Get your drool on: Bimota’s DB7 Oronero.
The original Bimota DB7 was never accused of lacking anything in the desirability stakes; Ducati’s barnstorming 1098 engine got the mouthwatering Bimota design and handling treatment to be the small company’s flagship sportsbike in 2008 with a mix of serious power, agility and stunning bespoke looks that seemed to stagger you even more the closer you looked at it.
But considering Bimota caters to such an elite market in the bike world, the company saw fit to ratchet things up a few notches with the Milan unveiling of an upgraded special version - the DB7 Oro Nero, or ‘Black Gold’ - that leaves no opportunity for the use of carbon fibre unplundered to result in a magical 1:1 weight to horsepower figure and a truly extraordinary hand-built production bike.
The Oronero naturally enough features carbon fibre fairings, hugger and open dry clutch cover, but this being a bike of extremes Bimota have also used the space-age superlight material for the frame, swingarm, tank and even the self-supporting tail unit. The rearsets and exhausts provide splashes of billet and titanium shine to contrast against a chassis and bodywork that suck up light like a stealth bomber.
The resulting 6kg weight loss brings the dry weight down to a mere 164kg, which will make for a truly hair-raising ride with the 164-horsepower 1098 powerplant providing even more grunt than in standard Ducati trim.
The dash is now a huge multifunction GET computer system that offers all the features you’d expect plus service due warnings, datalogging and an inbuilt GPS system that can recognise which racetrack you’re on, automatically record lap times and let you playback and analyse your track sessions later. Other upgrades from the DB7 include wavy front discs and a titanium rear shock.
It’s great to see Bimota going all out on a bike like this - when the brand relaunched in 2003, many people scratched their heads and wondered what bespoke chassis design really had to offer in a day and age where most Japanese and European bikes deliver excellent handling straight out of the box. But looking at the Oronero, it’s obvious that nothing remotely like it could come out of any other factory.
The Oronero can be pre-purchased now for around US$52,000.
November 24th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
Beautiful machine. But what else would you expect from Bimota. I could never afford a bike like this much less ride it like it needs to be ridden but I can still dream now can’t I. It’s true you can buy a bike from a Japanese manufacturer that is a fantastic machine right out of the box but I still love seeing bikes like this being produced even for the few who can afford them.
March 6th, 2009 at 1:12 pm
I always hear about the guys that really dont ride these hard like they could
Too much risk on them going down
It does seem like an R1 Yamaha for so little money does produce the most fun
I have a Bimota and have ownned them in the past , its hard to really use them all the time and see them get trashed. The nicer Bimota I get , the more I hate to imagine seeing something happen to it.
Problem is , once you have had your hands on this kind of craftsmanship
its hard to be on another bike only wishing you hadn’t left the Bimota at home.
The Bimotas with the Ducati motor do give you confidence about parts supply