[Harbir]

The Bimota that excited me the most was the V-Due, but unfortunately it was also the bike that bankrupted the company. But what a way to go.

The audacity of a two stroke V-twin 500 in 1997!! It was a 500GP spec bike in road going trim. Alas, the emissions issue just couldn't be overcome.

[Mpower]

Originally Posted by Harbir

The audacity of a two stroke V-twin 500 in 1997!! It was a 500GP spec bike in road going trim. Alas, the emissions issue just couldn't be overcome.

Audacity for sure !! Being a huge fan of 250 cc GP derived bikes like the Aprilla RS and the Suzuki RGV, I was so excited by the Bimota 500.

But ultimately it was this bike that sank the company. Their core competency was chassis and suspension and engines always came from either Suzuki or Ducati.

Having never designed or built engines, they ventured into uncharted territory. Immediately ran into engine issues caused by supplier incapability which resulted in huge warranty hit. The financial losses were so great that they had to go into receivership.

BTW the 500 cc GP bikes were Vee fours (while the Bimota was a twin) and I think Yamaha briefly had a road going version in the 80s. Never sold well though and vanished soon

[Harbir]

true. I didn't think of the cylinder count.

[samyakmodi]

as far as i am aware - the bike was never sold to anyone in india.

this was a bike on display - when the company launched their bikes in india. and the reason probably xbhp couldn't ride it was - the bike was sold to some one - but not in india.

this is pure jewelry of a bike and the price mentioned is of those days. it would be safe to assume that it must have escalated to atleast 25% more now. (those days the 848 evo was selling for 12.8 lacs - and now its about 17 lacs)

[doctorque]

Originally Posted by Scorcher

You do have a point, with Ducatis now costing close to 50lakhs in the Indian market, I too'd expect the Vyrus to kiss the 1cr mark.

There is only one Ducati that costs as much as 50lacs. The Panigale 1199 S Tri colore. It was the 1198R TB edition earlier.

Even trying hard, it can only be just as special, definitely not more.

1crore for this is a joke to me.

[ku69rd]

Originally Posted by Mpower

I think Yamaha briefly had a road going version in the 80s. Never sold well though and vanished soon

Yes Sir, Yamaha did launch their RD500 V4 straight off the track into Road Usage. But they had released it only in limited numbers to commemorate their racing success with Kenny Roberts Sr. The bike was launched in 1984 and was in production till 1986. You could even blame the Green Laws which made this a dinosaur :(
Today they are heftily priced and is a collector's item. Similar to what the RD350 to India, RD500LC is to US.