Considering Ducati’s V4? Consider this...
Exhausts were once more of an afterthought in bike design, but it’s getting increasingly important, as on the forthcoming Honda V4 superbike.
A new patent reveals Honda’s GP-derived V4 exhaust system, and how it allows the rest of the mechanical components
to be arranged.
Just like on the RC213V and RC213V-S, the pipes for the front and rear cylinder banks are kept separate. And, just as on the GP bike, the front bank’s exhausts are routed under the engine and out through a silencer on the right-hand side.
However, the rear bank’s pipes, which curl under the seat on the racer and the RC213V-S, instead wrap forwards around the engine’s sump and then come back again in a belly-mounted silencer with two slash-cut exits on the left.
As well as keeping the mass centralised and avoiding an oversized, side-mounted silencer, the design clears space for the rear shock and its linkage. So Honda has been able to incorporate a swingarm with its bracing underneath rather than above, following the trends seen on almost all modern MotoGP bikes.
We expect the new V4 to be launched soon, possibly coinciding with Honda’s 70th anniversary in September 2018, or even earlier.
The Fireblade is expected to remain on sale alongside the new model, just as earlier generations were sold along with the RC30, RC45 and the VTR1000 SP.
What we know
- MotoGP-derived V4 engine
- Chasing SBK homologation
- Two-part chassis design
- Drag-reducing seat unit
By Ben Purvis
