For most of Bimota’s history, their bread and butter has been taking proven existing power plants (in the YB3’s case the Yamaha TZ350) and dropping them into advanced frames and outfitting them with trick components and bodywork. The YB3 is a rare example of one of the Italian manufacturer’s late-seventies/early-eighties race machines. Different sources made different claims but anywhere from 15-20 of these machines were built as complete machines by Bimota with the rest being kits. One of the main focuses of this racer was keeping weight down to an absolute minimum and as a result the bike only came in just 216lbs (or 98kgs) with the frame weighing a mere 13lbs (6kgs, 6.6kgs according to some sources).
The YB3 was used to win the 1980 350 World Championship and was runner up the previous year. At its heart was a Yamaha TZ350 engine tuned by Giotta Bizzarini to make 80 HP at 10,000 rpm, this particular YB3 had its powerplant redone in 2006 by Jacky Germain. It’s also fitted out with all the period-correct (then-)top shelf components such as Marzocchi Grand Prix forks, rear suspension with an aluminum cantilever, dual Mikuni 43mm carbs, Bimota’s ultra-light profile fairing and Campagnolo magnesium wheels.
The bike’s double-cradle frame is composed of “Columbus tubes” with pressurized chrome molybdenum that have been helium-inflated for weld checking, the seller points out this same process was used on the iconic Le Mans Porsche 917 prototypes’ chassis as this technique allows for frames to be inflated to check for welds or cracks. When your bread and butter largely boils down to the frame, nothing short of near-perfection is acceptable so it makes sense they’d use this process.
This rare example comes with an extra set of bodywork complete with tank and seat, a second pair of wheels wrapped in Dunlop racing rubber along with a historical file on the bike. It is also signed by the late Massimo Tamburini, the bike’s designer and the “TA” of Bimota. You can find this 1979 Bimota YB3 for sale in Belgium here on classic-motorbikes.com with a price of $34,000 (or €30,000).