The 2000 Bimota 500 VDue Trofeo Corsa, recently offered on eBay, is a fascinating chapter of performance motorcycle history. The seller admits that the rare bike is “controversial.” Bimota managed to build only about 25 examples.
The story begins in the mid-1990s, when Bimota, an Italian custom motorcycle race shop founded in 1973, launched a project to revolutionize sport bikes. The idea was to create a 500cc two-stroke bike - opens in new window or tab. with 1000cc levels of speed but with a fraction of the emissions.
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The motorcycle on eBay—race number four—was built for the ill-fated Bimota Trofeo Cup. The race never happened, and this bike was never used. It’s brand new. The eBay listing ended after 65 bids sent the price to $52,900.
A Worthwhile Experiment
Two-stroke engines - opens in new window or tab. can’t run on gasoline alone. They require a mix of oil and fuel. A two-stroke simplifies the four-stroke cycle while cranking out more power per displacement. When deployed on a lightweight motorcycle, it creates a race-worthy speed machine. On the other hand, the oil/gasoline mixture produces more smoke, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and particulate matter - opens in new window or tab., running afoul of increasingly strict emissions laws in the 1990s.
Bimota engineers thought they had the answer. They attempted to solve the emissions problem by using a combination of fuel injection and forced lubrication in the bottom end. The goal was to use as little oil in the fuel as possible, thereby reducing emissions.
Unfortunately, the Bimota V-Due jerks or hesitates unless riders unleash a wide-open throttle. Reviewers also complained that the bike became spasmodic if you opened the throttle too much.
The seller describes what went wrong:
- The prototype machines used Ferrari fuel injectors - opens in new window or tab. with small openings and precisely metered fuel. Bimota couldn’t find mass-produced injectors with the same characteristics.
- The crankshaft seals were too weak and often leaked.
He says:
The combination of these two factors meant that the fuel-to-air ratio was imprecise per stroke, and therefore, the engines sometimes ran erratically.
Recalls ensued. Bimota tried to salvage the V-Due by sponsoring a one-make racing series. But ongoing engineering challenges and financial difficulties forced Bimota to close its doors before the company could launch the event.
If at First You Don’t Succeed
Despite its technical problems, the visually striking Bimota stroker still attracted interest from enthusiasts. So Piero Caroni, an ex-Bimota engineer, bought what remained of the company, including the surviving V-Due components.
Caroni tried to recast the crankcases to fit better around the crankshafts and seals. He also aimed to improve performance by returning the bike to carburetors from fuel injection.
The results were mixed. But that hasn’t stopped others from wanting to take their turn at perfecting Bimota’s low-emission, two-stroke experiment. So when remaining examples of the ultra-rare 2000 Bimota 500 V-Due Trofeo Corsa show up in the marketplace, collectors snap them up—despite their imperfections. Or maybe because of them.
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