The Racer-Replica Frenzy: Honda's 400cc Youth, Inline-Four vs. V4 (1983-1989)

I like nostalgic features like this, but I'd also have liked to see the actual race results and market share numbers from back then.

It's unusual that Honda had both inline-four and V4 in-house — makes me suspect there was some internal rivalry too.

Putting that much tech into a mid-tier license class — compared to today's 400 class, it really feels like a different era.

The choice between inline-four and V4 really shows each manufacturer's engineering philosophy — a genuinely engaging feature.

Packing this much evolution into just six years from 1983 to 1989 — looking back, that was an insane development race.

Inline-four versus V4 — the 400cc replica wars of that era had a frenzy that genuinely rivaled the big-displacement bikes.