CFMoto Reveals 206bhp V4 and Wild Concept
CFMoto’s all-new V4 engine debuted at EICMA alongside a the bonkers-looking Master of Speed concept
The CF Moto Master of Speed concept was one of the wildest bikes at EICMA in Milan this year, but really, you want to be ignoring that and paying more attention to the engine underneath all the elaborate bodywork, because it’s an all-new V4.
In theory the ideal engine layout for many reasons including packaging, mass centralisation and sounding bloody lovely, we’ll welcome a new V4 with open arms. And CFMoto’s ‘V.04’ will be gunning for the big dogs of the V4 world like the Ducati Panigale V4’s Desmosedici Stradale lump, and it pumps out 206bhp at 14,500rpm (1,000rpm up from the Italian engine) and 84lb ft of torque at 12,500rpm.
Like the Ducati engine, it features a 90-degree bank angle (very much unlike the 65-degree V4 used by Aprilia) and a counter-rotating crankshaft. The latter is all about reducing the gyroscopic effect of the spinning crank, making the bike more willing to turn and also less likely to lift its front wheel. The whole unit comes to a pithy 61.5kg - just 7kg more than the new (and much less powerful) 54.5kg Ducati Panigale V2 powerplant.
First outed in patents in early 2023, the V4 is likely to end up in production bikes, perhaps starting with a significantly toned-down version of the Master of Speed concept. It’s hard to imagine those gigantic fairing winglets making it into production, after all, nor the enclosed wheels. It certainly draws attention to the project, although for us, a brand-spanking new V4 engine is more than enough to pique our interest.
This being CFMoto, there’s no press release and details are thin on the ground. All we have to go on are the specs quoted here, which were printed on the engine’s display case at EICMA, and some waffly stuff posted on the company’s social media channels describing the bike as “A sculptural celebration of velocity and dynamism, a work that embodies the fusion of power and ambition…This work is not just the representation of a vehicle, but an artistic vision of the human desire to push beyond limits—a symbol of power and courage”. Right.
If you fancy taking a look at the concept and the new engine, both will be on display at EIMCA in Milan until 10 November.
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Matt has a background in motoring journalism of the four-wheeled variety but has long had a passion for motorbikes, taking his first steps into riding in 2010.
