Bimota
Horex unveils V6 concept
Source: Insidebikes | Carole Nash » Bike News - Friday, 25th June 2010, 7:24 GMTThere’s a V6, supercharged, 20,000 euro mega-cruiser concept bike being developed in Germany. Alastair Walker reports. Horex of Germany were once one of the most innovative German companies making motorbikes, but like many small brands, a costly foray into the world of scooters during the 1950s efectively finished them off. A revived Munch-Horex made a 1400cc turbo-charged four cylinder model in the 70s, but it flopped. Game over, or so it seemed, until now. Like Norton, Indian, Brough-Superior and many other names from motorcycling’s past, the Horex brand is being revived. The new V6 concept machine ha sbeen produced by a German consortium with a claimed 12 million euros of investment. Clemens Neese is the MD of the new Horex concern and with technical assistance from VW-Audi group during the development of the Horex 1200cc, V-6 format, supercharged engine, the prospects for the new bike look good on paper. “We realized early that Horex would be a perfect brand name for our project.” Neese told the bike press last week, adding; ” The name and the company’s history complemented our vision. If the Horex visionaries of the past were still building motorcycles, these machines would be just like the six-cylinder bike we are introducing today.” When Munch revived the Horex name in the 70s, they used an NSU car engine, with a turbo attached. Likewise, the new Horex V6 is estimated to retail at 20K euros, make serious power and will be launched at Intermot this Autumn, with sales in Germany and Switzerland only - no other markets - pencilled in for 2011. Horex say they expect to sell about 1000 units in total. There’s always room for expensive oddities in biking, but perhaps the gorgeous Bimota DB5/6 sportbikes, Norton’s classy Commando, or the technically interesting Vyrus from Italy will find more buyers in the long run than the rather dated looking Horex. As Morbidelli found out back in the 1990s with their ugly duckling V8, it takes more than sheer engine power, or capacity, to sell a concept bike. More at; www.horex.com Read article
Voxan at the cross-roads
Source: Insidebikes | Carole Nash » Bike News - Tuesday, 8th June 2010, 9:02 GMTCan Voxan motorcycles rise again? The French manufacturer went into receivership again recently, but the rights to use the name have been acquired by Venturi MVS of Monaco. Alastair Walker looks at the odds of a V-twin comeback. Voxan was a great idea; sporty 1000cc V-twin motor, available in a neo-Vincent, Black Lightning model, 70s Cafe Racer and Street Scrambler variants, and all made in France, one of the most influential nations in the early history of motorcycling. I rode all three Voxan models and the Cafe Racer was the nicest of the trio, with smooth, punchy power and steady handling. It’s nearest rivals were perhaps the big Guzzi 1100 twins. The chassis was a little different on the Voxan, with glue holding the frame’s top rails into a sturdy central section. But although Voxan had some novel ideas, they always lived hand-to-mouth and the factory at Issoire was sometimes a quiet place as workers went on short-time, or were temporarily laid off. After a rescue a few years ago, Voxan is in toruble again and it is hard to see how the original plan of making three or four models from engine/chassis platform, especially as the world of V-twin motorcycling has moved on a great deal from the late 1990s when Voxan was founded. There are so many rivals now which didn’t exist back then, from the hi-tech and almost sci-fi styled Vyrus, to the raw, hard-edged performance of the KTM Super Duke 990, or Supermoto. So, the latest news that Venturi MVS, a company based in Monaco belonging to Gildo Pallanca Pastor, currently building solar/electric hybrid cars highlights Voxan’s tricky position. Like Hesketh, the brand may be rebranded as an electric vehicle producer, with futuristic styling perhaps? That would undoubtedly go down well in France, where various regional `departments’ compete with each other to have prestigious technology projects on the go. As France has a much greater influence within the EU than Britain, there is always the chance of EU funding; free factory site, grants for research, indirect subsidies for workers etc. As Graham Manchester, the UK importer of Bimota motorcycles told insidebikes recently; “There is no way you can make a low volume motorcycle in the EU now and not charge the best part of 20K for it. You cannot compete with mainstream factories, doing part-assembly in the Far East, so creating bespoke, hand-built bikes are your only option.” If that is the case, then Voxan must realistically go down the hybrid, or electric motorbike route, if they want to survive - and fly the French tricolour - in the longer term. Read article
Voxan at the crossroads
Source: Insidebikes | Carole Nash » Bike News - Tuesday, 8th June 2010, 8:42 GMTCan Voxan motorcycles rise again? The French manufacturer went into receivership again recently, but the rights to use the name have been acquired by Venturi MVS of Monaco. Alastair Walker looks at the odds of a V-twin comeback. Voxan was a great idea; sporty 1000cc V-twin motor, available in a neo-Vincent, Black Magic model, 70s Cafe Racer and Street Scrambler variants, and all made in France, one of the most influential nations in the early history of motorcycling. I rode all three Voxan models and the Cafe Racer was the nicest of the trio, with smooth, punchy power and steady handling. Its nearest rivals were perhaps the big Guzzi 1100 twins. The chassis was also a little different on the Voxan, with glue holding the frame’s top rails into a sturdy central section. But although Voxan had some novel ideas, they always lived hand-to-mouth and the factory at Issoire was sometimes a quiet place as workers went on short-time, or were temporarily laid off. After a rescue a few years ago, Voxan is in trouble again and it is hard to see how the original plan of making three or four models from engine/chassis platform can work, especially as the world of V-twin motorcycling has moved on a great deal from the late 1990s when Voxan was founded. There are so many rivals now which didn’t exist back then, from the hi-tech and almost sci-fi styled Vyrus, the laid back Harley XR1200, to the raw, hard-edged performance of the KTM Super Duke 990, or Supermoto. So, the latest news that Venturi MVS, a company based in Monaco belonging to Gildo Pallanca Pastor, and currently building solar/electric hybrid cars, highlights Voxan’s tricky position. Like Hesketh, the brand may well be rebranded as an electric vehicle producer, with futuristic styling perhaps? That would undoubtedly go down well in France, where various regional `departments’ compete with each other to have prestigious technology projects on the go. As France has a much greater influence within the EU than Britain, there is always the chance of EU funding; free factory site, grants for research, indirect subsidies for workers etc. As Graham Manchester, the UK importer of Bimota motorcycles told insidebikes recently; “There is no way you can make a low volume motorcycle in the EU now and not charge the best part of 20K for it. You cannot compete with mainstream factories, doing part-assembly in the Far East, so creating bespoke, hand-built bikes are your only option.” If that is the case, then Voxan must realistically go down the hybrid, or electric motorbike route, if they want to survive - and fly the French tricolour - in the longer term. Read article
Bimota back in the UK
Source: Insidebikes | Carole Nash » Bike News - Tuesday, 4th May 2010, 15:12 GMTinsidebikes spoke recently with Graham Manchester, from AMV Motorcycles in Sussex. AMV are putting the final touches to their import operation, which will bring the Bimota brand back into the UK, with a 12-strong dealer network offering service and warranty work, whilst new bike sales will be via AMV and factory tours. insidebikes; How can an expensive machine like the the Italian Bimota sell during the worst motorcycle recession in 15 years? Graham; I don’t think we aim to sell 10,000 units, but we know there is a market here. All bikers know Bimota as a low volume, high price brand, but I don’t see that as a problem, in fact I think that the motorcycle market is changing and fewer new models, with longer life spans for the bikes, plus higher RRP prices are inevitable. insidebikes; Everyone has seen the Japanese brands getting pricier and machines like the new BMW S1000RR taking market share from them, do you think this trend helps Bimota, and possibly other brands like the Vyrus for example? Graham; Yeah definitely. I think the Japanese makers have a fantastic product, but they are now facing up to selling them at the same price as `luxury’ European brands, basically because their production, distribution and marketing costs are same. If you look at the big four, you see Yamaha are maybe quite vulnerable at the moment and I can foresee a time when flagship sports or touring bikes from Japanese companies will cost maybe £20K to £25K. The BMW is a great case of a brand taking its time to develop a bike properly; test it, race it and make it really stand out. Hats off to them, but someone else will be along in a few years time to raise the sportbike game, it’s the way of things. insidebikes; That brand could be Italian maybe? Graham; Who knows? The latest statistics show that 43% of the UK new bike market now is European. The great thing about the Italian industry is that engineering and design really matters, performance too. Passion is a bit of a cliche, but the Italians have a lifelong enthusiasm for making fantastic motorbikes. insidebikes; How will a UK buyer get to test ride a Bimota, and which models will be coming over? Graham; At present we reckon the DB6/7/8 models, plus the Tesi will be with us late May. The DB5 we’re not sure about, we also hope to showcase the Moto 2 GP Bimota bike this summer, but we’re obviously liaising with the factory over the exact UK bike line-up. The Tesi is the one everyone wants to ride, I guess it is just so different. A customer will have two ways to test ride; one we can transport a machine of their choice to one of our service and warranty centres around the UK, or we can arrange a trip to Rimini, flights and accommodation, plus a test ride - if the customer places a deposit on that trip, we will refund the expenses. We think this will appeal to Bimota fans. More info at www.bimota.it Read article
Wilairot eager for debut Bimota HB4 ride at Jerez
Source: News RSS on motogp.com - The Official MotoGP Website - Friday, 26th March 2010, 10:46 GMTThe Thai rider will have his first experience on board the Moto2 machine of the Thai Honda PTT SAG team at the final pre-season Test at Jerez this weekend. Read article
Moto2 Latest: Kino Racing Folds, Wilairot And Faubel To Use Bimota
Source: MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks - ... that the winter is now officially over for racing fans - Monday, 15th March 2010, 19:51 GMTAs the Moto2 class approaches its inaugural race, the field is going through a shake out and approaching its final lineup. For some teams this is good news, for others less so. The Stop & Go team can number themselves among the former: Today, the team confirmed it would be taking part in the 2010 Moto2 season under the name Thai Honda PTT SAG, and fielding the Bimota chassis for their two riders Ratthapark Wilairot and Hector Faubel. There had been question marks over the team, after both Wilairot and Faubel had failed to turn up at any of the Moto2 tests since the post-race tests at Valencia. The trouble was one of contracts, team manager Edu Perales told MotoGP.com. The team had originally been negotiating with Suter for chassis, but had backed out in the end over disagreements over support. Bimota offered a more direct contact with the manufacturer, a chance that Perales and the SAG team had jumped at. The delay has caused a problem for the team. Both riders are chronically short of test time, and will get their first proper test on the bike at Jerez in two weeks' time. Both Wilairot and Faubel will have a lot of catching up to do in those three days. read more Read article
Thai Honda PTT SAG to use Bimota
Source: News RSS on motogp.com - The Official MotoGP Website - Monday, 15th March 2010, 16:13 GMTThe structure directed by Eduardo Perales has reached an agreement with Italian manufacturer Bimota to use their chassis in the inaugural Moto2 World Championship. Read article
Bimota DB6R (2008-current)
Source: MCN - Wednesday, 10th February 2010, 17:17 GMTThis exotic, hand-built Italian masterpiece of a motorcycle is assembled with such attention to detail, using top-shelf components that it gives you a funny feeling in your trousers just looking at it. It goes like stink too, as its grunt-laden,... Read article
Bimota DB7 (2008-current)
Source: MCN - Friday, 1st May 2009, 15:05 GMTTaking just one year to build from a clean sheet of paper, Bimota’s new DB7 has been an instant sales success. That’s a relief for the small firm in Rimini, Italy, who were pinning their hopes on the DB7 being... Read article
Bimota to build chassis for new Moto2 600 class
Source: | Sport | MotoGP - Friday, 30th January 2009, 17:32 GMTItalian manufacturer Bimota is planning to become a chassis developer for private teams entering the new Moto2 600cc racing prototype class. It's a return to the roots of the original company for Bimota, which began in the early 1970s making... Read article
