KB998 Rimini shows Kawasaki's plans for Bimota
By Ben Purvis
The days when 1,000 cc superbikes topped sales charts are far behind us and a growing number of legendary names are disappearing from showrooms. The launch of Bimota's KB998 Rimini - which replaces the ZX-10RR in Kawasaki's works WSB effort in 2025 - hints that Kawasaki could be the next to draw back from the idea of making mainstream superbikes.
When Kawasaki bought a 49.9% stake Bimota in 2019 the news was met with an element of confusion. What did one of the powerhouses of the Japanese bike industry want with an Italian brand that's spent much of its history bouncing from one financial crisis to another? The new KB998 and Bimota/Kawasaki's racing plans for 2025 help to answer that question.
With the KB998 Rimini, Kawasaki and Bimota are hoping to emulate BMW and Ducati's success. It will initially be made in small numbers, and sold at a high price, and has a handmade appeal that no bike emerging from a factory in Japan can hope to attain.
The machine follows Bimota's heritage by wrapping an Italian-designed chassis around a mass-made engine - from the Kawasaki ZX-10RR - and with the backing of the same racing team that took Kawasaki to multiple WSBK titles, it stands a strong chance of on-track success.
The 147.1 kW (200 hp) engine is familiar from the Kawasaki that it came from, but it's bolted to frame that combines billet aluminium side plates with a steel trellis front section made from oval tubing. Showa suspension with 43 mm USD forks and a rear monoshock on a billet alloy swingarm is allied to Brembo brakes, and the bodywork is partially structural carbon fibre. There's no word yet on the electronics package, but it's likely to be transplanted straight from the ZX-10RR to ensure it's as high-end as you'd expect in this market segment.
The price will be high, no doubt knocking on the door of the € 44,000 WSBK price limit, and initially Bimota will make the bare minimum number of KB998s: 125 by the start of the WSB season in February 2025, another 125 by the end of the year, and a further 250 in 2026 to meet the FIM's demands for 500 production models to homologate the race bikes.
