Honda V4 has the power

Honda’s 2004 V4 will put bikes like Suzuki’s GSX-R1000 in the shade in pure power terms.

Tony Scott, renowned for his tuning work on Honda’s RC30 and 45 V4s says the new superbike will ” easily make 180bhp at the rear wheel ” when it is tuned for racing.

Scott said: ” It doesn’t surprise me that Honda is going back to V-fours. The RC45 was a fantastic bike and a rocketship on the track.

” A 1000cc version would easily make 180bhp at the rear wheel, and there’s no reason the engine should be physically any bigger than the RC45’s 750cc motor. ”

Scott’s big-capacity RC45 race bikes have a longer-stroke crankshaft, new conrods and big-bore pistons for a capacity of 895cc, and in race trim make 170bhp at the rear wheel. That’s around 10-15bhp more than Honda’s final WSB RC45 racers made – and the capacity is still 100cc less than Honda’s new V-four.

The rear wheel output is usually around 12 per cent less than the crankshaft figure normally quoted by manufacturers. So if the new V-four manages 180bhp at the wheel it will be making more than 200bhp at the crankshaft – putting it within spitting distance of Honda’s exotic RC211V V-five GP four-stroke. Even de-tuned for the road, the bike should have more than enough power to out-gun Suzuki’s GSX-R1000, which makes around 160bhp at the crankshaft.