First Look: 2009 Honda V4 Concept Bike Shown at Cologne

Photography by Jon Beck

Despite a teetering global economy, the 2009 new-model season grinds happily along, with Honda unveiling its V4 Concept bike at the giant INTERMOT motorcycle show in Cologne, Germany. The mockup, a styling exercise that may signal Honda's imminent use of a V-Four engine in a production supersport bike, was non-functioning and wildly styled, and no doubt a disappointment to rumor-mongers and Honda fans expecting a new VFR or CBR replacement for 2009, especially on the cusp of the 60th anniversary of Honda Motor Co.'s founding in 1949.

The swoopy, futuristic-looking concept was revealed to a large crowd of international media in the giant Honda stand after a video presentation highlighting Honda's history of V-Four racing and streetbikes. With fanciful hubless wheels and smooth, flowing lines, the toy-like bike isn't intended to signal a forthcoming model; instead, it signifies "the beginning of a new era," and celebrates 30 years of V-Four racing and streetbike heritage, according to a Honda press release.

If you're looking for hard facts about this exercise or the engine, you won't find it in Honda's press release. The only technical detail is that the engine is a V-Four, and nobody at Honda knows—or will reveal—more about the concept, or will speculate about future models. But the release also tells us "Honda will put increased focus on the human-fitting match of rider and machine." Is this a promise of a comfy, powerful, V-Four-powered sport-tourer? Or a CBR1000RR replacement that combines the RC212V MotoGP bike's power and handling with the CBR's user-friendliness? Maybe both, maybe neither: The release has no firm language about any upcoming model, only vague language about the V4 Concept being a symbol of Honda melding its past and present to create a "new beginning" for its motorcycles. Don't be too surprised if we see a high-performance V-Four sportbike in the next two to four years, though.

The large Honda exhibition at INTERMOT, titled "A New Beginning," featured historic race and streetbikes—including Honda's first V-Four racebike, Freddie Spencer's RS1000RW—as well as the full range of European-market Honda motorcycles and scooters.