Cracks me up this talk of the IL4 being done .......... and there is BMW who never had one using that design to produce a competitive sport bike ...... guess they have no idea of what they are doing.
Forum whore
Cracks me up this talk of the IL4 being done .......... and there is BMW who never had one using that design to produce a competitive sport bike ...... guess they have no idea of what they are doing.
Fully qualified Sifter.
Yeah it ain't an RC30 either.Originally Posted by HenryDorsetCase
Fully qualified Sifter.
Yeah the IL4 will never be done, or over. Modern electronics can sooth out the 'issues' it has.
Forum whore
Yeah looks like a couple of two stroke exhausts in the pic.
Fully qualified Sifter.
And a double sided s/a! Pretty good all the same though eh!
mad thou rider
to be fair, bmw have been able to watch the big four for years, pick the bits that worked from those that didnt, and build a brand new engine from scratch, unlike the big four who had to try something and make constant small adjustments an existing platform in order to stay within R&D budgets - constant major changes to the platform are simply not viable, B<W started from scratch with the benefit of seeing years of BIG4 IL4 development.
what exactly do you think they could really improve on with the IL4s now? its at the point where the power delivery is so savage they have to add electronic aids to dumb down delivery because most of us mortals that buy the litre bikes simply cant control the full potential of these bikes.
Forum whore
Someone soon will realise the IL4 engine is also able to produce huge amounts of torque and produce a absolute real world grunter that on any given public road at 'sane' speeds will eat the competition. Oh it needs reasonable hp too - prob with the retro bikes they produce is they all have soft engines in them.
If I was Honda I'd be looking at spinning a IL4 around 90 degrees and making a North-South kick arse cruiser.
Fully qualified Sifter.
That's not true at all mate. You ever ridden a Hayabusa? And a V-Four is no easier to ride than an IL4 if it has 250hp...as GP bikes do.
Fully qualified Sifter.
GSX1300R & GSX1400 for example.
mad thou rider
yes. when I talk about IL4, Im talking about the likes of zx10, gsxr etc etc engines, the crossplane R1 is an exception - Im talking about the traditional il4 layout.
I think its time for something new.
or at least a major revision, same old gets boring after a while, people like a point of difference.
sure look at the monster of a bike the newest ZX14 is, but it seems they need to increase the capacities to get that huge tourque. My interest at this point are probably narrower than yours, I really just interested in the litre sports bikes, and the 600s too, sure 12krpm on a thou, or 16krpm on a 600 is fun the first few times, but Id like something that doesnt require such a raping to produce the same thing.
To be fair, I dont really know exactly what I want them to do next, I want them to do something different, and then I will whinge about how shit that is too!
Fully qualified Sifter.
When they chase absolute HP...sure they can be a bit revvy etc. But a K3-K6 GSXR thousand engine is one of THE nicest, gruntiest engines built I reckon. It's a fucking gem.
Last edited by Crasherfromwayback; 30th September 2012 at 09:00. Reason: Dum dum spellink
Forum whore
Oi geezer don't forget the K1/2!!
parting of the sensory
Indeed.
Honda's big failing though is they've really failed to understand what Hondaphiles really want, especially V4 lovers. Before the 2002 VFR800 was released, many VFR owners on VFR forums were excited at the prospect of the next evolution of the VFR - the "6th Generation. Then disappointed, because:
- It didn't have gear-driven cams any more (because the shift of the gear drive from the centre of the cams to the right side made the bike too noisy to meet Euro regs).
- It had "V-tec", which wasn't Vtec at all, just a way of meeting Euro emissions regs.
- It wasn't really a significant improvement at all, but a step backwards to camchains.
- It wasn't significantly more powerful, different, exciting, sporty.
Then rumours started about the new (7th Generation); what would it be? Hopes were for a 1000cc MotoGP-derived sportsbike, lighter, faster, more exciting. The VFR1200 certainly took some design cues from the MotoGP engine, and had some new kewl features, like the dual-clutch auto transmission, shaft drive, new styling (blah). It also had electronically hobbled 1st and 2nd gear, in case noobs gave it too much throttle and looped it or spun out. By all accounts it's a great tourer, albeit one with a short range.
So. I've stuck with my 2001 VFR781, because I haven't seen anything else to tempt me yet. Haven't even ridden anything else in the last 8 years, apart from a 250 loaner bike. I discovered Honda V4s relatively late in my motorcyling life, in 1994, when I bought a 1985 VF500. That was replaced by a 1990 VFR750, that by a VTR1000, then the VFR800. It's not perfect; it needs more power, the cam drive noise drove me nuts for the first 18 months (much louder than the previous models); the suspension was too low budget; (since upgraded with Ohlins, Elka, Racetech parts); the SSSA is one of the ugliest on the market, as is the rear hub; the gearbox is usual Honda fare, so sticking a Factory Pro shifter kit in was one of my first jobs; the standard exhaust is heavy, ugly and over-muffled, but luckily a previous owner stuck a Satantune 'muffler' on (one of the reasons I bought it); blah blah modify this, alter that. It's still not my ideal V4, but I can't see Honda ever making one. So... I'll keep this one till it dies, I die, or I get bored and go back to a v-twin.
... and that's what I think.
Or summat.
Or maybe not...
Dunno really....
mad thou rider
hmm. I dont find the K4 thou that impressive, I expected it to provide a little more . . . something. . . than it does. I find my 01 R1 more exciting on the gas, I expected the injection etc etc to, I dunno, it just doesnt seem any more impressive than the R1. It doesnt turn in nearly as well either, but by fuck are the brakes a hell of a step forward!!
Ta
Are you aware that set up is important?If you can't make a k4 turn in, you're doing it wrong!
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