Is the Honda V4 superbike making a comeback?

A rumour that keeps popping up time and again is Honda will be making a V4 superbike to run alongside its current model CBR1000RR. This is not without precedent, as back in the early 80s, Honda made both the CB-series of inline-fours together with the VF/VFR range of V4 engines.

Considering the VF engine morphed from a fire-breathing racebike into a range of softer sports-tourers like the VFR1200 and VFR800, news of the Honda V4 going back to its sports bike roots is rather exciting. Unfortunately the rumour has been floating around the internet for the last two decades, as pointed out by website Asphalt and Rubber.

While the CBR1000RR, now in base, SP1 and SP2 versions and soon to be released in Malaysia, produces some 189 hp in base trim, 200 hp is the industry norm for four-cylinder superbikes, and is the number Honda has to achieve. That the CBR1000RR has always been a somewhat light machine counts in its favour, assuming Honda translates that into the rumoured V4.

Honda’s V4 mill has always been positioned as a versatile engine, gracing the V45 Interceptor, Sabre naked sports and Magna cruiser in 1983, the year of its market introduction after being shown in Cologne in 1982. As a racebike, the V4 served well in the RC30 from 1988 to 1993, with the RC45 taking over till 2000, when it was replaced by the RC51 V-twin.

Currently, Honda offers the V4 in the VFR1200F and VFR800 sports-touring machines, along with the limited edition RC213V-S and the ST1300. Boon Siew Honda Malaysia has not released pricing for the 2018 Honda CBR1000RR but the Honda RC213V-S is available for purchase at a price of “about RM1.1 million.”

GALLERY: 2017 Honda CBR1000RR