Meet Honda’s anime-inspired NM4 Vultus motorcycle

Whoa, that’s a pretty sweet-looking concept bike
Oh, it’s no concept – Honda has actually put the NM4 Vultus into full production. We’ll agree with you that it’s sweet-looking though.

One might say it’s “futuristic”
One might. The Vultus’ young design team has taken lorryloads of inspiration from Japanimation, and it’s impossible not to see echoes of the street bikes of Akira in its poised, muscular lines. It also has something of the stealth bomber about it, we think. Basically, it does look like a concept bike – but kudos to Honda for throwing caution to the wind and putting something this unusual-looking into production.

It’s futuristic once you get beyond the looks too. The “reactive” dashboard features colours than change depending on your driving mode (or your mood – there are 25 individual colours to choose from), while the pillion seat flips up when not in use to act as backrest for the rider. All the lighting is LED. Oh, and the automatic transmission can be switched to a trigger-operating “computer game-style” MT mode.

MT mode?
That’s the optional manual mode. There’s also automatic D mode for city and highway riding, which delivers the best fuel efficiency, or automatic S mode for livelier, sportier performance.

What about the engine?
The Vultus sports a 745cc twin-cylinder engine that’s been canted forward to provide a low centre of gravity. While Honda hasn’t revealed the top speed or 0-60mph time, this doesn’t come off as a particularly speedy bike. It is, however, fuel efficient: it can manage as much as 80.2mpg, giving it a range of 185 miles on a single tank of petrol.

OK, I’m sold. How do I get one?
Well, that’s something we can’t tell you. Not yet anyway. Honda hasn’t revealed a release date or price for the NM4 Vultus, but we’ll be keeping our ear planted firmly on the grapevine for further announcements.

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