Boutique Italian bike builder Bimota has been under the control of Kawasaki for over six years now, with engines from the Japanese company now powering the famed chassis manufacturer’s entire range. The collaboration has led to the introduction of the KB988 Rimini, which has become Kawasaki’s fairly successful world superbike contender, as well as a range of off-roaders and expensive roadsters. Now there’s a newer, less expensive, entry into the Bimota range, in the form of the KB399.
The KB399 marks a change of direction for Bimota, which has always been famed for developing high-end frames upon which it would hang top end components and class leading engines. With mainstream offerings becoming so good out of the box, Bimota lost its USP many decades ago, and now the latest machine is not so much a traditional Bimota, but a higher-end modified version of Kawasaki’s dainty little ZX-4RR Ninja.
The ZX-4RR attracted plenty of interest when it was introduced for 2024, evoking memories of Kawasaki’s high-revving ZXR400 from the 1990s. Like most sports bikes, it’s not proved a massive sales success, but Kawasaki will be hoping the Bimota treatment will attract new customers, as well as hitting a chord with potential buyers looking to recapture their biking youth. After all, the thought of riding out of the showroom on a brand new Bimota is something which would have seemed utterly unachievable for most until now.
Priced from £10,099, only £400 more than the RRP of the ‘Performance’ version of the ZX-4RR, the KB399 takes the Ninja and gives it a Bimota makeover. Changes to the base bike’s steel trellis frame extend only to a coat of red paint, but it gets matched with KB988 Rimini style bodywork, a classic red, white and black Bimota livery and improved chassis parts, including billet machined triple clamps.
Suspension comes in the form of Showa’s 41mm big piston forks up front, with a matched rear shock from the same manufacturer, with upgraded Brembo Stylema radial mounted front brake calipers providing the stopping power. The 78bhp, 399cc, engine remains the same, as do the electronics, meaning three level traction control, rider modes and a standard quick shifter. A bespoke Akrapovic silencer should enhance the screaming four-cylinder soundtrack, which is already very distinctive.
While the ‘budget’ KB399 probably has Bimota purists turning red with fury there is at least a more exotic version.
The KB399 ES, which stands for Edizione Special, gets more bling in the form of an Öhlins STX46 rear shock absorber, a carbon fibre fairing, racy clip on handlebars and machined foot controls and adjustable rearsets. It costs £14,699, a lot of money for a 400 but surprisingly little for a ‘Bimota’.
The company says that the 400 is aimed not only at existing customers, but also a ‘new and enthusiastic audience who are now becoming more aware of our craftsmanship focused motorcycles’. If you want one, Kawasaki says that the KB399 will be a 2027 model, although they should start arriving in late October or early November this year.
The KB399 is one of two new Bimota models announced by Kawasaki. They’re continuing along the badge engineering route with a new enduro bike, called the BX450. A modified version of the Kawasaki KX450X, its main USP is a different ECU which facilitates multiple fuelling maps and traction control settings. It’ll cost £10,599 when it goes on sale in May.
