Bimota Turns The Page

"The dream was defined back in 1973, when Bimota officially started manufacturing its first production model, the HB1," Daniele Longoni says, hinting at his plan for newly Swiss-registered Bimota S.A. "All we have to do is reinstate the real spirit of that dream."

Longoni, 45, is sitting in his office on the first floor of the historic Bimota building located on the outskirts of Rimini, Italy. He is speaking openly about the new adventure in which he and his business partner, Marco Chiancianesi, 54, acquired Bimota from Roberto Comini.

Longoni and Chiancianesi are Italian natives, but they moved to Switzerland where they established a prominent construction and real-estate business. They have the capital and, most important,