Bimota boss confirms Kawasaki H2 SX-powered Tesi tourer is on the way
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Bimota are thinking big with two new models revealed at the European Eicma motorcycle show in Milan last week, along with bold plans for more groundbreaking machines in the near future.
The firm are now working on a new hub-steering Tesi touring model set to arrive in the next two years, powered by the supercharged inline-four Kawasaki Ninja H2 SX engine.
Company CEO Pierluigi Marconi confirmed the new model during an exclusive interview with MCN – just hours after introducing the firm’s 2022 KB4 sportsbike and KB4 RC naked. A company spokesperson then confirmed it would be powered by Kawasaki’s Euro5 H2 SX sports-tourer engine (don’t forget that Kawasaki hold a major stake in the brand).
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“We are developing something new with a Tesi chassis and we will see it either next year, or the year after,” Marconi told MCN.
“Until now, Tesis were only made for the sports segment,” he added, “we’d like to put the Tesi name to… adventurers, tourers and bikes like that.”
The announcement of both new KB4 models at the show was followed by a rendering of the new carbon-clad hub steering concept.
Although little detail is currently available for the touring Tesi, the 998cc four-cylinder engine produces a claimed 197.2bhp. Whether this new concept will receive the same Bosch radar-guided cruise control as its newly updated Kawasaki sibling remains to be seen.
“Our philosophy is to have two lines of bikes,” Marconi explained. “One is the Tesi line and one is for more traditional models. We like to follow the two concepts, because although a Tesi chassis has a lot of advantages, for some riders it is still too much of a novelty.
“We are also working on the KB4 line. We would like to have some more bikes, but [the KB4 and KB4 RC] are the two for now, but we are thinking about more.”
It’s been just two years since Bimota rose from the ashes, after Kawasaki purchased a 49.9% stake in the company – launching with the headline-grabbing Tesi H2 at the EICMA show in 2019.
Powered by Kawasaki’s claimed 227bhp supercharged Ninja H2 engine, it’s now joined by the two KB4s, complete with conventional front ends and the engine and electronic hardware from the Japanese manufacturer’s popular Ninja 1000SX.
Speaking about the partnership, Marconi commented: “We can have all the data from Kawasaki, and they support us a lot. Not only from a money point of view, but from a technology point of view. You can have millions of Euros, but if you don’t have tech you can use, then it’s impossible to do things.”
These comments were backed up by President of Kawasaki Motors Ltd, Hiroshi Ito, who addressed the Bimota show crowd and said: “I had the pleasure of being involved in the Bimota project since the beginning. I have been extremely happy with what has been achieved so far.”
“Kawasaki Motors will continue to supply engines and other key components and through our global network,” Ito added. “We plan to support in whatever way we can to expand this glorious Italian premium motorcycle brand,” he concluded.
