Are you ready for the Honda RVF1000R V4 superbike?

Bruno Gomes

March 12, 2018

This is just a render… but do you like how the Honda RVF1000R looks?      Photo credit: Young Machine

Every now and then, there’s a surge of news regarding the possibility of Honda releasing on the road a new superbike with a V4 engine. This time, it’s from our Japanese friends of Young Machine that published a render of what everyone is now calling the RVF1000R.

It seems only logical that Honda, the biggest motorcycle manufacturer in the World, doesn’t want to stay in the shadows while some of its competitors have now introduced on their line-ups a V4 superbike. That’s now the case of the Ducati Panigale V4 and, since 2009, the Aprilia RSV4.

According to reports and many rumors from specialized media, Honda plans to introduce the RVF1000R V4 superbike in the market in 2019 or 2020, which makes sense since the Japanese brand has filed some patents in the United States that describe a V4 engine with its cylinder heads attached to the frame the same way Ducati is doing with the new Panigale V4.

Assuming all this is true and the Honda RVF1000R will in fact exist in a near future, it won’t be as exclusive as the RC213V-s that Honda builds nowadays, a true MotoGP replica.

The RC213V-s uses a lot of special technical solutions and exotic materials that make this bike cost a lot of money, much more than what a “regular” superbike costs. The RVF1000R, instead, won’t have so many exotic components so that it doesn’t cost so much as the RC213V-s, but it will be more exclusive than the CBR1000RR Fireblade we can see on a Honda dealership.

The exotic RC213V-s might donate its V4 engine to the new RVF1000R.       Photo credit: Honda

At the heart of this Honda superbike will be a V4 engine with the cylinders at 90º angle, installed in a twin spar aluminium frame which itself will be an evolution from the one Honda uses on the RC213V-s. The rest of the chassis components will be top spec, and we expect to see elements from Öhlins and Brembo, not to mention that electronics will be an important part of this superbike.

And what will Honda do with the current Fireblade?

Well, Honda probably won’t stop evolving the CBR1000RR Fireblade. After all, the “Blade” is an iconic model in the two wheels world and Honda wouldn’t risk killing this model. The Fireblade will continue to exist and maintain its place in the Honda line-up, as an entry level sportbike, a little lower in price than the RVF1000R.

Don’t worry! Honda won’t end the iconic CBR1000RR Fireblade.       Photo credit: Honda

As for the RVF1000R, will we see it only on the road or on the track during the occasional track day?

Probably not. Honda will be tempted to use the RVF1000R as an homologation special to race in World Superbike, as a way to race against machines that use similar engines like the Aprilia RSV4 RF and also the Ducati Panigale V4 that will be used by the Borgo Panigale manufacturer in World Superbike from 2019 onwards.