We’ve got an update on Honda’s hotly-anticipated new V4-powered bike. It has been confirmed by Honda’s Senior Managing Director, Shigeru Takagi, that the new VFR will be seen in its finished form sometime this Fall, and will be in dealer showrooms next Spring. The VFR1200, as you might have guessed from its name, will be a 1200cc version of the VFR model line. With the added displacement, the new V4 will take on the likes of the Hayabusa and ZX-14R, while Honda phases out the 800cc VFR and CBR1100xx. In a rare interview last week with MCN, Takagi said the bike will be a “new breed of Honda”, which is a phrase we’ve heard Honda saying a lot of recently. There certainly seems to be a cultural shift occurring in the Honda ranks.

“We really believe we can develop a new era starting with this V4-powered machine. It is just the beginning and represents a new breed of Honda which will define Honda’s own taste and styling. This bike will be the perfect road machine that Honda customers have called for. It will be an epoch-making machine and more bikes from the V4 platform are possible. We know people think this bike is going to be a replacement for the VFR800 and the Blackbird but we do not see this bike as a replacement for anything. We see it as an all-new breed of machine, something very special.”

With the final form of the VFR still a hot topic, Togei did say that, ”the bike is different to the concept shown for the first time at Milan in 2009 but the link between them is very clear to see.” We look forward to seeing the spyshots as they come available.