As rumors start to swirl about new bikes for 2005, Honda may put a larger displacement engine in the 919 naked bike. This is a rumor that is continually getting stronger, and is consistent with logic given the fact that Honda has the smallest displacement open-class naked bike, at the moment.
In order to compete with Yamaha’s FZ1 (which uses an R1 engine displacing 998 cc) and Kawasaki’s Z1000 (displacing 953 cc), Honda, according to the rumor, will place the 954cc engine from its prior-generation Fireblade in the 919 chassis.
The 919 chassis was intended by Honda from the beginning to be “modular” — capable, with minor changes, of accepting various displacement engines, and even different engine configurations (such as a V-twin). A very similar frame houses the smaller displacement four-cylinder engine in the 599, for instance.
