in 1999. At that time no production straight skis were sold or even made for years.
If you’re really wealthy (Bloomberg wealthy), and if you want a neighbor to move, buy this bike and ride it in front of his house constantly till he surrenders and sells his house. Promise it won’t take long!
Not even close to Bloomberg weathly but this bike easily within my price range. Massive gap between billionaires and mere mortals. Why hilight divides from comfortable SLC outpost? Easy excuse for poor taste?
OK. Everybody who is comfortable enough to spend $55k on a bike that does nothing better than a store bought major brand, for $35k less, lift a paw and wiggle a remaining hand.
P.S. What is SLC and where is this remote, isolated but comfortable outpost ?
Did you mean highlight ? Salt Lake City ?
OK.
You missed the part that the purpose of my imaginary purchase is to make one’s neighbor move.
You missed the irony too. Do you do that a lot?
I got it but I don’t get the joke. It’s not gonna be too loud with the stock exhaust. So…if you’re rich enough, your neighbor will move because you have a hideous bike?
Some of the top-end Harley Davidson bikes start at close to $30K without options so $55K for something this special seems about right, and attainable for many people without Bloomberg wealth.
Being able to pay for it, and whether or not it’s a smart financial decision for an upper middle class person are two different things. I guess it’s a matter of priorities.
I’m not a fan of the look. Bimota’s have traditionally been beautiful. This has a Japanese Origami look to it. You can tell Kawasaki is influencing more than just the engine design here. Let the Italians do what they do best, Kawasaki, and you guys do what you do best.
The concept is a winner. I mean who wouldn’t want a ridiculously powerful and really unique high performance motorcycle like this ? I love alternative front suspension systems like this which actually do have performance advantages over conventional telescopic forks. Stability being the primary one .
However they do have some undesirable trade offs. Lack of feel being foremost here.
The industry is still committed to the telescopic fork layout. It works fine and for commercial reasons it’s a sure thing. Riders are familiar with it and the vast majority of motorcyclists would be reluctant to change.
For me, the cool factor of a hub-center front end is super attractive. But realizing the promise of the performance advantage of the design can’t really happen if the package is too overweight ( obviously).
Kawasaki, while deserving heaps of credit for being bold enough to do this , has kind of done to the Tesi what Yamaha factory designers did with James Parker’s RADD front end on the GTS 1000.
Parker saw his design’s best expression in a cutting edge track bike but Yamaha turned it into a portly sport tourer.
Great intentions and A for effort Kawasaki but at least aesthetically the execution leaves a bit to be desired !
Did they need to use the Kaw Z1000 muffler too? No wonder it’s on the tubby side.
And it only has about 120 more horsepower!
You know that you live in the future when the current Tesi weighs 55 pounds more than the 1990 original.
Wait a sec…
At first glance, with squinted eyes, it reminds me of a TL1000S somehow.
I really like it. Bold, unique, original. Love that they’re exploring non-traditional design language. I feel like they’ve pulled it off where many others (Kawasaki with many new bikes, Suzuki B-King, Ducati Multistrada 1000, etc) have failed.
You must not remember the original Bimota Tesi. This concept is just a merging of that machine with the supercharged Kawasaki powertrain. We saw this design many years ago.
The original Tesi was a road racer and the first production bike Tesi 1D was a fully-faired bike like the Honda Hurricane. 2D and 3D were much lighter and lighter looking bikes but shared design language with this bike.
Maybe the first Tesi was originally envisioned as a road racer, but it never made much of an impression in that venue. This one seems confused – an avant-garde road racing design with a drag racing powertrain, all 525 lbs of it. Perhaps Kawasaki should consider creating something with a much smaller supercharged engine, much less weight and a new design language for the new century?
How about the 250 four banger, maybe breathed on a bit but no forced plumbing? Oh, while I’m being delusional, how about dropping at least a 100 pounds.
I actually like the front swing arm design. Reminds me of the Yamaha GTS1000 from the early 90s. I wonder why more manufacturers don’t offer front swing arm bikes? You’d think it would be more popular?
You don’t see this front end on other bikes (well, maybe certain BMWs have something similar) because 1), it doesn’t work much better than conventional telescopic forks and 2), it costs more to make.
It depends on what you’re looking for. If you want to minimize brake dive, this front end is great. Yes, it costs more than forks, but this doesn’t impress me as a bike built to a price point.
This front end and others like it have the potential to cost less than premium telescoping forks, which require high tolerances for many aspects of their functionality. Forkless is links and bearings + a good (single) shock. Low volume drives the costs right now.
Reminds me of the Push me-Pull you from Dr. Doolittle.
Why is it some manufacturers want their machines to end up looking like someone crumpled a piece of paper?
Can we end the Transformer wanna be obsession? The average buyer is not a 13 year old. Compare this to the beautiful Aprila RS660 and you’d be hard pressed to convince anyone both of these come from Italian companies.
In fact, it looks like Bimota just used the same exhaust cans as the Kawasaki it came from. Sad.
Which end is the front?
Just as I suspected! Some of the people making comments here don’t even know which is the front or rear of a motorcycle.
The south end of a horse heading north?
For some reason I foresee a Hyosung 650 being developed with many of the same visual cues.
And it’s going to be even faster, has twice the number of cams!!!
horrible.
The Milk Crate brigade is not gonna like this one.
And proudly do I agree.
* Current member in good standing with bungee cords forever. *
Seems like every bike using the Kawi supercharged motor is heavy. My guess is the motor itself is a bit on the heavy side to deal with the potential power available from that engine after a ECU flash. From what i have read there is ludicrous power lurking in that engine with some ECU tweaks. It is quite restricted from the factory.
Wholeheartedly agree with you Ronald. I think Kawi made it a reasonably light bike for what it is which is not a dedicated road racer.
525 lbs curb is not light for a one-person bike.
I said reasonably light for what it is. Its only 75 lbs or so heavier than most liter sport bikes (track focused). And as Ronald mentioned, likely over-engineered to deal with the potential power.
But what is it? Track bike looks and a touring bike weight. On a motorcycle 75 lbs overweight is a lot. It appears Kawasaki is still trying to figure out what to do with the supercharged motor.
Aside from track focused hyper-sport bikes, 525lb is not heavy for a 1000cc motorcycle.
That’s funny. 525 pounds has been a heavy street bike for as long as I can remember. What exciting new technology has been developed to make 525 pounds a reasonable weight for a 1000cc bike?
I am not aware of any 1000cc bikes that aren’t super-sports or naked versions of them that weigh any less, certainly none with forced induction and over 200 hp.
When you eliminate supersports and naked 1000cc bikes all you have left is adventure and touring bikes, none of which want or need 200 HP.
“all you have left is adventure and touring bikes”
You also have your bruiser class – Rocket 3, Diavel, Vmax. Larger sport touring bikes, all of which are over 500 lbs. I’d say the naked Kawasaki H2 and the H2SX are offering an alternative narrative to those genres.
The Bimota, as is the case with practically all Bimotas, is simply offering a Bimota. I don’t think it intends to compete with anything.
Again, 525lb is not “heavy”. It’s light for a cruiser. The VFR800 was right at 525lb, and was a nice-handling bike.
I’ve owned and enjoyed a number of 600+lb bikes, and 525lb is no big deal. Your memory is short if you can’t remember with the market was full of 500-550lb bikes, none of which were considered overweight.
A CB 1100 or T 120 Triumph both tip the scales over 525
Any motorcycle over 500 pounds is a total non-starter for me. They exude laziness in engineering.
But then I see motorcycles as sporting equipment. I don’t consider purchasing 50 pound golf clubs either. 40 pound tennis rackets are also off my list. 100 pound waterskiis? Nope!
There it is folks. A shining beacon of overcomplexity.
Next!
A little less transformer look could be much better, but I find very interesting. I really would love to try a bike with such front end.
ps.: the stock exhaust looks good to me
Good grief. It’s a Tesi; they’ve been around for what, 20 years? It’s all about not-forks.
And really- dual rear shocks? No, just no. One is the rear, the other is for the front. Look at the linkage from the front swing arm.
I like it, but it’s too expensive for me and I have no use for that much power. In the past there have been problems getting bikes with front swing-arms to handle well. Maybe they have that sorted now.
HIDEOUS!
WHY?
I hear “Bimota + Kawasaki” and all I can think is BRING BACK THE V-DUE.
A Bimota chassis with a Kawi road-going 2-stroke? NOW we’re talking!
(In this daydream, they not only build it but somehow I’m able to afford it………)
I stand corrected. I was thinking of Benelli which is now producing 300cc bikes in China.
Reminds me of a multi tool with every item displayed at once. Beauty is in eye of the beholder and I won’t judge what I can’t afford that would be silly.
Never thought I’d say a Bimota is ugly, but “gosh darn” this is MFU
Looks like a regular Kawasaki rear ended a transformer! You can barely see the lovely suspension bits that make a Bimota special.. Add an even bulkier and droopier fairing. Cripe.
Now get off my lawn!!
At 55 thou it makes the Z H2 seem like bargain basement cheap.
+1
Good to see Bimota resuscitated, again. I really like it. I’ve always understood Bimota as a chassis tuning company, so the Tesi layout is historically consistent with what they did in the KB1, KB2 and KB3. Perhaps this will become the production KB4?
snout right down on th front fender, tail up under your chin. Goofy.
Folks..take a closer look..see the symmetry between the two swing-arms, connected by that cantilever thing…its actually a work of art and probably looks cooler when in motion. Hide that muffler, give it more of a solid color-scheme and you have a museum piece.
A uniquely different, expensive and ugly bike. Nice to see Bimoto back, but uh.
That’s 525 lbs. of serious ugly.
Hideous
“The rear suspension appears to feature two electronically-adjustible Ohlins shock absorbers.”
One looks to be for the front suspension – look at the linkage at the bottom of the left side.
Every now and then I come across a new bike that is beautiful and powerful and sexy … so wonderful I reflexively reach for my checkbook and Google the nearest dealer, anxious to lay down my life savings. This is NOT one of those times.
A 4 into 1 into 2 exhaust system would be much better looking than the bulky single can, in my opinion
Bimota has always been out of my price range, and I didn’t even realize that they were still in business. Cool bike. As Shoeman said, Kawi is/has been an enthusiast’s company, and they make some interesting bikes.
Kawasaki is to be applauded for investing heavily in significant all new models (ZX25R, ZH2), revised models (Z900, Z650, Z1000SX, etc), and now an investment in Bimota. Kawasaki has always been an enthusiasts company, and the 2020 models and the strategy of partially owning Bimota are bold moves in a flat to declining motorcycle market. Good for Kawasaki, and good for motorcycle enthusiasts.
As much as I dislike the looks of this specific bike (which I would love to ride), I agree with your post 100%. Keep in mind that Bimota’s core business is small displacement bikes made in China. Until recently, made for the Chinese market. Now, traditional motorcycle companies are buying these Bimotas with design disguises and rebranding them. Bimota and Kawasaki stand to be in a power position for markets outside of the US and Europe. At some point, this will translate to real attainable Bimota motorcycles for the masses. This will be a good thing for motorcycling.
“Keep in mind that Bimota’s core business is small displacement bikes made in China”
Is that true? I hadn’t heard that. Are you confusing them with another brand? Bimota always made some of the most exciting, most exclusive and most expensive bikes in the world, mostly using engines from other manufacturers. Basically, they got all of the best components money could buy and put them together to make some amazing bikes. Unfortunately they were far too expensive for most people and the company got into financial difficulty. If you know something I don’t know, please tell us more.
“Keep in mind that Bimota’s core business is small displacement bikes made in China”
“Is that true? ”
Not exactly. Bimota was purchased by a Chinese company that expanded the brand to small displacement bikes (I think there’s a Chinese middleweight twin, too), but Bimota Italy has always been about stuff like this.
I think we’ve confused Bimota with Benelli.
Agreed. Not a good good looking muffler. I usually experience an uncontrollable drooling at the mere mention of a Bimota, but this bike seems an odd marriage of parts and about 100lbs too heavy.
Considering all of the tech and fabrication that went into this chassis and the presumably tiny volume of them that they’ll make, I am kind of surprised that it will cost *only* $55k.
It would be really good if one of the majors got “forkless” front ends to take, once and for all.
Yamaha introduced an alternative front suspension bike in 1993 called the GTS1000. Not exactly the same design as the Bimota here, though. Also, Honda revised its Gold Wing with a girder type front end and BMW has also used this type along with their tele-lever design.
Yup, I’m aware of the Yamaha and the new Goldwing. I’d like to see designs like this proliferate beyond niche products. Also the front end of the old Britten. These all have the potential to work much better than telescoping forks.
I get weepy just thinking about Britten. Responding to: “These all have the potential to work much better than telescoping forks”… I think if the ultimate capabilities of something different were higher than telescoping forks, race bikes would be using them. I think the issue with race bikes never making the switch to alternate front suspension is feel. Remember the ELF bikes?
“These all have the potential to work much better than telescoping forks.”
So far, they never have worked better. Why isn’t MotoGP using them? Or top level dirt racing?
The motorcycle companies are content to buy telescoping forks from the vendors who make them and the buying public isn’t sending them any signals to indicate that they’re dissatisfied with conventional forks.
Cameron over at CW has written on this at length – nutshell (IIRC, go over there and search for details/possibly corrections) telescopic forks have enough better feel that it overcomes their shortcomings vs more “ideal” layouts.
One of the problems with this design is it has to have a very wide front swing-arm or a very poor turning circle (which this bike probably has) because of reduced steering movement. Have a look at your own bike when it is parked with the steering at full-lock and think about how wide a front swing-arm would have to be to give it clearance and be strong enough.
If a bike was produced like that you know what people here would say, “It’s ugly.” “It’s ugly.” “It’s ugly.” “It’s ugly.”
Kinda heavy for a Bimota and to a certain degree, ugly.
Do people really buy these things?
BimotaTron!! A motorcycle that takes the best Kawasaki has to offer, adds a buttload of ugly, ups the price by some ridiculous margin, and will never be seen on the streets of your home town. Sorry. Big fail.
What’s bizarre to me is the pairing of the Tesi design elements with the stock Kawasaki powertrain, including ugly exhaust system. Couldn’t they at least have made the exhaust look special?
Other than the exhaust (which I agree with you about), what stock Kawasaki powertrain items are bizarre when paired with the Tesi design elements? Probably done for emissions reasons. And I think this bike fits Bimota’s MO over the years.
I expect Euro4 or whatever it is now makes it prohibitive to change it.
PS sorry Dirck, I apparently clicked “report” when I meant to click “edit”
Think we’ll see a Bimota-branded competitor to the RS660 built around a tuned 650 twin? I think Kawasaki could absolutely make a play in the premium end of the market against Ducati and Aprilia with Bimota if Bimota has the manufacturing capacity.