First Look: Horex VR6

Honest, it's a V6

SAY 'Guten Tag' to an all-new German-made muscle bike complete with radical, supercharged 200bhp V6-engine.

Dubbed the Horex VR6, the 1218cc V6 has been under secret development for the last five years, by German engineer Clemens Neese and his business partner, Frank Fischer.

The bike's design has been penned by Peter Naumann; the man responsible for the quirky looks of MZ's 1000S and 1000SF, as well as BMW's C1 scooter and the CLEVER tilting three-wheeler concept bike.

Using similar ideas to those on Volkswagen's successful VR6 car engine, the two banks of cylinders have a V-angle of just 15 degrees, with a single-piece cylinder head covering both banks. All six intakes are on one side, with the exhausts opposite, so despite the V-arrangement, it looks more like an in-line six.

The specs reveals that, with a 68mm bore and 55mm stroke, the six has a capacity of 1218cc, and that its overall width is no greater than a conventional 1000cc in-line four.

It's mounted transversely across the bike, in a relatively conventional way, but departs from convention with an unusual three-camshaft cylinder head design. The idea is that the rearmost camshaft operates the inlet valves on the rear cylinder bank, the foremost camshaft deals with the exhaust valves on the front bank, and the centre camshaft does two jobs – operating the exhaust valves for the rear bank and the inlet valves for the front.

The cost? 20,000 euros to you, Sir. Or £16,600 in good old Blighty wonga.

Sounds expensive but bear in mind the less exclusive 2010 Yamaha VMax costs the thick end of £18,000 and the price tag for the Germsn handbuilt V6 doesn't seem quite as bad.

But hang fire before cashing in the premium bonds. Although the bike goes on sale in late 2011, the focus is on building a dealer network in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Plans to expand into Central European markets is planned for 2012 with France, the Benelux countries and Italy at the forefront, the company say. Our guess is it's unlikely to hit UK shores much before 2013 - if at all.

Horex VR6 Specs

Type VR6, 15° V-angle, mirrored
cylinder offset
Capacity cc 1218
Bore/Stroke mm 68/55
Max output 200bhp @ approx.8500 RPM
Max torque Nm >150
No. of cylinders 6
Compression ratio 9:1
Valve configuration TOHC
(triple overhead cam)
Valves per cylinder 3, radial configuration
Throttle butterfly diameter mm 50
Compressor
Compressor type Rotrex radial compressor
C-series, detachable
Compressor drive via Geared crank web
Compressor drive with Belt, variable ratio
Compressor operating pressure Dep. on vehicle version
Power transmission
Clutch Multi-disc oil bath clutch,
operated hydraulically
Gearbox Six-speed-gearbox
Rear wheel drive Belt
Secondary drive ratio 1:2.36