X4 Honda Muscles Up
X4 Honda muscles up
WE WOULD HAVE THOUGHT HONDA’S Tokyo show-stopper, the X4 musclebike, to be merely a signature away from stateside debarkation. After all, the 1254cc dragster-derived power cruiser is already on sale in Japan and may arrive in Europe this fall. But don’t count on it as potential Yamaha V-Max competition in the U.S., says American Honda’s Gary Christopher.
“A street-rod is always appealing to the U.S. market,” he says. “If a bike (like the X4) had some styling appeal, if it could deliver the goods on performance, it would be interesting.”
A custom derivative of Honda’s CB1000 retro-standard, the show version was featured in CWs February, 1996, issue (see “High-Flyin’ Hondas”). At the time, American Honda’s Ray Blank said the bike’s mission was to “pump some gusto into the large-cc retro class.” Asked if a production X4 might come here, Blank replied, “If it’s a powerhouse, it’s got a chance, but not if it’s just a big-bore machine with only average power. It’s got to be a snorter.” Honda’s torque charts indicate a stump-puller powerband, but the carbureted, dohc, 16-valve inline-Four produces just less than 100 horsepower in domestic trim, in accordance with Japanese guidelines. “A ‘poser’ street-rod is not going to work in this market,” Christopher says. “If the bike can’t walk the walk as well as it talks the talk, it’s not going to be accepted here. It would have to be in the 130-horsepower range to be a viable bike as it’s portrayed.”
Styling-wise, several elements have been modified, or eliminated altogether, since the Tokyo unveiling. Most obvious are the kicked-up exhaust system, tidied-up tailpiece and chunkier sidecovers. Still, the critical parts-flat handlebar, sportbike-spec fork, floating front brake discs, elongated gas tank, twinshocks, box-section swingarm and solid rear wheel-remain intact. It’s a look any hot-rodder would love.
Ironic isn’t it, that the X4, a bike so obviously styled in the American idiom, apparently has no chance of making it in the USA?
-Matthew Miles
