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Nothing lasts forever, but it feels a bit odd that after all these years Honda are now without a V4 powered machine in their road bike range. No VFS, VFRS, RVFS or Pan Europeans. I’ve got happy memories of great rides on all of them. Equally odd for those of us who remember the 1990s World Superbike tussles between Honda V4s and Ducati V-twins is that it’s now the Italians who are the standard bearers for V4 road bikes. I’m hoping to make fresh memories of great rides on the new Multistrada. We’ve always understood that there is something gratuitously indulgent about a V4 engine. The road bike benefits may be marginal – it’s essentially down to packaging – but the knowledge that they cost more to make than an inline four, they sound great, and there’s a genetic connection with the Hondas that Joey Dunlop and Steve Hislop screamed over The Mountain or Ducati’s fantastic Motogp Desmosedici make them special. Sure, lots of that is emotional appeal, but motorcycles have never been purely about function. The new Multistrada is further proof of the benefits of the V4 layout. It is a brilliant device, though at £20,000 it needs to be, and it’ll make many new owners feel good this summer. Meanwhile Honda dealers are offloading the last of the VFRS; Crossrunners, Crosstourers and VFR800FS are being flogged off cheap. They’re all seriously underrated bikes and this is a chance to get an absolute steal.
But I won’t be getting one of them either. My bank account has been drained to buy a new central heating boiler, but there’s enough left for a VFR750 brake rebuild kit. It’s time to drag my bike out of winter hibernation, give it a service and get an MOT. It’ll still make me feel good this summer.
Roll on spring, and enjoy the issue.