An Engine to Challenge Kawasaki’s?
There aren’t many supercharged bikes out there, but Honda seems to be thinking about adding another one to the list. The company recently filed patent paperwork that shows a supercharged V-twin engine is in the works. This would be one of the only other motorcycles to challenge Kawasaki’s H2 motorcycles in the supercharged arena.
According to RideApart, Honda played with this idea previously, but things didn’t go so hot and the patent never made it to a production bike. This update of the patent suggests the company is giving the idea another look. The bike in the patent filing is a naked machine, and this would be an all-new model for Honda.
In terms of the engine, it will be a direct-injection V-twin with a special supercharger bolted on. The patent was filed in 2017 and published in January 2020. While it’s not a clear indication that Honda will actually make the V-twin bike a reality, it could mean that the company has decided to move forward with the project. Time will tell if this patent filing will yield any results. Personally, I’d love to see Honda add a bike like this to its Neo-Sports Cafe lineup.
Anyone remember the CX500 Turbo?… ya, not supercharged or Direct Injection, but not a technical or sales success. Will Honda bring back oval pistons as well?
This is not a new patent. It is the exact same patent as the earlier one RideApart mentioned, from 2017. All that’s happened is the USPTO has finished reviewing it. This happens with every patent that gets approved, and does not indicate anything about the project moving forward.
Since my wife still owns a 500 turbo, I can tell you this much about the bike. It was ahead of it’s time, and was also way to heavy. Other than that is was a pretty fantastic motorcycle for it’s day.
I wish Honda would make any bike that I would actually like to own.