2025-on Bimota Tesi H2 Tera review: Supercharged, hub-steering Italian makes all-rounder sexy

Everybody wants to know how that front end feels. The short answer is different, but not weird. There is feel for the front tyre, it’s just not generated by weight transfer when you brake, as with telescopic forks. It’s similar to BMW’s Telelever system in that regard, though it feels more performance-oriented that comfort based. After the first tank of fuel, you get used to the sensation, and come to appreciate not being pitched forward on the handlebars in quite the same way.

The total separation of steering and suspension function means it’s totally unbothered by trail braking, or even a grab of the brakes mid-corner if the vanishing point suddenly starts rushing towards you, demanding you scrub speed. It doesn’t change line, there’s no drastic effect on grip – it just slows down. All things previously noted about hub-centre steering, but it’s always been pushed as a performance benefit, which it’s never really managed to prove: whether that’s down to investment and development, or simply because we’ve turned tele-fork negatives into positives and developed everything from riding style to tyre technology to suit, is another thing…

In a non-sporting context like this, those qualities make a lot sense. The security and stability afforded – particularly with electronic assists to provide the final defence – makes it both fun and reassuring to ride in all conditions, on roads that may or may not be familiar.

High-speed agility is good, seemingly less affected than a conventional bike by high-speed load. That may be a function of the axis through which the front steers, and suspension squat has minimal affect on handling too. In fact, a very brief two-up ride with full-size adults gave the impression it handles just as well two up, even with the rear shock much deeper in its stroke.

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It also has excellent ride quality for non-electronic suspension, yet doesn’t suffer for the plush setting mid corner. It has Öhlins TTX shocks for both ends, though you’ll find them mounted side-by-side on the rear of the engine: the front end connected to its damped by a tie-bar from swingarm to a bell-crank operating on the shock. It’s a neat piece of packaging that adds yet more visual intrigue to the Tera.

The downside to conventional shocks is the lack of ability to adjust to suit the road and your mood at the touch of a button. It does a pretty good job of covering most bases though, and my personal desire for less compression/more rebound at the rear for a more controlled ride was easily achieved with two clicks of the thumbwheel adjusters in either direction.

If you have an understanding and feel for suspension (or can enlist someone who does), it’s fine. But electronic suspension would have been a clear advantage. The BMW M1000XR and Ducati Multistrada V4 in Pikes Peak, S, and RS specification have it. In isolation, ridden solo, it’s still an engaging bike to ride fast or take it easier on.

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It's also well-braked, with Brembo Stylema calipers grabbing 330mm discs, but their effectiveness – as well as some of the chassis potential – is limited by the Anlas Scorpa tyres.

They’re a dirt-capable tyre built solely for the Bimota’s 170mph potential, but the reality is the Tera’s minimal ground clearance, short wheel travel and general ergonomics make it a poor prospect as an adventure bike: early prototypes had an electronic suspension system with the option to raise ride height which may have helped, but it doesn’t have that, and even with block-pattern tyres, they’re still only 17” and not suited to venturing off-tarmac. It’s believed Bimota are also homologating a set of pure road tyres, but when those will be offered is unconfirmed.

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The Anlas also wear quickly – after 400 miles of testing on warm summer roads, the reduction in depth and profile was clear to see. The opportunity to replace them will likely be welcome to owners, if not slightly irritating.

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The supercharged inline-four might be one of the most entertaining and addictive experiences since two-strokes faded away. It’s grunty from low down, but also very smooth and well-mannered on gentle throttle openings and at a cruise. It’ll even return tolerable mpg when (low-40s) when you spare the horses.

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Choose to unleash them, and the seemingly endless firepower of a forced-induction motor is a mind-bending, tyre-smearing, licence threatening kind of thrill totally at odds with the spacious, docile all-rounder the Tera was just a moment ago.

Once again, it’s able to switch personalities to something closer to a supernaked (a category of bikes that it broadly outguns with a claimed 197bhp). The frantic sound of large-volume suction through the left-side cold air feed to the supercharger, the whirruping-chirruping noise from the blower itself if you feather or roll the throttle in the 5-6000rpm further enhance the experience beyond the usual linear inline fours.

We tested the bike during a still, humid UK heatwave and were surprised to see very low coolant temperatures on the TFT dash too, which also means minimal heat transfer to the rider. Only the exhaust system ever got really hot after a harder ride – the rest of the bike never got close to the kind of leg-roasting heat early Ninja H2s inflicted.

The H2 SX engine is a more refined derivative, but we also suspect the front end design allows more air to reach the radiator (also lifted from the donor Kawasaki, so what heat it does generate is quickly carried away on the wind. It’s effectively unfaired from the waist down, too, so no plastic preventing heat egress.

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The engine is let down a little by the rider aids it genuinely requires as a failsafe in different situations. The traction control restricts and reintroduces drive in an obvious, clunky way, where European manufacturers now use systems which temper drive as the limit of grip is approached and delicately balance it there, rather than waiting for them to be exceeding, hurriedly shutting it down and then starting again.

It’s also only adjustable in the ‘Rider’ riding mode, and wheelie control is integral. Turn it off fully and it’ll get buck-wild pretty fast, so it’s needed – but it’d be nice if it went about things more subtly.

Part of the justification for the Bimota Tesi H2 Tera’s price tag is the high-class materials, Italian design and hand-built detail. You’d never tire of admiring the details: whether it’s the twin shocks at the rear, or the big slabs of machined alloy that make up most of the frame/suspension components, or even just small details like the Bimota ‘B’ symbol moulded into the coolant reservoir, also covered with a carbon shield.

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All the bodywork is carbon, partly painted in the bright red/green/white of the Italian flag, giving just the right mix of the naked weave and the design cues to enhance the daring lines. There are no cheap plastic clips holding trim on, just quality domed fasteners. The Kawasaki TFT dash is nestled amid this quality, in front of the machined (and adjustable) handlebar clamp, so the riders’-eye view is a very satisfying one.

There’s little to no unsightly detailing – only one collection of wires and breather hoses down the left side would ideally be hidden, but there’s not really anywhere else they’d feasibly go, so we’ll let them off…

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In reliability terms, we’d expect it to be as good as the Kawasaki donor, which has proven fundamentally strong barring minor electrical gripes – par for the course with modern bikes fitted with half a mile of wiring and endless sensors. Given the close relation, you can check the owner reviews for the Ninja H2 and H2 SX to get an idea.

If the Tera’s advanced usability in comparison to other Tesi models sees owners putting on decent miles, it’ll be interesting to see how the front end componentry lasts – it has to be a precise assembly, more so than a fork setup, so it’ll need those bearings and joints to remain without excess play.

If you’re a serious buyer for a Tera, value in the classic sense isn’t likely a concern. In brutal terms, you could buy a bike 50% cheaper than does everything the Tera can. But equally, for the right kind of buyer, you can see where the money goes.

First, there’s the engine: lifted from a bike that costs at least £22,000 in its own right, with a unique technology and added componentry. Then there’s the chassis – high-end materials, which takes a significant amount of work to machine, rather than cast or machined-welded.

It’s hand-built, allowing it to appear and feel a certain way that a bike designed for cheap, efficient assembly line production can’t. And there are no components you’d consider low-rent – the forged alloy OZ Racing wheels are unique to the Tera, the Brembo brakes are about as good as it gets, and a pair of Öhlins shock absorbers doesn’t come cheap…

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It's no budget-minded machine, but with top-spec Ducati Multistrada V4s clearing £30,000, it’s not stratospheric in relative terms.

Ownership of a new Kawasaki-backed Bimota just got even easier for UK buyers as Kawasaki UK takes over import and support, appointing five dealers from their existing network as Bimota agents. In theory, the engine package at least can be cared for by anyone tooled up for the Kawasaki – from oil filters to diagnostics, it all functions as the H2 SX does, so no need to fear high-priced marque specialists for ordinary servicing care.

This is one area where we’d like Bimota to have added a little more. It’s good – average, perhaps – but a premium bike like this should have had the electronic suspension, maybe radar-guided cruise control and some of the other toys offered on top-level tourers.

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The Kawasaki electronic package is a bit dated, too, so while it gets the job done, it does feel less accomplished than the BMW and Ducati rivals in particular. Hard panniers are an option (price TBC), and other accessories are yet to be announced.

It’s unlikely owners will wish to tarnish their Bimota with non-genuine parts – having the extras ready to go with the bike would have been ideal. But for those familiar with small manufacturers operating out of modest industrial units, it’s perhaps no surprise the roll-out is as slow as it is…