It took Bimota 10 years to come home to Ducati for an engine, and after the DB1, nearly ten more for the DB2. Worth waiting for, the 904cc desmodue was a great powerplant, good power and torque from a not overly complicated engine. This 1994 model is a totally collectible serial number 001.
1994 Bimota DB2 for sale on eBay
The DB2 was penned by Pierluigi Marconi, who used chrome-moly tubing for the trellis frame and fabricated swingarm. Handling was the strong suit, the 86 hp Ducati’s doing except for improvements in the exhaust. 41mm Paoli forks and Ohlins monoshock were specified. Brakes are great for the time, dual 320mm disks with single 230mm rear. The very well-resolved fairing uses a Yamaha headlight, monoposto seat, and beautiful maroon livery.
Beckoning collectors with its first serial number and original tires, this DB2 has only 1,600 miles. Already christened, it has a scrape on the left seat fairing, but looks fabulous otherwise. From the eBay auction:
For serious collectors, the chance to get a sn # 001 bike.
Very low mileage, original tires.
You may want to replace tires if it’s to be ridden much,
or keep on for display and just maintenance runs.
Larger pictures can be e-mailed, direct if closer look for blemishes is desired.
Bike always stored indoors , and run every couple of months to keep healthy.
Have very large bike collection being thinned down to make more space.
Numerous pictures to show the good and the bad of it.
Overall, a pretty well preserved bike.
64 year old owner, former bike wrench and former shop owner.
Every effort has been made to show condition of bike with pictures and video.
Bike in good cond, though no warranty expressed or implied. Sold AS – IS .
Reviewed with praise, the DB2 puts its handling out front but the years have proved the air-cooled Ducati powerplant to be willing and reliable. Rarity assured with only a few hundred total production, this lovely DB2 being wheeled into a collector’s gallery and ridden only occasionally won’t be cause for celebration, unless it’s yours…
-donn
Didn’t this come with all white wheels originally?
This is a beautiful bike, with simple, elegant lines.
I’ll be the first to admit I’m not the sharpest knife in the chandelier, but what’s the story with the bungee cord?
im going to go out on a limb and say the bungee is due to the side stand retracting as soon as there is no pressure, (doesnt lock down)
ridden a few bikes with this set-up, can catch you out easily.
My guess with the bungee is that it is spring loaded self retracting. Pick the bike up and the stand snaps up. Bungee it ti keep the stand down when moving the bike about. After all, this would be a very unfortunate victim to have a driveway dump incident while cleaning its meticulousness.
the bungee cord is there most likely to keep the kickstand from popping up. I have had this happen on a couple of my zane era laverda’s, sometimes springs aren’t stretched out enough and they move a bit over time. This can especially happen if the bike is parked somewhere where there are big vibrations like a building where large trucks go by.
@J: Yes, they did come with white wheels front and rear. Unless this is some factory one off thing due to being serial #1, it appears to have been a customization. I don’t see it in the Bimota bible (the Georgio Sarti book) or anywhere else. If so, it should be changed back to original immediately.
@ Hegira: the laughable bungee cord thing is a crude attempt to prevent tip over accidents. Bimotas of that era have self retracting side stands that can easily catch you out. Lift the bike just a little, and they flick up. Perhaps that’s what caused the tail section damage.
DB2’s are great bikes. Turnoffs on this one are the hacked off rear fender and missing rear turn signals, the corroded brake and clutch resevoirs (how hard can it be to refinish them?), and the mentioned tail section damage. The serial number means nothing to me and is easily cancelled out by unaddressed cosmetic issues.
It’s probably got a “suicide” auto-retract kickstand, like the Ducati Supersports of the period. The bungee cord keeps the kickstand from retracting, which could result in someone forgetting it came up and then dropping the bike on the left side.
There is another DB2 on ebay with 10k miles and a starting bid of $13.5
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bimota-/222084389822?forcerrptr=true&hash=item33b542dbbe:g:gPEAAOSwGYVXDUG3&item=222084389822
Sold for $10,076.
dc
This one sold for $10k. Thanks for the link!
dc