1996 Bimota YB9SR
Miles: 4,271
Clean Title
Bid at Post: $4,100
Auction ends: June 18th, 2024
Today’s Bimota YB9SR is unusual among modern Bimotas for being powered by a mere 600cc engine, although plenty of lesser-known and pure racing Bimotas have featured small-displacement engines. In this case Bimota used Yamaha’s liquid-cooled, 16-valve FZR600 powerplant and six-speed gearbox. Naturally, Bimota developed their own airbox and exhaust, with the carburetors rejetted to suit, but no power gains were claimed and the YB9SR made the same 100hp as the donor FZR. Of course, the real magic of any Bimota is in the frame, and the bike uses a beefy-looking and distinctive aluminum twin-spar unit that, combined with lightweight bodywork and other changes, led to a claimed 386lb dry weight that was nearly 20lbs less than the Yamaha. Suspension was by long-time partner Paioli and handling was excellent, as you would expect. When new, the bike was the least expensive bike in Bimota’s lineup and just 651 were built over 3 years. That’s practically volume production by Bimota standards, but these are still a very rare sight. I’ve sat on, but not ridden, a few Yamaha-engined Bimotas, and they all appear to use variants of the same frame. The YB10 and YB11 have a reasonable reach to the bars, but very high-mounted pegs that hurt my knees just thinking about them, so riding this one any great distance could be difficult. Speaking of pegs: you may have noticed that this bike comes equipped with passenger pegs! Is there a passenger seat under that cowl? Who knows! The seller doesn’t say. I know some YB9s were equipped with passenger accommodations, so hopefully you can take your petite, brave, AAA-card-carrying passenger of choice with you on your [mercifully short] Italian bike adventures!
1996 Bimota YB9. Mint condition. Stored in a heated hanger for years. We can ship worldwide at buyers expense. Brand new AMG battery. Reasonable reserve. Rare and beautiful. Fantastic opportunity.
I’ve written many times about the value-for-money that most 90s Bimotas currently represent and the YB9 seems to be the biggest bargain of the bunch, perhaps owing to its “lowly” 600cc engine. This one looks extremely nice and has collector-bike miles on it, but the seller has, as is so often the case, entirely neglected to give us any sense of maintenance history or mechanical condition. “Mint condition” is really vague, and could mean different things to different people. Hopefully, the seller is responsive to questions about the bike, as this one otherwise looks really stunning!
-tad
