New U.S. Distributorship For Bimota?

NEW U.S. DISTRIBUTORSHIP FOR BIMOTA?

BIMOTA, THE ITALIAN manufacturer of highend specialty motorcycles, is on the verge of concluding an American distributorship package that would immediately launch Ducatipowered DB2s and Tesis for sale here. If concluded, it also would mean that several new machines, including the Suzuki-powered SB series and the company’s two-stroke V-Twin, likely would be sold here.

James Lombardo, Bimota’s U.S. agent, told CWthe company will distribute bikes through Moto Cycle, headed by Robert Smith of Stalstown, Pennsylvania. Smith operates a Ducati/Cagiva dealership there that also is called Moto Cycle. Smith said the 26month deal involves about $300,000. “It’s on a very limited basis. We’re just going to get our feet wet, repair some of the damage, have some fun and maybe make a couple of bucks,” he said. Bimotas have in the past been distributed through Cosmopolitan Motors

and, most recently, through the Roscetti Corporation, which ended its affiliation with Bimota late last year. The end of that relationship left in its wake what some observers perceive as considerable customer dissatisfaction. Since the end of the Bimota-Roscetti relationship, Bimota has been without representation in the U.S.

—Jon F. Thompson