V3 to ensure ease of riding for the rider
Honda Motor Co., Ltd. will be unveiling its newly developed V3 engine for the first time in the world at EICMA (commonly known as the Milan Show) to be held in Milan, Italy.
The new V-3 engine is currently under development for large motorcycles. It is a slim and compact V-3 DOHC engine with a 75-degree bank angle, consisting of an in-line twin cylinder at the front and a single cylinder at the rear, for a total of three cylinders.
Another feature of this bike is that it is equipped with an electric supercharger that does not require an intercooler. If a model equipped with this will be released, it will finally be the second supercharged model in the new generation to be released, following the Kawasaki Ninja H2 series.
The reason for adopting such an unconventional shape is likely to be the pursuit of ease of riding for the rider. If you are looking for power, you cannot ignore an inline 4-cylinder engine, but that would make the bike wider.
A V-type four-cylinder engine would keep the width down, but the parallel twin block would be under the rider’s legs, making it difficult to sit. A three-cylinder engine with two cylinders in the front and one in the rear would allow the bike to remain slim and still have increased power.
Furthermore, turbochargers have a time lag before the boost kicks in, making them unsuitable for bikes that require delicate throttle control. Kawasaki avoided this and adopted a supercharger, but by using a turbo, it becomes possible to control the boost kick in, eliminating the turbo’s weakness of sudden acceleration while cornering. Also, by increasing low-speed torque, it may be possible to expect a mild hybrid-like effect.
Honda is also moving forward with electrification, but it appears they will continue to develop exciting internal combustion engines.
