A New Supertwin?

A New Supertwin?

ROUNDUP

INSISTENT RUMORS COME FROM JApan that Honda will launch an oval-piston, 16-valve, l000cc, V-Twin, called the NRV 1000, in street form at the Tokyo Show this fall.

Scuttlebutt says the NRV engine will be housed in no-frills, Ducati-style chassis and bodywork, and will be fitted with carbs rather than electronic fuel injection to make sure that the viability of the oval-piston concept isn’t clouded by cantankerous electronic problems.

Though reportedly intended for road use, the rumored oval-piston Twin could usher in a whole new era in Battle of the Twins racing, and could even make a serious dent in the Superbike class, where Twins are allowed a 250cc capacity advantage over four-cylinder machines.

Other rumors indicate that Big H also is working on an oval-piston, 600cc, eight-valve Single to be fitted in a Paris-Dakar chassis for privateer off-road racing—and perhaps in a sport-oriented frame in an effort to break the current Yamaha domination of the popular Japanese Sound of Singles roadracing class.

Alan Cathcart