Not too long ago, it was announced that the Kawasaki Racing Team, or KRT, in the WorldSBK, was changing into the Bimota Racing Team, or Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team (BbRT). Recently, we have seen the KB998 take to Jerez, testing for WorldSBK, and from the looks of it, it seems to be an interesting motorcycle.
The KB998 will be racing in the 2025 World Superbike Championship with riders Alex Lowes and Axel Bassani. As far as compliance, Bimota will have to produce and sell at least 500 units of the bike to the public to comply with the WorldSBK’s homologation rules. The frame was engineered and constructed by Bimota, while Kawasaki’s 998cc inline four-cylinder engine from the ZX-10RR provides the power. The power figures are not public as of now, but we can expect them to be much more prominent than the stock ZX-10RR.
In terms of what the production KB998 could be like, it could very well be the bike that propels Bimota into the mainstream market, putting it in the same league as the superbikes from European and Japanese manufacturers. But at the same time, it could also end up being an ultra-rare race homologation special — a bike that would eventually be a prized piece in superbike aficionados’ collections. We wouldn’t mind either if it means we get a chance to ride it sometime soon.
