Shortly after unveiling the Kawasaki H2-based Tesi H2 at EICMA 2019, revived Italian firm Bimota announced the bike was expected to roll out of production in June. Of course, at the time, nobody knew just how rocky of a ride the first half of 2020 would turn out to be.
Due to important supply chain delays and a month-long lockdown caused by the COVI-19 pandemic, Bimota had to rethink its timeline. Now that manufacturing activities have resumed, Bimota is back at work and putting the Tesi through its paces.
The Tesi Is Coming, The Tesi Is Coming:
Bimota representative Gianluca Galasso spoke with Motorcycle News and confirmed that production of the bike is expected to begin in September 2020. The company hopes to produce the model’s first 20 units before the end of that month. Galasso also confirmed that the manufacturer is developing a special livery (different from the one presented at EICMA) that combines matte pearl white with a special red paint formula that changes shade in different lighting.
Bimota recently released a video of the test mule being tested on the track in Magione, Italy. Galasso told Motorcycle News that they chose the Autodromo dell'Umbria track because of how technical it is.
"We went to Magione because this is the toughest racetrack for brake tests," he said. "It is very easy to have brakes 'fading' due to the limited time to cool down the rotor discs and calipers. Basically, the whole bike had to be tested - particularly the brakes, trail, ground clearance, height, shocks setting, and few other small parts.”
He also confirmed that the company is still developing the Ninja 1000-based KB4 retro racer but that the bike won’t be ready before Spring 2021. The model was initially expected to debut this summer. That being said, the team does have a working prototype for testing purposes and according to Galasso, it’s a hoot to ride on.
Source: Motorcycle News