Honda’s been stirring the pot ever since it rolled out that wild V3 prototype chassis at EICMA last year—complete with an electric supercharger and a promise of production. Now, Big Red has fired up the hype machine again with a short teaser video, giving us just enough to drool over without actually answering any questions.
The one-minute clip kicks off with a nod to Honda’s past innovations—DCT, the Africa Twin, the new E-Clutch—before shifting to heavily blurred R&D shots, dyno pulls, and whiteboards with conveniently censored details. It’s classic Honda: show just enough to keep us guessing.
Look closer though, and the clues are there. A quick flash of design sketches reveals sportbike silhouettes, including a trellis-frame machine with that distinctive “X” bracing seen on last year’s concept. Another scene shows camouflaged test riders standing in front of a redacted bike, but the visible tail section screams superbike DNA—complete with a split rider/passenger seat reminiscent of the CBR1000RR-R.
The juiciest tease? A blink-and-you’ll-miss-it dyno screen showing torque figures hovering around 146–147 Nm. That’s the kind of grunt you’d normally expect from a 1200–1300cc motor, but remember—this is a rumored 850cc V3 breathing through an electric supercharger. If true, Honda could be about to unleash one of the punchiest mid-capacity sportbikes ever built.
While Honda’s keeping shush, the smart money says we’ll see a full reveal at this year’s EICMA. Enthusiasts have been burned before by concepts that never made it to production, but with this much engineering muscle on display, it feels like Honda is aiming to rewrite the superbike rulebook.
