As an owner of a BMW Duo lever bike I have a real big soft spot for bikes with strange from ends, thanks great video, would love to see more like this.
Very nice video. I had a Yamaha GTS for a while ('til we hit a wildbore...) that had a slighty different solution for the hub centre steering - more car-like I would say. Really un-inspiring bike to ride, unfortunately, but I can see why some enjoy it for touring. The Bimota is a truly mouthwatering piece of engineering!!
Very good commentary! I recommend you get a lavaliere mic to keep the audio consistent though. I was turning up and down the volume throughout the video.
You caught me with the mention of servicing. I'm at the point where it is about time for me to replace belts on my 3DFE #17. Have you done the swap yet and is it as easy as implied in the video? My tires are also getting close to needing to be replaced and would love to find a video on that process. Also would like to know how to balance the tires with the non standard hub.
We've done the belts twice on my bike (once during break-in because the belts had aged out already, I bought the bike with zero miles but it had been sitting for some time and once at 7,500 miles) and I'm 2-3 weeks out from doing them again. We also just did the belts for a client's Tesi 3D FE last week. You can see a photo here of how much we disassembled the bike to do belts - you don't have to remove the top shock mount bolt but it makes lie a lot easier and it's not much addiitonal work: www.bike-urious.com/abhi-buys-a-bimota-tesi-3d-fe-part-6-7500-miles/ I think we've replaced the front tire on my bike 3 or 4 times now but we've never done a video, sorry. My bike came with an adapter to use for balancing the front wheel, you can get one from Bob at Bimota Spirit.
5:09 The Vyrus does have a steering stop. It’s down in the front hub. There’s a small stop screw on each side of the hub at the rear. When you turn the steering the center tube through the hub moves back and forth. The screw stops it that center tube from going to far. Where you have your finger at 5:09 has 2 pinch bolts. If somehow they come loose you lose the steering. I put a little longer bolt drilled on the end so I could put a thin castle nut with a cotter pin. I notice you safety wire your steering linkage as do I. I also put those special washers for tie rods. If the tie rod comes apart the special washer prevents it from completely falling off. Thanks for reporting on these special bikes.
Thank you for this! The Vyrus isn't at our shop any more so I'll have to look for this the next time I see one! Looks like the stop needs to be adjusted with this example as it still allows for the bodywork to get hit but I really appreciate the heads up and the information, thank you.
@@IconicMotorbikes I live in Sacramento and I’ve wanted to stop by your shop for a long time. I’m 75 and don’t get around as well. It wouldn’t take much to talk me into coming to LA for a ride with other Vyrus and Bimota owners. A Sunday ride to the Rock Store sounds just about perfect. I’m sure you must know everyone who would be interested. The group could meet at your shop and leave from there. Plus I’ll be leaving my bikes to my 7 year old grandson. He and my son-in-law will need help with my bikes. I’m putting them all into perfect condition, but you know how long that will last. You’re the closest shop I would trust with them.
@@IconicMotorbikes I’ve noticed that occasionally you have a shop ride to the Rock Store and other places. If you’ll drop me an email, I’ll make the trip. I’m currently making some changes to my Ducati MH900e Carbon Dream. I’m trying to do the things Ducati would have done if price was no object. I can hear you cringe all the way to Sacramento. But it’s not what you think. For example, I just got a set of new Marchesini 10 spoke magnesium wheels. I had Marchesini paint them to match the gray color of the bodywork. It took almost a year, but the look fabulous on the bike and the weight savings was huge. I want everything to look like it came from the Ducati Performance catalog. I would like to bring it down and show it off. You’re one of the few who I think would appreciate the attention to detail.
@@tomstephens5024 I'd love this but I don't have your email address. Send me a message: abhi@iconicmotorbikes.com! I'm flying back from Alabama as I was racing with AHRMA at Barber this weekend but I'll get back to you ASAP.
Ugh, the milling marks on the Bimota's omega frames alone belong in the MoMA. I apprechiate that Abhi's choice between the Vyrus and the Bimota came down to maintainability/reliability over performance.
They could have removed the milling marks had they wanted. It is a Bimota trademark to show the machined-from-billet nature of the parts. It is more difficult to have the start and stop of the milling look good than polishing everything. In person they are stunning and clearly hand made.
The seat's a little thin but it's surprisingly comfortable thanks to bars, which give it an upright riding position. One of the big differences between my Tesi 3D Final Edition and the original Tesi 3D is that the latter has aggressive clip-ons, I wouldn't want to daily that. Overall, it's much more comfortable than it looks. With that said, my girlfriend hates being on the back of this thing (she's logged tens of thousands of miles on motorcycles with me so it's not for lack of experience). The shape of the seat, distance from seat to peg, and the way vibrations are transmitted through the subframe aren't good for passengers.
@@sarahdell4042 this one's probably going to be around for a few years! Are you looking for one? Bimota Spirit still has a new one, though it's been custom painted.
@@IconicMotorbikes Love to hear that. It’s cool to see one with miles being piled on too. I’ve seen it, but not a fan of the color. I have too many bikes to justify spending an extra 40k on just one as I use all of my stuff regularly and it would have loads of miles within a year or two, killing all resale.
I thought it was pronounced teezee? and a great comparison but not the comparison I'm looking for. how do they compare to forks? I know huh center steering is supposed to separate breaking forces and suspension forces but what does that mean? how does it feel? besides vague. everybody t and their mom complains about vague front end feel but how do? how vague is it? on corner entry. mid corner? corner exit? on the gas? in the brakes? trailbreaking? do these two bikes feel the same? does one feel better than the other? i ran across a guy in a vyrus and when I was asking him he said huh center steering isn't vague, they're honest. he was saying forks exaggerate what's going on but since forks are what we know it's what we expect. hub center steering is vague compared to forks but only because the forks are drama queens. he wouldn't let me ride it, I don't blame him. but he was a street rider with multiple track days under his belt. he also told me when he gets back on a forked bike he doesn't really care for how busy the front end always is. what are your thoughts on this?
Short answers (please note I've only ridden the Tesi 3D, I have not ridden the Vyrus): - hard to quantify vagueness on a scale that doesn't exist, but it's not as responsive as each input on the bars has to go through so many joints before it affects the front wheel. If you were parked in a straight line and someone asked you to get the front wheel at exactly 15 degrees off axis, I think it'd be harder to do that precisely on the Tesi vs a forked bike. I also get a little bit of oscillation above 100 mph on roads with imperfect surfaces. - a side effect of the design is that the turning radius is quite wide. I struggle to make a u-turn in a regular two lane road. Also, changing the front tire takes 2 hours. - it requires noticeably more effort on corner entry, but mid corner and corner exit there isn't much of a difference. - I don't feel a difference on the gas, but the front end is incredible on the brakes. There is no dive, and depending on how the front shock is tuned you can almost sense a little bit of a rise. It keeps the rider planted and the braking performance is strong enough that it's one of the best braking motorcycles I've ever ridden. - I have the most miles on BMW's slightly alternative front ends (Telelever/Duolever/etc) so I understand what that Vyrus rider says about the forked bikes being a little busy, but I'm not sure why he would say that hub-center is 'honest'. It feels muted, and I don't mind a bit of twitchiness. There are days when I feel the braking performance is well worth the trade-offs and days when I don't. I bought the Tesi because I had always wanted to know what it was like and I love that it's so different. Hope that answers some of your questions! -Abhi
@@IconicMotorbikes thank you for your answers, very informative. that info clears up the vagueness I hear about. I wouldn't have thought about the steering that way and given all the linkages it makes sense. I'd still love to ride one just to try it out for myself, get the first hand experience. thanks again
