Honda's Anime-Inspired Bike Is A Stealth Bomber On Two Wheels

I have a hard time watching the 1988 Japanese sci-fi classic Akira without staring at Kaneda's bike and thinking, "GOD, I need that thing in my LIFE." Besides a few crazy real-life custom jobs, no manufacturer has built that bike yet – but Honda just came close.

This is the new Honda NM4 Vultus. The anime inspiration isn't an inference I'm making, it comes from Honda themselves. They call it "a ground-breaking machine inspired by futuristic machines seen in the anime and manga television and film styles, known collectively as 'Japanimation.'"

That's a mouthful, and they don't say what "Japanination" (I haven't heard that word since the 90s) they mean, but I think the Akira bike was a clear inspiration here. It looks awesome!

It's more than just a looker, too. The NM4 Vultus packs a 745cc twin-cylinder engine mated to a dual clutch transmission with automatic or manual shift modes. They call it intuitive and easy to use with a low center of gravity and "future-shock style and stealth bomber silhouette." I want things like that on my motorcycle. Don't you?

Now, someone just needs to paint it red and put the stickers all over it and we'll be in business.