There’s not much you can do to improve on a brand-new, in-the-crate 1984 Bimota SB4, but deciding whether to keep it in the crate or take it out and experience the myriad delights available with this machine is the truly difficult task.

Bimota was in its heyday when the SB4 was released in 1984, and the company was sorting out how to satisfy increasing demand while maintaining the hand-built quality for which it was known. Every Bimota from the very first racers in the early 1970s had a magic trifecta: artisanal construction of the highest standards in the industry, stunning beauty with bodywork designed by Massimo Tamburini, and all-around performance and handling that led the world.

The SB4 was the fourth iteration of Bimota’s collaboration with Suzuki and used the 1075cc DOHC four valves per cylinder 4-cylinder motor from the Katana 1100. The engine was mildly tuned at Bimota, using a freer exhaust and carburetion combination to give 112 HP at 8,750 RPM and a 153 MPH top speed. The frame is built of chromoly tubing, with a structural member of Avional aluminum machined from solid billet that connects the lower frame rails with the upper structure, which itself connects the steering head with the monoshock rear suspension mount.

This was likely the first use of CNC-machined billet aluminum as a structural member on a production motorcycle, and it’s indicative that innovation was important at Bimota. A larger manufacturer would have cast such a piece, if it was used at all, but Bimota did not polish out the milling lines left from machining, displaying them proudly as a sign that time and human skills were required to create this motorcycle. Only 272 Bimota SB4s were built in 1983 and ’84, and reviewers raved about the experience of riding one. “On the open road, the motorcycle is magical, absolutely stable, with fantastic steering,” gushed “StreetBike” magazine.

This crated 1984 Bimota SB4 is part of the Musee L’Épopée de la Moto Collection, and it was purchased from the collection of Francesco Romanelli.

Credit: raresportbikesforsale, mecum.

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