Honda to Include Cylinder Deactivation on Upcoming Touring Series

Honda has been working hard on the upcoming VFR1200 touring bike, with the introduction of a dual clutch gearbox into the motorcycle being among the many pieces of technology they plan on including. On top the more efficient transmission, it now appears that Honda is planning on cylinder deactivation to help keep fuel consumption down as well.

While this has yet to be officially confirmed by Honda, the patent drawings seem to point very squarely at the idea. If you look at the drawings, there is a clear difference in spacing between the cylinders in the front and rear banks. There is also a gap cast into the block to allow for additional cooling when running on only 2 or 3 cylinders.

From a different drawing, you can also see the arrangement of the connecting rods to the crankshaft. The rear cylinders are connected toward the inside of the shaft, while the front bank is attached to the outside. The running theory for this is configuration is vibration reduction.

More information should be available within the next month or so.