Description
Author: Greg Pullen, ISBN: 9781847977540, hardback, 176 pages, published in 2014
The complete story of the legendary Honda V4 motorcycles and the four- stroke engine design that gave them the name. Including full production histories, comprehensive specification details and over 250 illustrations, the book covers:
- Design and development of the first Honda V4, the oval piston NR500, and the VF road models from 1982-1988
- The iconic sport touring bikes, the VFR750, VFR800 and VFR1200F
- Worldwide racing success for Honda Racing Corporation's RC30
- The 1990 Pan European/ST1100, with its longitudinal V4 engine, and the 2002 ST1300
- Honda V4s in MotoGP
- Details of the 2014 VFR800 and CTX1300 cruiser
- Owners' experiences and insight from those who worked in the industry
With manufacturers' and riders' championships wrapped up by the RC213V, and a customer version now on sale, Honda continues to pursue V4 perfection. These 200bhp-plus racing motorcycles may bear little relation to Honda's first V4, the oval piston NR500 but, along with the VFR road bikes, they prove Honda's long-standing faith in the V4 - and the desire to offer riders an alternative to the ubiquitous transverse inline four. The irony is that Honda first popularized that layout, starting with the CB750 Four, but when other manufacturers followed their lead Honda, almost perversely, decided to change tack. In 1977 Honda's main board determined that rather than be associated with inline fours, they would instead forge a reputation for building V4-powered motorcycles.
This was a decision that was, astonishingly, made almost overnight and with little planning - Honda executives simply told their engineers to build a V4 Grand Prix racer and follow it up with a range of V4 road bikes. With little experience and time for development, those early V4s looked disastrous to outsiders, but here in Honda V4 is the true story - much of it told for the first time. Included is how lessons learned from the early V4s allowed Honda to create legendary motorcycles and led to oval pistons being banned in MotoGP and Fl car racing. Naturally, there is coverage of the road-going V4s, including the RC30 production racer that was practically unbeatable from the moment it appeared.
Away from the racetracks the rescue of Honda's V4 concept by the VFR750F is covered, along with the Pan European ST1100 and 1300s tourers. The story is then brought right up to date with coverage of
the 2014 VFR800 and CTX1300 cruiser, alongside the prospect of riding a MotoGP V4 Honda on the road. Including insights from those who worked in the industry and owned the bikes, Honda V4 - The Complete Four-Stroke Story tells how these charismatic motorcycles came to be built, their strengths and weaknesses, and what makes them uniquely special in a sea of Universal Japanese Motorcycles.
