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What says "exclusivity" in the motorcycle world?
A Kawasaki H2R? Kawasaki plans to make hundreds of them.
Honda's "street-legal MotoGP bike" RC213V-S? What if your friends at the yacht club aren't impressed when they find out you paid nearly $2,000 per horsepower?
What about a T12 Massimo built just for you?
OK, now we're talking.
What is a T12 Massimo? It is a beautiful design left to us by the late Massimo Tamburini, the "ta" in Bimota and the designer behind the landmark Ducati 916 and the lovely MV Agusta F4, among others. Tamburini died of cancer in 2014, but having left the corporate world, he was working on a project unencumbered by mundane, real-world concerns such as controlling costs, meeting emissions standards or making something that could be easily mass produced. Instead, he was designing his vision of the ultimate superbike. After his death, his family carried on that vision, and this week the T12 Massimo was unveiled.
Crass, penny-counting members of the proletariat that we are, let me address your first question right up front: It will cost you 300,000 Euros (about $343,000) to order one. They will be built only to fulfill orders, so expect to be prepared to make a hefty down payment.
Free to design what he wanted, Tamburini assembled the industry's best components, without regard to cost, built the bike as compact and powerful as he could make it, and applied his own trademark style. It's not surprising that his masterwork would return to the styling elements that he is known for. The T12 uses a steel alloy trellis frame that incorporates his patented system that allows the frame's rigidity to be adjusted. Rake, trail and triple clamp offset are all adjustable up front. In the back, the swing arm pivot bolt, link and shock absorber are all fully adjustable. The swingarm is single-sided, naturally. Like some other parts, such as the steering tube and the plates that clamp the engine to the frame, the swingarm is made of lightweight magnesium.
That flowing, Tamburini-penned body work, along with parts such as the air box and ducts, and even the fuel tank, are all made of carbon fiber to keep the weight low. The company says the dry weight is 154.5 kilograms (340 pounds). Oddly, while they tout the compactness of the bike, the wheelbase is left unspecified on the spec sheet.
Power comes from a 999 cc BMW S 1000 RR engine in superbike tune, producing a claimed 230 horsepower and exhaling through a four-into-one Arrow exhaust. The news release calls it "possibly the most refined four-cylinder engine in production today."
Will any of these bikes ever be ridden? Even started? The Tamburini family makes no pretense that this is anything other than a collector's item. Are you really going to take this to your local track day and mix it up with the punters on Suzuki GSX-R600s with zip-tied race fairings?
Tamburini's heirs founded the S.r.l., an Italian version of an LLC, to build the motorcycle and make his final vision a reality.
"This was his last concept and for this reason the family was fully committed to finalize his last dream. This is the task that has been assigned to his son, Andrea, who had worked by his side for more than 20 years, together with all the team that have been involved since the beginning to complete and honor this incredible creation."
They are calling the T12 "his last and most important project, the most exclusive motorbike ever made."
It's hard to argue the point.
