ITALIAN STALLIONS
For most folk, exotica means Italian bikes, and there are a few decent cheapo options out there. MV Agusta’s one of the first marques that springs to mind when you’re thinking exotically, with the cheapest MV you’re likely to come across being the Butale naked bikes, which should be purchasable in an average condition for around £5-6K. For that you get the luscious MV styling, loads of chassis jewellery and a pretty strong motor. Happy days. But we’d be more tempted by an old F4 superbike though. The 750s were the original ‘new’ Agusta, and could well be future investments. You’ll get a cheapo for £5k, and even these tend to be low mileage and in decent nick. People look after Agustas it seems.
Even a later ultimate F4, like the 312RR 1000 is a relative song. We know folk who’ve picked up immaculate ones for £10k. It’s a hairy-arsed thing, with no ABS, traction control, or any of that mincing new electronic stuff. Just 180-odd bhp, in a sharp, raw-edged chassis, clad in glorious Tamburini design. Are you hard enough?
Another class act in the making of Italian exotics is Bimota, which some consider to portray the very essence of Italian exotica. Built in Rimini in tiny numbers, the original theme was ‘strong Japanese motors in fine-handling chassis’. That was a cunning plan in the 1980s and 90s, when Jap bhp often overwhelmed the handling (GSXR1100K, we’re looking at you here). It became less cunning as the Nineties wore on though, and Bimota was holed under the waterline by its V-Due project, a failed attempt to make a fuel-injected two-stroke superbike for the road…
Our pick of the Bimotas would probably be something like the SB6R – a GSX-R1100 motor in a lush twin beam frame with carbon bodywork and Paioli suspension. A bargain for around £7k nowadays. If you’re looking for something a little less brutal, then take a look at the SB8R – which actually won a WSB race, under Anthony Gobert (at a super-wet Phillip Island in 2000). It’s got the usual massive Bimota beam frame, with a twist – carbon fibre swingarm pivot plates bolted in. The powerplant is a tuned Suzuki TL1000R lump, with massive throttle bodies, giant ram air intakes and a bespoke exhaust. Saucy.
Enormous Paioli forks, goldline Brembo calipers and a fabulously fabricated swingarm rounds it all off. Not cheap at around £10,000 to £13,000 for a really nice one, but a guaranteed future classic.