Honda understandably hit the headlines at EICMA in 2024, when it launched a concept motorcycle featuring a V3 engine configuration, boosted by an electronically driven turbo.
There’s been no news so far on how the new platform will officially shape up, although going by Honda’s comments about the new model at EICMA, it is a proper concept. Backed up by a fully working (and undergoing testing at the time) prototype machine.
That claim has been bolstered this year, after Honda took out trademarks that seem to relate to the model, or should that be ‘models’, as the naming convention secured by the brand points to two versions of the bike.
It’s not yet known what type of bike the concept will become or when it will land
The trademarks are V3R and V3R E-Compressor, and it doesn’t take a mechanical genius to figure out what the main differences are. It’s safe to assume that the V3R is a normally aspirated (fuel-injected) version of the concept, while the V3R E-Compressor is set to be the same configuration we saw at the show – electric turbo and all. Why Honda is looking at two versions of the bike is currently unknown, although the Japanese outlet, Young Machine, has a theory that we could see the bike running at the famous Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race in the future.
Suzuka is, quite literally, Honda’s backyard, as it wholly owns and operates the venue through its subsidiary, Honda Mobilityland. The Suzuka 8 Hour is Japan’s most famous endurance race, and a jewel in the crown of the nation’s automotive calendar.
Suzuki GSX-R1000R
Importantly, the 8 Hour carries a specific class for experimental motorcycles (the ‘EXP’ class), and it’s here where we saw Suzuki entering an alternative fuel-powered GSX-R1000 in 2024 – finishing 8th, which in itself is a very strong result. Young Machine, which is famously known for its ability to predict such things, thinks that Honda is looking to do the same thing in the future, thanks to its new V3 platform.
The alternatively-fueled Suzuki is back at the 8 Hour in 2025 for another assault on the famous race. Could it be joined on the grid by another, even more innovative EXP bike?
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