V4 Archives - Page 11 of 11 - Asphalt & Rubber

Racing

World Superbike Favoring Four Cylinders Over Two?

By Jensen Beeler 04/26/2010 28 Comments

If you take a look through our coverage of World Superbike’s stop in Assen this weekend, you’ll notice a trend in the standings on how riders finished in relation to what type of equipment they ran in the race. The trend seems to suggest an advantage for the inline-four cylinder bikes, and didn’t go unnoticed by Carlos Checa, who found himself struggling to compete with the four cylindered machines this weekend on his twin cylindered Ducati.

As one of the privateer Ducati’s on the grid, Checa and the Althea Ducati team believe the current WSBK rules hinder the twins in being competitive with the focus in both acceleration and top speed. You make the call after the jump.

Keep Reading

Bikes

Motus MST-01: Direct Injection, 2 Valves per Cylinder, 1650cc, 140hp, Made in America

By Jensen Beeler 01/16/2010 13 Comments

Motus Motorcycles has trickled out a bit more information about its Made in America MST-01 sport-tourer, giving CycleWorld their obligatory first look. What do they have to report? A 1650cc V4 motor with two valves per cylinder that features direct injection, which sums up to equal 140hp. More on that and photos after the jump.

Keep Reading

Bikes

Photos: What Does the Most Advanced Motorcycle Engine Look Like?

By Jensen Beeler 10/14/2009 8 Comments

The 2010 Honda VFR1200F is the most advanced motorcycle ever to come out of Honda’s factory, and is probably one of the most innovative motorcycles ever. A large portion of the technology that separates the VFR from the rest of the pack is the all new V4 power-plant that Honda engineers say is a trickle down product from their MotoGP racing efforts. Features and photos after the jump.

Keep Reading

Bikes

VFR1200 Breaks Cover Ahead of Schedule

By Jensen Beeler 06/24/2009 9 Comments

It would appear we do not need to wait until Fall to see the new VFR in its final, or near final form. MCN lead this morning with an article showing what they reputed to be leaked photos of the 2010 VFR1200 from Honda.

We, like many others, we skeptical of this news, both in part because of the source, but also because the reputed final version so closely matched mock-ups of the new bike that we’ve seen for months now.

Our skeptism may be unfounded this time, as auto news site Left Lane News has simultaneously released spy shots of the VFR testing in the California desert that would appear to rain on MCN’s parade of having “the scoop of the year”.

Keep Reading

Bikes

New Honda VFR Confirmed for Spring 2010 Delivery, Fall 2009 Unveiling

By Jensen Beeler 06/20/2009 52 Comments

UPDATE: You can see the new 2010 Honda VFR1200F here.

We’ve got an update on Honda’s hotly-anticipated new V4-powered bike. It has been confirmed by Honda’s Senior Managing Director, Shigeru Takagi, that the new VFR will be seen in its finished form sometime this Fall, and will be in dealer showrooms next Spring.

The VFR1200, as you might have guessed from its name, will be a 1200cc version of the VFR model line. With the added displacement, the new V4 will take on the likes of the Hayabusa and ZX-14R, while Honda phases out the 800cc VFR and CBR1100xx.

Keep Reading

Rumors

Harley-Davidson Working on A Liquid-Cooled V4 Engine?

By Jensen Beeler 04/20/2009 14 Comments

There’s a rumor going around that Harley-Davidson is working on a water-cooled, four cylinder, v-twin motor with a displacement somewhere between 1,300cc and 1,600cc. The good, the bad, and the ugly after the jump.

Keep Reading

Banter

When Will We Hear About the Aprilia Tuono V4?

By Jensen Beeler 12/02/2008 No Comments

With specs for the road-going 2009 Aprilia RSV4 already out, and details about the WSBK prepped bike still coming, all has been too quiet on the Western Front in regards to if when the Aprilia Tuono will get the same V4 treatment as its more clothed cousin.

If Aprilia follows the previous formula for the Tuono, we can expect a literally naked version of the RSV4, in which case the above “rendered” speculation is likely a pretty close estimate, with maybe only some changes to the headlight, and “chin” fairing.

With already a plethora of naked bikes in its stable (Mana, Shiver, Dorsoduro) the Tuono can only exist if it differentiates itself from these bikes in some way (which would mean it has to adopt the V4 platform to continue on). Still, it would be nice to see Aprilia think a little bit outside of the box with the styling options.

Instead of just dressing down an RSV4, maybe the Tuono would become more than just a small market bike if it had its own legs to stand on, without looking like the Emperor in new clothes.

Wow us Aprilia. Wow us.

Keep Reading

Racing

What Do The 2009 Yamaha R1 and Aprilia RSV4 Sound Like?

By Jensen Beeler 11/09/2008 No Comments

Max Biaggi, Ben Spies, and Tom Sykes have graced us with some sounds of the new Yamaha R1 (1000cc cross-plane engine) and Aprilia RSV4 (1000cc V4 engine) taking a few laps at the Portimao circuit in Portugal. Click the jump to see the two videos.

Keep Reading