Bimota Mantra

BIMOTA MANTRA

V-TWIN, CARBON-FIBER, OVAL-TUBED STYLING STATEMENT

MOTORCYCLE STYLING? Forget it. This wonderful art of the possible seems lost, at least as far as performance bikes are concerned, to the expediencies of the wind tunnel. Air, after all, only flows over bodywork in a certain way. So it was inevitable that sooner or later, all sportbikes would be sculpted by air into basically similar shapes.

More often, though, manufacturers moved to attract customers who respond to qualities beyond raw performance, and also to satisfy their own artistic sensibilities, are turning to Design-yep, with an upper-case D-to make their bikes visually exciting.

The leading and most highly visible example of this trend has to be the Bimota Mantra, drawn by Frenchman Sacha Lakic. The bike debuted at the Cologne Show' last October. And now the first complete pre-production Mantra was ready to be ridden. When the invitation to do so came, 1 was ready to answer the Burning Question: Is this a go-bike, or merely a show-bike victimized by French-designer weirdness?

In a way, it’s a pity the Mantra’s appearance is so uncompromisingly different. This surely is a bike that you'll either love or hate-and those who hate the way it looks won't ever appreciate how much fun it is to ride.

It might seem logical to compare the Mantra to Ducati’s 900SS-powered Monster, but they’re very different bikes. The Mantra is more agile and quicker-steering, thanks to a 53.9-inch wheelbase compared to the Monster’s 56.3-inch wheelbase; to greater forward weight bias, which gives you the confidence to hustle it through turns hard; and to vastly superior ground clearance.

And why not? Its chassis geometry is that of Bimota’s very racy and sweet-handling DU2. also powered by a Ducati 900SS engine. There is one important diI ference, though. Chassis designer Pier-Luigi Marconi used an oval-section tubular alloy chassis rather than the tubular-steel spaceframe of the DR2. The result is not only visually striking, hut it also allows the Mantra to scale a claimed 38 1 pounds dry, a mere 9 pounds he~ivier than the DB2.

Thanks to this sport-biased chassis, the Mantra steers effortlessly and flicks from side to side as if it's on casters, The secret is the ruling position, which is absolutely brilliant.

The handlebars are perfectly situated to deliver a posture that's just upright enough to he comfortable for a long ride without exposing you to too much wind blast. This riding stance, and the excellent leverage from the bars, make you master of the Mantra in pointand-squirt corner-clipping. You just go with the flow, not bothering to weight-shift or hang off.

The Paioli suspension fitted front and rear is also derived from the DB2, but though the 43mm conventional fork is nicely responsive, the shock seemed oversprung, with too stiff a ride for a bike of this nature. But full marks for the Brembo brakes, which, though steel rather than cast-iron, give good stopping power and more bite than other steelrotor Brembo setups I’ve tried lately. Maybe the pads are the right choice?

There’s lots of opportunity for Mantra owners to personalize their two-wheeled fashion statements, and I'll bet that broadsword tanktop is going to have motifs aplenty airbrushed onto it. Rather than the document-folder-sized storage pocket featured on the prototype show bike, the tank now has a deeper, narrower recess at the rear which is large enough to contain a rainsuit, cell phone and loose change for tolls. Surprisingly, the teak dash doesn’t boast a clock. In addition to optional windscreen heights, Bimota plans a whole range of options, including luggage and performance updates.

Avant garde, weird, dynamic, overdone-whatever your opinion of the Mantra, the fact is it's a blast to ride. Certainly it’s a poseur par excellence, rather like a cool dude whose high-fashion athletic shoes belie the fact that he can use them to reverse-slam-dunk on you any time he wants.

Don't be fooled by the Mantra's looks. It's a fundamentally fine motorcycle. Maybe Bimota should get someone else to draw up a Plain Jane version for those who want the go, without the show. Alan Cathcart