Why the much-maligned Mantra could be worthy of your cash
1995 Bimota Mantra Every week we give a different rider a wodge of fictional cash and ask them to ‘buy’ the bike that sets their soul on fire. This is Jon Urry’s pick...
MCN used bike expert and general all-round motorcycle pervert Jon Urry, has a keen eye on the classifieds. A man bordering on requiring a restraining order when it comes to eBay, Jon has a collection of bikes ranging from veteran through to modern, nearly all bought on impulse. But loaded with an imaginary £5K, what would he buy? “Visually challenging, unreliable, questionable emissions - enough about me, let’s talk about the bike I’d buy. The Bimota Mantra,” says Jon. “I have a soft spot for unique, first generation models or oddballs, and few are as weird or wacky as the Mantra, which is why I’ve been wanting one for years.
“I’ve only ever seen one Mantra in my life, which isn’t that surprising because they are pretty rare. Bimota made just 454 Mantras between 1995-98 with 426 in yellow, and only 28 in red. The one I saw was red, despite their rarity; I’d still go for yellow as it stands out more and you don’t want to be a shy-retiring type on a Mantra! “Although I’ve never ridden a Mantra, they are powered by the Ducati’s 900cc air-cooled V-twin motor so there is no reason (other than the fact it is a Bimota...) that they will be unreliable if well looked after. But, like so many of my bikes, I’ll probably hardly ride it and instead just stare at it waiting for the sun to come out again. “I’ve come tantalisingly close to owning a Mantra on a few occasions, the most recent just last year when one popped up in the Hebrides! It was a lovely original bike for £5000, if my memory serves me correctly, and I was wracking my brains to remember if I knew anyone in the area who could pick it up for me but in the end I bottled it – which I now regret. I wish I’d just hopped on a train with a lid in one hand and my AA membership card in the other...”