What’s the latest with Yamaha’s relatively unknown new V4 engine
Yamaha’s new V4 engine, which it hoped will replace the iconic inline-four, has been further tested in recent weeks.
Yamaha’s new V4 engine has undergone extensive development since we last brought you an update, with various test riders getting their hands on the prototype which has been used in the brand’s M1 race bikes.
When Yamaha confirmed plans to begin working on a V4 concept, jaws dropped. The company is famed for using inline-four power units, whether that be for racing or its road bikes. So yes, changing to a V4 probably left you, myself, and everyone that’s ridden a Yamaha in shock.
Significant testing of the V4 has already been carried out, and further testing ahead of the Japanese brand potentially switching to it in MotoGP will continue in the coming weeks.
Augusto Fernandez and Andrea Dovizioso have tested the engine for Yamaha, but the company’s star rider in MotoGP, Fabio Quartararo, will get his first taste of the V4 engine at Misano, in September. The 2021 world champion confirmed this on the eve of this weekend’s German Grand Prix.
Yamaha has said it will only use the V4 if it’s an improvement on the current performance of the inline-four, but something tells me the level of investment that’s most likely taken place, means it would be a safe bet that it goes ahead with the switch.
The development of its new V4 engine is interesting for two reasons. The first is that it would put Yamaha in line with every other brand currently racing in MotoGP. The second, and more significant one for us, is the potential trickle down effect it will have to its road bikes.
Like the aerodynamic steps made to MotoGP bikes in recent years, which have then filtered onto the same road bikes everyone can go out and buy, the same tends to happen with the engines used in racing.
Just look at Ducati, as a lot of its newer models regularly receive engine updates, or even brand new units, that benefited from the same technology that’s been developed in MotoGP.
For Yamaha purists or die hard inline-four fans, the switch to a V4 might upset some. However, to think of an R1 or models from its MT range having the roar of a V4 behind them is certainly worth getting excited about.
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After graduating with a sports journalism degree, Robert joined Crash.net to lead the WorldSBK coverage in 2021, while also providing MotoGP coverage. Fulfilling that role for over three years, Robert was able to put his knowledge about all things racing to the test.
