Italian bikes ... or not

[He11cat]

Well I put my foot in it as usual.

I went bike shopping with someone and it was to look at a Bimota SB8R yes its a fine looking bike in a funny way but I sort of put my size 5's in it :(

You see I have a theory that what makes a bike what it is .. well its the engine.
To me that is the heart and soul of a bike and makes it what it is.
It defines what it is to me.

I was told I would approve as it was Italian....
I said yes I know but its running a TL 1000 engine ... so in my funny brain its really a Suzuki.....

What do you think ... I was just curious if anyone else feels like that.

I am not snobby ... nothing against Jap bikes as ride one everyday!!
However in my eyes to be an Italian bike it must run an Italian engine ...
and now I am going to get ticked off......

[The Red Devil]

Gotta agree with you hellcat... After all without the thump thump of my duke. And the gorgeous sound it makes.. Sets it apart from the rest.. I love Bimotas, especially the one with the swingarm at the front instead of forks .. But transplanting a Duke heart into it seems .. It would no longer be a Duke.. Dilemma. !!

[Albie]

Its actually funny that. saw a tl1000 yesterday. I was going to get one as thats what got me to ducati. I never thought ducatis were affordable and a friend told me he had one. I then realised the monster was feasible. Thats where the story started and 7 years and a week later Im still loving them.

Bimota well they are italian and they use the engine of choice. Its up to them really but italian company through and through.

[Mr Cake]

Well I put my foot in it as usual.

I went bike shopping with someone and it was to look at a Bimota SB8R yes its a fine looking bike in a funny way but I sort of put my size 5's in it :(

You see I have a theory that what makes a bike what it is .. well its the engine.
To me that is the heart and soul of a bike and makes it what it is.
It defines what it is to me.

I was told I would approve as it was Italian....
I said yes I know but its running a TL 1000 engine ... so in my funny brain its really a Suzuki.....

What do you think ... I was just curious if anyone else feels like that.

I am not snobby ... nothing against Jap bikes as ride one everyday!!
However in my eyes to be an Italian bike it must run an Italian engine ...
and now I am going to get ticked off......

The TL engine was the best V-twin of its time. It was, and still is, a pant-warmingly good engine.

So the entire Moto2 grid are Hondas in your eyes? Not Suter, Harris(?), Moriwaki, etc...?

I understand what you say about the engine and that's your valued opinion. However, I'm willing to bet that if the Bimota you saw had a Ducati twin you wouldn't be posting saying the bike was not a Bimota.

Example: If I put a Fiat twin cam in a mk1 Escort does that make it a Fiat? It never did do when that transplant was popular.

Better example: My Yamaha leathers are made by Dainese, the only Dainese logos on them are on the titanium shoulders. But you can't buy them from Dainese only through a Yamaha dealer. Does this make them not Dainese leathers? No.

C

[He11cat]

I am not knocking that engine..... far from it !!

Its like bunging a porshe or scooby engine in an old VW beetle .... ok its a good engine it improves performance,
However to me its no longer a VW beetle.... its a shell with another car engine in it!

I just wonderd if anyone else concidered that the heart of a bike that makes it what it is , is the engine.
Just my blinkered opinion...
It sort of stunned someone else...

As for the Mk1 Escort thing .... thats sacriledge!! I drove a mark 1!!
Would it detract from it being a Mk1 Escort ... for risk of getting shouted down ... yes it would.

See thought on my other love VW's !!

It just seems a bit odd to me thats all..... was sat pondering over it , didn't mean to be argumental just wonderd if anyone else had my odd view that the heart and soul of a bike that defines it is the engine.

Can you imagine the hell that would break out at say HOG if you turned up on a Hog rolling chasis with a jap engine in it and them stood there and said look at my Harley???
It would go into melt down.

hmmmm..... anyone got a Hog rolling chasis ;)

[Small Clanger]

How about a lap around Suffolk on this then?

[J.P]

I think you'd still be able to call that a 'gaz guzzler' Small Clanger, whatever the engine was in. :)

[Mr Cake]

I am not knocking that engine..... far from it !!

Its like bunging a porshe or scooby engine in an old VW beetle .... ok its a good engine it improves performance,
However to me its no longer a VW beetle.... its a shell with another car engine in it!

I just wonderd if anyone else concidered that the heart of a bike that makes it what it is , is the engine.
Just my blinkered opinion...
It sort of stunned someone else...

As for the Mk1 Escort thing .... thats sacriledge!! I drove a mark 1!!
Would it detract from it being a Mk1 Escort ... for risk of getting shouted down ... yes it would.

See thought on my other love VW's !!

It just seems a bit odd to me thats all..... was sat pondering over it , didn't mean to be argumental just wonderd if anyone else had my odd view that the heart and soul of a bike that defines it is the engine.

Can you imagine the hell that would break out at say HOG if you turned up on a Hog rolling chasis with a jap engine in it and them stood there and said look at my Harley???
It would go into melt down.

hmmmm..... anyone got a Hog rolling chasis ;)

I know what you mean. But if JP carped it at Brands and donated his heart to replace my dodgy one, I'd still be Dave.

Ah well never mind. Bimotas are ace anyroad.

C

[J.P]

You Dave, or anyone else for that matter may use my bits and pieces after I'm gone, but I warn you, my thighs are large and my feet give me terrible jip.

[Mr Cake]

Awww fanx mate! :D

C

[Darkness]

You see I have a theory that what makes a bike what it is .. well its the engine.
To me that is the heart and soul of a bike and makes it what it is.
It defines what it is to me...

Interesting take on identity, but does that make a Brough Superior the same as a Morgan three wheeler, and various TVRs the same as a Range Rover, a stage 1 Land Rover, a Rover SD1 and an MGB GT V8?

I think what matters are the values, intentions and skill of the person who chooses what bits to use, and how to bolt them together. That and the aspirations / marketing spin and budgets of the company selling them determine whether you get a Trabant, a Mini or a Tata Nano, or a Porsche, a 'vette or a Jaguar.

The Monster owes more to Galluzzi than its engine: 'the Monster is one hundred percent pure emotion. It is an embodiment of the spirit of motorcycling which has become a way of life.'

And...[lights match and retires].. that's why I like the m900: the original embodiment of the designer's concept.

:spin::spin:

[slipperyweeguy]

The only sb8 I know ran like a three legged cow until its owner made a new loom to get the right electrical signals to the injectors.

Have pondered the proposition of the engine being the heart and soul of the vehicle, defining its nature etc, and would agree but only when the engine is the dominant feature. The thing I remember as defining my first zxr750 was not the engine's feel, or even the intake roar, but the unmatched feel through the bars and the confidence it gave me to go loony. Rgv250 defined by its tiny size, precision and lightness. People did not buy either of those bikes because of their engines.

[He11cat]

I just have a funny take on things...
Id be careful Dave.... there are cases of people having organ transplants and suddenly taking on a language or accent that the previous owner had .... or other odd things :)
Who knows what you would turn out like ..... :) There could be many dark secrets come to light :)

Darkness..... that's ok... just don't light a match, pop it in a petrol bomb chuck it at me and swiftly retire!! ... thats not cricket :)

Oh this Bimota was stunning in an odd way... however I was distracted by the Pantah... ohhh pretty bike !!!! ...