By now you might have all heard that Honda is bringing an all new flagship CBR to the EICMA 2018. It is said to be one of the most powerful production motorcycles in the world, producing close to 212 bhp- which is Panigale V4 level. While this is great news, there seems to be a bunch of questions left unanswered! Answering them though (among other things), opens up possibility of a special new bike – The Honda RVF1000.
What is the Honda RVF1000?
The Honda RVF1000 is a liter-class motorcycle that has been rumored since 2016. It is claimed to come with an all-new V4 engine and a semi-monocoque chassis, and fresh patent images have only fueled the speculations. Now many Japanese sources cite that 2019 will be the year that we will finally get it!
Why is the bike significant?
With launch of the RVF1000, Honda will have an all new 1000cc motorcycle under their belt. The current CBR1000RR, though a decent motorcycle, won’t be enough to remain competitive as the new decade dawns. Honda probably only ever intended its 2016 redesign to be a buffer to please their fans. The new RVF1000 will have superior tech and specs, and even a V4 engine derived from their RC213V-S MotoGP bike- which makes it an exciting prospect.
That’s not all; the state-of-the-art RVF1000 V4 can then be used by Honda as their WSBK bike and hopefully bring home the eluding title! There’s no doubt that the motorcycle will be developed with this competition in mind, and might be a reason for its long development period.
With the V4 filling up the mass-selling 1000cc space, Honda engineers will also get a free reign of the CBR1000RR. There won’t be any WSBK restrictions limiting them and the bike’s in-line four cylinder motorcycle can gain a few 100cc if needed. Then the rumored 212 bhp is achievable and perhaps, like the Panigale V4 Speciale, an even more powerful SP model as well. This is like Honda going back to the times of the original Firebalde when it was the high-performance halo model and the V4 RC30 their WSB contender.
Honda CBR1000RR/1100RR for 2019
Requisites for this to happen
First and foremost, there needs to be a RVF1000! We have not had many reliable information of the bike until recently and it’s too early to actually confirm anything. Honda could still continue with a low powered standard CBR1000RR and a new high-spec one (212 bhp)- which I feel is a waste. Hopefully more confirmation will come as the EICMA nears.
Secondly, even with all it superior specs, the RVF1000 should still be priced below $17,000 for the standard model. Hopefully, a newly developed cast aluminum chassis should bring cost down considerably.
That’s all we have about the RVF now. Most of it is still speculative but hopefully, by the end this year we will get something concrete. Stay tuned!
WE should know by mid 2019 if Honda will have this bike confirmed for production ? If not I will be looking at a 2014 Blade SP .
Sadly, no new development on the V4 since