Since Honda are the unholy architects of the V4 will they get back on top?

Honda's protests of Ducati's engine and gas tank seem more like they were jealous of Ducati's superior electronics package.

And where does Yamaha's future lie, will electronic based improvements be enough to make them stay at the front longer than some people think?

Looks like (for now) that Yamaha was on to something when they decided to stick with the I4 against Rossi's wishes (brings back memories of the discussion that we had on a rider's role in "development" ).

IMHO, Duc got it right the first time -- i.e. last year. The others have caught up and Duc have not improved in the same measure. I can't wait to see how Honda's new engine will compare against the competition. The others seem to have no place to go as they are already on pneumatics. Honda's spring loaded engine is kickin a$$.

But german eurosport commentators said Honda isn´t even talking about the new engine anymore
so it can still take time to see the new engine in a race

He was still furnished with four options to choose from by 'Yoda'. The long bag inline firing order he elected to run was copied all across the board at the time and accross several paddocks. With the advent of the 800's, many expected/expect a large paradigm shift in favour of the screamer again, unless Vale does extend his contract for another two years as speculation suggests. Remember what the M1 sounded like when it was first unveiled at Catalunya ridden by Fujiwara? (I'm gonna see if I can find this on You Tube).

It's not surprising that it was such a schizophrenic awkward animal out of the box, being as 'lil John had a major hand in its initial development

If I remember correctly, it was not as much the firing order -- both I4s and V4 s can be configured as big bangs -- but cornering clearance that Rossi was concerned about. The V4s apprentely have better cornering clearance and can be leaned more in corners resulting in higher cornering speeds.

A viable theory, but just how true is this? If that were in fact the case, then wouldn't we have read of many complaints from John Hopkins about the lack of lean angle the Inline-4 ZX-RR has when compared to his trusty mount from last year, the V4 GSV-R??

haha, or is it that he just hangs off the bike more than anyone else, not really reaching the lean angle of the Ducs, Zooks, and Honda ??

Oh, how I wish Team KR were still around with their awesome chassis designs and a potent V4 from...hell, from ANYBODY!!