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Okay, so I'll start with the first of the line:
Bimota HB1:
So the story goes, Massimo Tamburini rode and raced a Honda CB750 back in his youth. He crashed at Misano and decided that he could build a better handling chassis than a production Honda. So he built the frame for the HB1 while still recuperating from his crash. The result was a lighter bike with a lower center of gravity. Two things which would become the hallmark of all future Bimotas.
Bimota itself is a "portmanteau" of the initials of the three founders, Valerio Bianchi, Giuseppe Morri and Tamburini. Of them, Tamburini would go on to great acclaim as the designer of the Ducati 916 and then the MV Agusta F4. He would leave Bimota in 1983. Giuseppe Morri would follow in 1993. Bimota is pronounced as each set of initials of the founders is said. So Bi, from Bianchi is pronounced as "Bee". mo for Morri isn't too hard to figure out and ta for Tamburini is also not hard to figure out. (Bee-moh-tah)
After leaving Bimota, Tamburini was hired by Claudio Castiglione in 1985 as he acquired Ducati. Tamburini would work with Massimo Bordi to design first the Ducati Paso, then the 851, 888, and 916 as well as the naked Monster for Ducati. Ducati was on the verge of bankruptcy when Cagiva took over and the pairing of the two Massimos turned Ducati around from bankruptcy to a profitable company in a matter of just a few years. After a decade, Ducati was financially stable enough to be floated on the stock market. Bimota on the other hand, was facing bankruptcy itself. The V-due was a 500cc two stroke of Bimota's own construction built to take on the best of the Japanese in 500GP. The project was an abysmal failure both in Grands Prix racing and as a commercial venture. The bike never lived up to expectations. Forced to recall the entire production run of the V-due was a financial disaster. Then just prior to the 2000 WSBK season, the factory team's main sponsor pulled out while still owing Bimota a significant amount of money. The two events were too much and Bimota closed their doors for several years.
In 2003 a group of investors bought the company and resurrected the name. The Tesi 2D and 3D were among the models unveiled to the public. Using a Ducati engine was natural yet the companies greatest successes came from using Japanese engines. All of their WSBK wins came from using Yamaha, then Suzuki engined bikes. Their last win came at Philip Island with Anthony Gobert riding the SB-8R. Grands Prix racing yielded several titles, two with Harley Davidson powered bikes and two with Yamaha powered bikes.
Bimota was originally an air conditioning and heating company founded in 1966. The company operated in that capacity until 1972. The accident which started Bimota's entry into motorcycle production forced Tamburini to miss work while he recovered and Valerio Bianchi decided he'd had enough and left the company. Morri and Tamburini decided to relaunch the company as Bimota Meccanica the same year. Initially Bimota made racing frames as kits for Japanese engines. It wasn't until the late 1970s that they began making and marketing road legal motorcycles. When they did, their formula for making lighter weight and better handling chassis was a huge hit. The company began to be profitable but spent as much or more than the commercial side made on their racing. What they did was, establish a philosophy that was later copied by the Japanese. In particular, one Tadao Baba who introduced Honda's legendary CBR900RR or "Fireblade" in 1993. Once that occurred there was no longer a real need to spend great sums of money to have a Bimota to get that light is right philosophy. Over the long term likely contributed to the demise of the original company.
The first Yamaha powered Bimota, the YB1:
The YB1 was powered by a TZ250 two stroke race engine.
The first Suzuki powered Bimota, the SB1:
The SB1 was powered by a two stroke Suzuki TR500 engine. It was built for Grands Prix racing rather than for street use and is representative of early Bimotas. They were race bikes first.
The first Kawasaki powered Bimota, The KB1. Powered by a Z1 900 engine:
The first (there were 3) Harley Davidson powered Bimota, the HDB1:
The HDB1 was powered by 488cc Harley Davidson/Aermacchi engine. There was only one, just one produced of this model frame.
The first Ducati powered Bimota, the DB1:
Since we covered the BB1 in David's snapshot photography thread, I won't rehash it here. I'll return later and fill in details on the bikes pictured to give a brief history on them and what engine was used to give some kind of an idea of performance.......sean
Bimota HB1:

So the story goes, Massimo Tamburini rode and raced a Honda CB750 back in his youth. He crashed at Misano and decided that he could build a better handling chassis than a production Honda. So he built the frame for the HB1 while still recuperating from his crash. The result was a lighter bike with a lower center of gravity. Two things which would become the hallmark of all future Bimotas.
Bimota itself is a "portmanteau" of the initials of the three founders, Valerio Bianchi, Giuseppe Morri and Tamburini. Of them, Tamburini would go on to great acclaim as the designer of the Ducati 916 and then the MV Agusta F4. He would leave Bimota in 1983. Giuseppe Morri would follow in 1993. Bimota is pronounced as each set of initials of the founders is said. So Bi, from Bianchi is pronounced as "Bee". mo for Morri isn't too hard to figure out and ta for Tamburini is also not hard to figure out. (Bee-moh-tah)
After leaving Bimota, Tamburini was hired by Claudio Castiglione in 1985 as he acquired Ducati. Tamburini would work with Massimo Bordi to design first the Ducati Paso, then the 851, 888, and 916 as well as the naked Monster for Ducati. Ducati was on the verge of bankruptcy when Cagiva took over and the pairing of the two Massimos turned Ducati around from bankruptcy to a profitable company in a matter of just a few years. After a decade, Ducati was financially stable enough to be floated on the stock market. Bimota on the other hand, was facing bankruptcy itself. The V-due was a 500cc two stroke of Bimota's own construction built to take on the best of the Japanese in 500GP. The project was an abysmal failure both in Grands Prix racing and as a commercial venture. The bike never lived up to expectations. Forced to recall the entire production run of the V-due was a financial disaster. Then just prior to the 2000 WSBK season, the factory team's main sponsor pulled out while still owing Bimota a significant amount of money. The two events were too much and Bimota closed their doors for several years.
In 2003 a group of investors bought the company and resurrected the name. The Tesi 2D and 3D were among the models unveiled to the public. Using a Ducati engine was natural yet the companies greatest successes came from using Japanese engines. All of their WSBK wins came from using Yamaha, then Suzuki engined bikes. Their last win came at Philip Island with Anthony Gobert riding the SB-8R. Grands Prix racing yielded several titles, two with Harley Davidson powered bikes and two with Yamaha powered bikes.
Bimota was originally an air conditioning and heating company founded in 1966. The company operated in that capacity until 1972. The accident which started Bimota's entry into motorcycle production forced Tamburini to miss work while he recovered and Valerio Bianchi decided he'd had enough and left the company. Morri and Tamburini decided to relaunch the company as Bimota Meccanica the same year. Initially Bimota made racing frames as kits for Japanese engines. It wasn't until the late 1970s that they began making and marketing road legal motorcycles. When they did, their formula for making lighter weight and better handling chassis was a huge hit. The company began to be profitable but spent as much or more than the commercial side made on their racing. What they did was, establish a philosophy that was later copied by the Japanese. In particular, one Tadao Baba who introduced Honda's legendary CBR900RR or "Fireblade" in 1993. Once that occurred there was no longer a real need to spend great sums of money to have a Bimota to get that light is right philosophy. Over the long term likely contributed to the demise of the original company.
The first Yamaha powered Bimota, the YB1:

The YB1 was powered by a TZ250 two stroke race engine.
The first Suzuki powered Bimota, the SB1:

The SB1 was powered by a two stroke Suzuki TR500 engine. It was built for Grands Prix racing rather than for street use and is representative of early Bimotas. They were race bikes first.
The first Kawasaki powered Bimota, The KB1. Powered by a Z1 900 engine:

The first (there were 3) Harley Davidson powered Bimota, the HDB1:
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The HDB1 was powered by 488cc Harley Davidson/Aermacchi engine. There was only one, just one produced of this model frame.
The first Ducati powered Bimota, the DB1:

Since we covered the BB1 in David's snapshot photography thread, I won't rehash it here. I'll return later and fill in details on the bikes pictured to give a brief history on them and what engine was used to give some kind of an idea of performance.......sean