V4 engine

Um, and this is-- I find the VFR kind of, um, a maddening motorcycle in that Honda would tease with these beautiful V4s, but they never seemed to really fully embrace the V4s.

They had them across their, their, uh, lineup at various times, but then they'd always revert to an inline four, which I think is kind of a bland engine format versus a V4.

But VFRs of almost any vintage are just exquisite motorcycles.

Exquisite.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

I, I, I too selected the VFR and like, uh, the original Interceptor, the original V4, uh, uh, had a, had a uncharacteristic, uh, engineering flaw.

So any inline V engine or, or square engine, um, yes, I am making a reference to the Ariel Square Four, um, [laughs] cause a fundamental problem in a motorcycle, which is that the rear cylinders are in the heat shadow of the front cylinders.

So they have the 300SS, the 450SS, and the 675SS, which is a three-cylinder.

And soon to be here will be the V4.

Is the 675 a ripoff of the Daytona?

It is not.

It is their own design.

Okay.

The V4 is apparently a KTM influenced design architecture on the engine.

Since CFMoto is making 790 adventures or 790 engines, they could use that kind of design architecture.

Ducati are most famous for them because they stick V4 in the name of their Streetfighters, and Panigale's now done for a while.

But the best V4 I've written on a- ridden on a bike is the Aprilia RSV4.

And that thing, oh my God.

So about...

...

V4s.

And, um-

Yeah

The NR was one of them.

But then they get the PR department on it and they say, "Oh, well, it, it fathered a series of V4s that continues to this day." Well, okay.

Sure, why not? It's true.

Yeah.

Yeah, I think it hasn't.

I think there is probably a decent proportion of the people that watch MotoGP thinking, what are they doing? Why have they switched to this V4 engine for 2026, just before the rule change? Was it really worth it? Also, I think you look at the results, generally speaking, have been quite poor.

I mean, they've been abysmal in the large part.

And their lead rider, superstar, one of the most talented guys on the grid, has essentially just given up and refused to say anything positive about the project since...

It was probably back in Le Mans at his home Grand Prix.

So yeah, I think there is a general feeling that it's been a disastrous year, but...

We obviously wanted to speak to Paolo to ask whether Yamaha regretted the decision to switch to a V4 for this season, understand a bit more why.

I mean, I think we all probably did our own individual interviews with Yamaha staff at the end of 2025 to understand exactly what was going on, but hearing their official version of it, and I think it gives a bit more context as to just where they are this year, and maybe it's not quite as bad as it seems.

I've had great fun this year watching the development of that 1,000cc Yamaha 4.

Because what have you got there? You've got a V4...

that Yamaha have had to understand where do you put the weight, how do you distribute it, how do you make it do traction control, everything else.

Stuff that a change in engine design means you have to start again with.

And they've done all this for 1,000cc V4 that works on Michelin tyres.

I think I see where you're going.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I...