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Exclusive: Honda 1200 V4

Honda’s anti-BMW

The first pictures of one of the most interesting machines of the next few years show how seriously Honda takes BMW.

This new Honda will definitely be the most important new motorcycle of the year for the manufacturer itself. Because this 1200 V4 rocket should lead the brand into the next decade. It should combine effortless touring suitability, razor-sharp handling and absolute suitability for everyday use in a single concept. And thus address every type of driver. The original images are black and white, shot from a computer screen in a secret location. One should therefore excuse the somewhat modest quality. But they show every corner and reveal some surprising details of the V4 engine. And that months before the official presentation of the new Honda flagship. Perhaps the biggest surprise is the clear positioning of the V4 in the Honda model range. It is clearly the successor to the Honda CBR 1100 XX and is far from impairing the Fireblade’s sporty appearance. It is just as clearly aimed at the BMW K series with its cardan drive. And if it is only half as good as it looks, the Bavarians have to come up with something.

Visually, the new V4 is based on the study to be admired at Intermot in 2008, albeit without its futuristic technical details. The front is dominated by an X-shaped headlight that is flush with the air intakes. From the front, the machine looks strongly optimized in the wind tunnel, which suggests a high top speed. The two-shell cladding is set off in color and shows a certain relationship to the Fireblade. Just like the short, sporty rear end, which looks dynamic for the driver and passenger despite the wide seating area. The single-sided swing arm with integrated cardan drive and the rear wheel exude a touch of BMW-K. The exhaust case on the right, which is significantly larger than that of the Honda super sports car, looks surprisingly powerful. The frame and wheel guides appear to be conventional. A massive, cast aluminum frame suggests a lot of power, as do the luscious six-piston brakes on the upside-down fork. ABS and the dual CBS known from the VFR will probably be part of the standard equipment of the V4.

Although Honda has not yet left out any technical details about the pictures, one can infer the basic dimensions of the V4 burner from the side view. The wheelbase will be around 1460 millimeters, which is shorter than, for example, a Suzuki Hayabusa. The steering head angle of 65 degrees appears to be also easy to use, and the seat height will be around 770 millimeters. Relatively low footrests and a fairly high handlebar indicate a comfortable seating position. The cardan drive was already mentioned at the beginning, a torque support is just as unrecognizable in the pictures as the rear wheel suspension. Honda may have integrated the strut and lever system into the rear swing arm, similar to the Honda GP racers RC 211 V. Clutch and gearshift work conventionally. Tea motor ?? and that is officially confirmed by Honda ?? is a V4. To this day there is no more information. Its displacement is likely to be between 1200 and 1300 cm3, and the output is in the region of 170 hp. The cylinder arrangement will be tricky. While the front and rear cylinder banks are laterally offset in conventional V4 engines, the Honda V4 should have a wider cylinder bank at the front. You can think of it as a V5 with its front center cylinder missing. All right? Advantage: the rear cylinder bank is very narrow and makes the waist slim.

In order to achieve the short wheelbase, the Honda engine developers also have to dig deep into their bag of tricks. It is assumed that the cylinder heads only accommodate one camshaft each, which is what Honda ?? unicam ?? and has been used in motocross models for several years. With this system, the high-performance four-valve design is implemented in the smallest of spaces. Of course, Honda will not spoil itself when it comes to electronics and rely on real slip control as well as drive-by-wire throttle valve actuation with various performance curves. Honda took its time with its new flagship. But what is now emerging has the quality of a new standard. A little anecdote from 2003 fits in with this. When asked by the author of this article what Honda would do with the V4 concept, a senior Honda manager said with conviction: "We will build Rocket!" Here she is.

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