Honda’s 800cc V4 is on the money, power-wise, making 108bhp in the VFR and 101bhp in the Crossrunner. It’s also ideal because it’s not a conventional
inline-four, offering more midrange and character than the more common design.
While a complex engine when compared to inline motors – even ignoring the VTEC system that disables eight of the valves at low revs, there are two sets of
cylinder heads and all their associated gubbins where an inline motor has just one – Honda has been making it for so long that it amortised its development costs years ago, allowing it to be financially competitive with newer, simpler engines.
Despite the fact it’s been 12 years since the VTEC VFR was launched, the engine is still a modern design, and it’s particularly useful in this instance because it was always intended to be used as a structural component.
The VFR dates from a period when Honda had a philosophy of separating the swingarm pivot from the main chassis – as on the 929cc and 954cc Fireblades of the early ’00s.
That means the newly-designed steel tube frame for the naked machine, which will presumably be called the VF800, can follow the latest trend for minimalist frames and structural engines. In fact, the frame looks very similar to the trellis on the recently-spied 2014
Ducati Monster 1198.
