[JEC]

My focus is going to be on weird and rare bikes, and spectacular failures. First post is about the Bimota V-Due. Next week - Hesketh V1000. Might find some oddball MVs to profile in the future, if anyone has suggestions feel free to let me know!

I'm trying to offer information that a lot of profiles/blogs ignore. I want to weave the stories and histories into a broader narrative to give them context. I want to create a better class of motorcycle blog that offers more than shiny pictures and terse stock descriptions.

Check it out,

http://oddbike.blogspot.ca/

[Chr1s_j]

Just read the V-Due article. Good read, thanks

[JEC]

Hope it is decent and accurate. I'm sure there are some V-Due owners on here who will have corrections...

[Ian SAVS]

Good stuff, and very well written. I will bookmark it, and check back for more.

[toddburk]

Never thought of myself as a "premature visitor" but apparently I am. Interesting stuff for sure. I'll save your blog in my list of favorites sites and check back later.

Thanks and good luck!

[CAG]

Well done. Keep us posted here so the more lazy among us don't have to check back frequently.

Good choice on the V due. Weird, rare, AND a spectacular failure. I would still love to own one.

[crash2much]

Originally Posted by CAG

Well done. Keep us posted here so the more lazy among us don't have to check back frequently.

Good choice on the V due. Weird, rare, AND a spectacular failure. I would still love to own one.

No you wouldn't, Carl. Trust me! I had one. It had so many problems, I can't even remember them all.

[JEC]

I expect to update it semi-regularly. I have a few posts scheduled already for the next week. The next bike feature will go live next Monday. I'll try to do them every Monday.

[haupti]

Very interesting aproach and so far a good start.
But to say that the V-Due was the last nail for coffin is not the entire truth.
There were many more management errors and changes on the market who were responsible for the failure of Bimota.
Their sky high pricing was appreciated in the seventies, eighties since Bimota builded great chassis for japanese engines. In the nineties were the chassis of the japanese at least as good as the once from Bimota and they costed only a fraction. So Bimota was basically selling their bikes for fanatics and to peoples who loved exotic sport bikes.
Now Bimota thought if we can sell 1500 units we might can sell 4000 a Year.
So they introduced more and more models every Year. SB6, SB8,YB8,YB9,YB10, BB1, DB2....
Leaving Bimota dealers with hardly sellable stock and the tiny company with a hugh spare part dilemma and halls full of unsold motorcycles. I think the Mantra would be also a good example for Your blog.
Another issue is for sure also the SB8 Superbike endeavor with Anthony Gobert. Were they dumped Millions in the development and their sponsor didn't pay a cent.
Than of course the V-Due. Which run perfectly at the inaugural press introduction were noise and emission restrictions didn't existed. The journalists were in love with the bike at this time. Once they started the homologation process in Europe and California the whole story went sour. Since that time the V-Due was never driving acceptable and left a few hundred enthusiasts frustrated. The scrapping of the fuel injection was amellowing the issues but with the cost of meeting nowhere the emission standards for homologation.
I hope I wrote here not to much nonesense but this are all issues which leaded to the end.
Might crash2much can give You some more details on the V-Due disaster.

[JEC]

URL has been updated, take note... Also a "new" post (a personal article I posted on Ducati.ms a while back)
http://www.odd-bike.com/