Bimota: It?s one of the most evocative names in motorcycling. Like most Italian manufacturers, the company has been through the full cycle of fame, financial crisis and rebirth?but the star power of the bikes bearing the name has never waned.
The Bimota story started in the early 1970s with the HB1, built around the Honda CB750 engine. Only ten of these machines were made at the Rimini factory, and nine were delivered in kit form.

Word is that just four built-up HB1s still exist, so prices are high: the auction house Bonhams has sold two over the past couple of years for around US$70,000. And there?s a strong enthusiast network?but we?re not sure how owners will react to the machine shown here.
It?s a jaw-dropping HB1 replica, shot by top motorcycle photographer Ryan Handt and built by American Rob Phillips?best known as the man behind Husky Restorations, based in upstate New York.
These days, Rob focuses on Yamaha HL500 restomods, but he also likes a good challenge. So he?s spent the past two years reverse-engineering the HB1 from photos and diagrams.
Bimotas are all about the frame, and this one was built for Rob by Framecrafters of Illinois. It?s a work of art, and as close as you could get to the original without having the real thing on a jig to measure from.

It?s a true stressed-member frame, built using sections that Rob CNC?d himself.
A 1974 CB750K engine is slotted in. It?s a completely rebuilt SOHC/4 unit, boosted with a Megacycle cam in a smooth road ra...