Honda NM4 tweaked
New exhaust and car-style colour options
HONDA'S controversially-styled NM4 Vultus has been given a mild reworking to improve its appearance and – in Japan at least – is set to be offered with a car-style range of special-order colour schemes.
The Vultus hasn’t exactly flown out of showrooms in the UK. In fact it’s one of the most exclusive new bikes on sale – the most recent figures available show that in the third quarter of 2015 there were a mere 31 examples taxed and registered on the roads in this country. Clearly the unique attraction of a colour-changing LCD instrument display isn’t enough to sway vast swathes of buyers.
The new version, just revealed today in Japan, gets a neater-looking exhaust end-can instead of the barrel-like one of the current Vultus. That’s about it for physical changes, but the firm’s new approach to paintwork is an interesting development, particularly if in future it can be carried over to more models.
As with the current version, there are two ‘stock’ colours – black or white – but Honda has added another 11 ‘special order’ colour schemes at extra cost (21,600 Yen, or around £140).
Given the wild styling of the Vultus, it’s surprising that Honda’s colour offerings so far have been so subdued. These special order schemes address that issue. In Japan, the bike is also available in two versions – the NM4-01, which is the same as the Vultus we get here, and the NM4-02 which gains built-in panniers that arguably improve the proportions of the bike.
