WTF?! Honda Unveils Boosted V3 Engine at EICMA

CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SQUID 🦑 📰 🏍

1. Uhh… I don’t even know where to start this one. I am still waiting for my Chamomile Tea to kick in to bring me back down to Earth. Feeling stimmed out from all this incoming EICMA news. Anyway, for the last 20 years, Honda hasn’t been known to bring any particularly exciting innovations to the motorcycle space. We all thought their years of making six cylinder motorcycles and oval piston engines were long behind them. Then they dropped this on us: a 75 degree 3 cylinder V-twin that is boosted by an electrical air compressor. This compressor allows the engine to make boost readily across the entire rev range, unlike a turbo or a super charger that requires exhaust gas or engine speed to build pressure. There is still a lot of mystery about this engine, but Honda claims it is aimed for mass production and will be used across a variety of large displacement platforms. I don’t think I’ve been this excited about anything from Honda since… well, ever.

2. It only took 25 years, but Suzuki has finally updated the DR-Z400. It has a new engine, a new frame, fuel injection, FBW, hell, it even has a new name: The DR-Z4S and DR-Z4SM Super Moto variant. The 398 cc engine uses the same bore and stroke as the original, but just about every component has been changed or improved. It has new valves, cam profiles, piston, and a dual spark cylinder head. It has adjustable KYB suspension in the front and rear, and the fly by wire throttle system now allows for multiple ride modes. This provides more flexibility for switching between dirt and street riding, but I’m not sure if it will function well with the ubiquitous 4×4 airbox mod. We’ll have to check out the DRZ forums on Thumper Talk once the Dual Sport Savants start getting their hands on them. The new bike still has only a 5 speed gear box, because come on, it is Suzuki after all.

3. When Ducati released the Panigale V2 Final Edition, we were led to believe they had a new V-twin engine on the horizon. Presumably something that would replace both the Superquadro V-twin found in the Panigale and Street Fighter as well as the Testastretta found in bikes like the Multistrada and DesertX. The new engine design unveiled by Ducati is exactly that. The new 890 cc V-twin is smaller, lighter, and more powerful than the Testastretta, while being more versatile and well rounded than the Superquaddro. It is capable of 120 horsepower and 69 ft/lbs of torque, but will also be used in a 115 HP configuration with shorter gear ratios in certain models. The Panigale and Street Fighter V2 / V2 S are now on Ducati’s website and they look pretty darn spicy ngl.

4. I have always been a GoPro simp. I’ve been solicited with countless sponsorship opportunities from Chinese subsidized action camera companies, and I’ve turned them down without hesitation. No matter how many free cameras I’ve been sent, I have always relied on GoPro for my main moto-vlogging set up. So it is a bummer to hear they aren’t doing sot hot right now, having just laid off 26% of their staff :(. I guess every motorcycle content creator posting action camera reviews twice a week for the last year is actually having an impact on the industry beyond just clogging up everyone’s feed.

IT CAME FROM DISCORD 👹 👻 🧟

Grom owner @Primo on Discord is out here being a danger to society. I can’t imagine your girlfriend is very happy with you keeping a Grom in the living room. But I guess based on the Camo Crocs and the Harbor Freight bucket full of Hot Cheetos, we can all assume a girlfriend is probably out of the question. 😜

PLEASE STOP! We just want a Street Triple RS with fairings.

BIG BRAIN SYMPOSIUM 👨‍🔬 🧠 🔬

TFW YOU HAVE MECHANOPHILIA AND ARE SEXUALLY ATTRACTED MOTORCYCLES