1997 Bimota Vdue 500
Location: Seattle, WA
Price: $15,100.00 at time of posting (Update 4.19.2011: relisted, now at $5100 with 6 days remaining — and appears to be no reserve! -dc)
Mileage: 346
Originally featured in our Seattle Homologation listing, this rare example is now available on eBay.
Vdue’s have been well documented on RSBFS and none of us know more about them than our beloved author Jay. So, I dug back in our archives and found this information that Jay was willing to share.
The V-due , pronounced “Vee-Doo-A” (translation “V-2″), was just launched about a year prior. This was the bike that was going to pull Bimota out of debt and back on the map, hey “what could possible go wrong” but did exactly the opposite. Following the tradition of the Tesi (another Bimota disaster) the V-due barely ran, had a power band from 9-10k rpm and still wouldn’t pass our EPA standards. With all the bad press devoted 2-smokers looked the other way and wanted the bike, so at the time I imported about 7-8 of these and promptly sold them. I kept one for myself and rode it for a summer, mine actually ran “okay” but you had to keep changing spark plugs and one time the exhaust got so hot it started melting the tail section. Others were not as good, one seized because Bimota forgot to open the petcock for the oil injection tank and others were just plagued with horrible running problems. Being a fuel-injected 2 stroke was just plain tough and these bikes clearly needed more R+D. Now stacked with a warehouse of unsold V-due’s Bimota decided to sell some as race bikes, then convert some to carb’s to try to move them but nothing worked.
I can only vaguely recall 1997 much less the few articles that I read on the Vdue. I due recall all of the hoopla that surrounded the Bimota and the motorcycle that was going to save the company. As I mentioned before, Jay tells a much more colorful version.
Luckily, this Bimota escaped the miss use of hand tools and remains 100% as it left the factory. If I were a collector I would only collect 100% stock, unmolested motorcycles and this one makes me proud.
From the auction:
All original and in excellent condition with 346 miles.
For those true enthusiasts and collectors out there, you”ll already know the history of the Vdue
and the story behind the 500cc two-stroke and how rare the bike is world-wide.
This bike is completely stock and originally came from the Bohnams auction in the UK.
It was purchased by a collector in Japan and then sold to a collector in southern California.
I purchased this bike from the collector in California and it has been in my collection since.
It comes with a Bill of Sale and all BoS and import paperwork from the two previous collectors and has not been registered or licensed for street use in the USA -although this is a possibility through the right resources.
It does not have the carb conversion, modifications or any of the aftermarket parts or the Bimota Cup race kit accessories done to it -or included with it.
If you are looking for an original condition and un-modified Bimota Vdue for your collection, this is the bike for you.
This one appears nice enough to fit into any collection, anywhere in the world- plain and simple!
Cheers!
dd
If this indeed has been untouched there is a good chance it doesn’t even start. The Carburator conversion was the only thing that made the bike run properly. If you want one of these to actually ride you need to find one of the ‘Evoluzione’ versions.
only 59 miles?
1991 Bimota Dieci
http://musthaveautos.com/addetails.php?slno=11731
@Viceroy_Fizzlebottom.
Wouldn’t stop me from buying one of these if they turned up for sale here for around this price.
The “relisted” link does not work, but it is on eBay. Just search for “VDue”
Links corrected, thanks for the heads up.
dc
Unfortunately, the first post by Viceroy_Fizzlebottom could use a little clarification. There are a number of Vdue 500’s out there that run quite well while still retaining the original factory fuel injection system and which have NOT been fitted with carbs -as the ‘Evoluzione’ model utilized. The carburetors fitted to the Evoluzione model were only part of the “fix” to rid the Vdue of its running issues. The electronics actually play the biggest role in getting the bike to run properly. Switching over to the updated electronic dash (guage cluster), updated ECU, rerouting the plug wires and a few other items effectively cures the electronic “noise” that plauged the ECU on most of the original Vdue models -which is what was telling the injectors and ignition mapping how to operate . The electronics control the FI system, therefore replacing the FI with carbs, you effectively just removed the electronic control of the bikes fuel system and replaced it with a non-electronically controlled fuel metering system. The ignition mapping can still be warped and sending the wrong signals to the spark plugs (but the carb replacement would have no effect in helping to cure that). I guess this is sort of a different way of looking at the issue of the “fueling” problem of the bike -as it isn’t just simply an issue of bolting on a new Holley four barrel from Napa and then hitting the road. I just wanted to clarify the thread comment from above stating that all Vdue’s need to have the carburetor modification installed (not quite true). There have always been a number of different theories out there as to why the Vdue didn’t run correctly ever since the bike was realeased (too early) and there is also a lot of disinformation as well. I have a second Vdue that has had the above named electronic modifications completed and it runs just fine -all while still utilizing the factory fuel injection system. Fires right up on a cold start after sitting for a couple months and purs like a kitten.
Best regards!
i have one also, 104, that is still original with 1100 kilometres, has seen some track time with the local bears racing and has run with no issues though it will foul plugs if left to idle. i have discovered that the middle exhaust does tend to collect oil residue and will stifle low rev running. when in use and the road is cop free love using it to its potential.