Double perimeter beam "Straight Line Connection"
(SLC).
Extruded in aluminium, the beams join at the steering shaft and the swing
arm without joins only cast parts. The body shell itself replaced the small
rear sub frame.
Front Suspension
46mm Paoli forks, adjustable for
compression and rebound
Rear Suspension
Öhlins rising rate single shock, adjustable
for compression and rebound
The Bimota SB6 is one expensive motorcycle, around $35,000 thank
you very much. That is a lot of money when the current crop of Japanese hotshots
are so good these days, at half the price.
But if you are thinking Bimota, you will probably be disregarding price as too
much of a factor. You will be after an exotic Italian with a bit of flair.
The GSX-R 11 based engine is a gem with useable power from around 2500-rpm and
upwards. I dipped the clutch at around 2500-rpm in first gear and the front
wheel started rising, it can be kept on the rise by rolling the throttle on as
it lifts. A word of warning though - make sure you also know when to roll the
throttle back off, or you will be sat on your arse well before the tacho’
reaches it’s 11,600-rpm redline. The Suzuki engine is slightly modified by
Bimota with their own cams and exhaust system.
While the GSX-R 11 has low spec suspension and an enormous amount of flab (a bit
like me really), the SB6 has a light, straight-connection frame, fully
adjustable Öhlins shock and huge Paioli forks. This gives you a hot-rod hybrid
with a Latin touch, which adds to it’s exotic flavour.
The gearbox also comes from the GSX-R 11, which has always been one of the best
in the business and performed faultlessly on test. The clutch didn’t seem to be
up to the same high standards as the big Suzook’s great set-up though.
Brembo stoppers are up to the task but are surpassed by both the R1 and ZX9R in
the braking department these days. The SB6 is showing it’s age, where once it
could boast unrivalled power and light weight, it is now left behind by the big
bore blasters from the land of the rising sun in nearly every area bar street
cred’.
The Bim’s 190 kilograms (dry) puts it a bit on the porky side when compared to
what we see from the current crop of Japanese sportsbikes in 1999.
The SB6 is Bimota’s most successful model ever, with over 1300 units sold
worldwide. I suppose this would be the kind of bike for you if you crave
something exotic - but love the screaming rush of a 4-cylinder more than the
softer delivery of a twin.
There is also another important edge over the Desmo’ opposition, servicing
costs. The SB6 utilizes one of the most common engines seen in motorcycling over
the past ten years; this is reflected in the servicing coming out at around a
third of the price than that of a 916. The Suzuki engine and gearbox have a
record of indestructibility that is the envy of all manufacturers. Another thing
it has over the Ducati, by a B-I-G margin.
The SB6 does look better in the flesh than this photo represents, but is no
outright stunner. The YB11, which will be featured here shortly, is a much
better looking proposition to my dodgy eye.
The twin exhausts exit from under the seat, ALA 916, which makes for a great
looking rear end on the bike, while giving you a very hot rear end, and that
doesn’t mean a good looking bum either. It is fortunate that the SB6 does not
have a pillion seat, I fear a passenger would fry their buns very quickly if it
did.
For my money I would take a Blade or GSX-R 1000 - and accompany one of them with
the electric start DR400. This would leave enough money remaining to keep the
two bikes in tyres and insurance for a year or so.
It has lots of very trick bits which are no doubt very expensive to buy, but I
still can’t quite get my head around the purchase price.