BIMOTA BB3 (2014 - on) Review

Overall rating

One of the lightest and most powerful bikes ever. But on the track it comes up a little short. The tyres aren't great and it really isn't worth the extra £10,000 over the 2014 S1000RR it shares so many parts with.

It's a brave attempt for Bimota and looks fantastic but there a few rough edcges that are hard to overlook on something costing so much.

Ride quality & brakes

When you really start to push on, the front feels vague. The rear felt better but that's because BMW's electronics control everything pretty well.

Some of this would be sorted with some better tyres, but a few niggles would remain.

Engine

A claimed 200bhp makes the BB3 one of the most powerful road bikes of the moment - joint top with the Ducati Superlegerra. It uses the same engine as the BMW S1000RR but has new an extra 7bhp.

It's a scream, but you;d expect nothing less from the tried and tested inline four. There is simply power all through the rev range and it delivers it smoothly and without drama building to a peak as you near the redline.

Reliability & build quality

The test bike developed a slight electrical fault which prevented MCN testers from turning the ABS off. NBot a good sign. With limited dealer back-up in the UK, potential buyers need to be comfortable with working on some things themselves. but it's a BMW engine so help will be at hand.

Value vs rivals

This bike comes in at a whopping £28,000. That's a lot of anyone's money and is nearly double what a BMW S1000RR would cost. The donor of many of the Bimota's parts.

Equipment

Same as the BMW S1000RR's. Three rider modes - plus Slick as an optional extra. There is also switchable traction control, ABS and a quickshifter.

The clocks are also shared with the German donor machine and the quickshifter is from BMW too. The Continental Attack tyres lacked a bit of feel when pushed hard and that also translated to a lack of bite when braking hard.