Over the past year, I dipped a toe into sport bike ownership. I do think motorcycles are the ultimate expression of road-going performance; sadly, my lifestyle doesn’t allow for learning how to ride and being a safe rider in the near future. All that being said, I still find sport bikes absolute mesmerizing, and the Bimota is one of the most striking motorcycles I’ve ever seen. This is a highly desirable 1988 YB6, which is reflective of the creative genius of Bimota co-founder Massimo Tamburini. This bike is listed here on RM Sothebys at no reserve and a pre-sale estimate of €10,000 – €15,000 EUR.
Look at this thing – it looks like a bike from the movie Tron. Bimota quickly became known for building exotic racing bikes, often in smaller numbers, giving it a reputation as a bit of a giant killer. Quality was said to be exceptional, but this also triggered a higher price tag as well. Still, I can understand why the YB6 is so compelling; I fell victim to a similar temptation with my 1991 BMW K1. The striking bodywork is what catches your eye first, and it’s hard to look away – I’ve often said my K1 would be fine as a piece of garage art, and the same can be said for the Bimota. However, here’s where the YB6 differs from my BMW: that fighter jet-inspired bodywork hides a high-performance Yamaha engine capable of 155 miles per hour.
The Yamaha 1000cc mill is a screamer, capable of lying down a quarter mile time of 11.2 seconds. Running the math out a bit further, this is a 440 pound bike with 140 horsepower at your disposal. When Bimota installed the Yamaha engine, it made a slight adjustment to design a shorter wheelbase, choosing to cant the engine backwards seven degrees. And since imitation is the best form of flattery, it’s worth noting Yamaha would eventually do the same thing in their own bikes using this engine. Other technical innovations include a Marzocchi suspension kit with an adjustable front fork and an adjustable mono-shock in the rear. Brembo brakes providing stopping power.
How classy – Bimota gave a proper shout-out to Yamaha on the fairing! This bike was a Swiss delivery example and has been with the same owner since new; today, there’s only 4,175 kilometres on the clock. You can see some cosmetic flaws in the pictures here, but it doesn’t look like anything egregious. The classic motorcycle market is one that is still evolving, so it’s hard to say if this one will reach its pre-sale estimate (side note, my K1 has been for sale for four months with barely a nibble.) However, Bimotas don’t come up for sale often, so this one will likely pull a fair number. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Nevadahalfrack for the find.
Wow 🚀 nice find Nevada 👏 thanks for writing this up Lavery 👍
Biker gangs bike of choice. Never cared for these, and can only imagine how uncomfortable they must be to ride. They do great “stoppies”, I hear. Got to be fun to ride for about 15 minutes.
I used to ride sport bikes, now just looking at one gives me aback ache. It’s too bad because I do miss both my Hayabusa and Kawasaki 636
The Kawasaki H1 500 and H2 750 had a rider position similar to the everyday bikes of the time. Comfortable for both the driver and the passenger. Truth to be said one day going with the easily obtainable cruising speed of 110mph (in less than a minute) my then girlfriend started embracing me more tightly than usual and when i turned i had the terrifying view of her flying as a flag in a perfect horizontal manner. I slowed down carefully to let her regain access to the foot rests. Conclusion: what was comfortable could be dangerous in the early era of high power bikes. Now maybe it’s more of a pain in the ass to ride but they are safer in high speeds.
Biker gangs? Ha ha ha!
Check out Champstreet. I’m in no way affiliated, but the one day course changed my riding habits and skills remarkably.
This has to be a rare find. So many were raced , rode hard and put away wet, it’s a wonder there are any left. These were made in the era of big and fast 4 cylinder sport bikes. Today, most new big bikes are twin cylinder, either V-Twins or parallel twins, due in part to insurance and our friends at the EPA. And I might add, they are gutless for their size.
Garage art? Probably. My Springer Softail Classic looks much better, and doesn’t beat the crap out of me on a long ride. Yep, it won’t go 150mph, but only kids and fools use that power on the streets.
Good background in a great writeup, Jeff and think twice before selling that classic BMW timepiece!
An icon of its time, this Bimota was one that a lot of riders could only dream of owning. That Yamaha “borrowed” the engine placement and incorporated it into their own race bikes speaks volumes of Tamburini and his crew.
Too, the BF reader comments that followed your article are all perfect examples of the viewpoints since time immemorial of personal taste.
Bikes are cold metal and plastic, nothing more. Until they’re almost magically brought to life by a rider who understands what it is the bike remains just that. But all that changes once there is that melding of machine and human into a symbotic oneness as they begin to dance their dance on the street or in the dirt.
Regardless of the type of bike it’s nothing until it’s ridden by someone who appreciates it. This bike is an icon of past performance bikes. It will only perform as well as the riders abilities that it was designed for like every performance machine of ANY kind.
Like you said, Jeff, this beauty should bring a good price from an appreciative enthusiast.
Well said!
And it’s obvious you’re still a rider at heart, Howard👍🏻
Hey Kurt, why don’t you add this to your stable of 2 wheel pets?
No surprise you found this one!
Get better my friend!
I really miss riding my BMW. But I guess age caught up with me as I was getting hesitant in traffic. So time to hang it up. BUT I STILL MISS IT!
Given the opportunity you better believe this would be in my ever dwindling collection!!! At 40 yrs old I’ll bet this sweetheart would still outperform a vast majority of what’s out after you turn off the ABS, Lean Control Traction and all those other electronic cheaters😁.
Getting better-doc said I could be back on 2 wheels again by springtime! The Very Best form of mental and physical therapy IMHO.
We don’t quit riding because we got old-we got old because we quit riding..
Sometimes bikes like this are better as garage art. I’d get in trouble with this on the road. My K100LT has been art in my garage for a while now, perhaps I should go for a rip.
Great write up Lavery, thanks. I’ve never seen one of these before. A friend of mine had a BMW K1 and it was scary fast to me, but it was a whole lot of fun too. I got to ride it when he was considering trading for my Kawasaki Vulcan Classic 1500 custom “Southwest Edition” so we exchanged bikes outside of Pagosa Springs CO and rode into town. As it turned out he kept it and some time later he got into a race with a Hayabusa and took it all the way up to 150 before it topped out and the Hayabusa kept on going. Later he told me after he thought about it he realized he was totally insane to do that when there was just a few square inches of rubber touching the ground, and I had to agree. I’ve done 117 on two wheels and that was fast enough for me.
“looks like a monkey —-ing a football” was the old timer’s comment as he kicked over his 2 cyl., watched the younger crouch over riding by.
Good to see a bike over 650 cc on the site.
I stopped buyin them when they went to the mono shock & hi rear fender.