There may be no more profound

Honda's Bulldog 400 concept
There may be no more profound sense of well-being than that which descends upon Zaranda at sunset. The fading

light glows ШУУД ҮЗЭХ off the

sandstone walls of the ancient courtyard and sparkles through the icy glasses filled with gin and tonic (garnished not merely with local Spanish citrus but also with local juniper berries) that adorn most of the well-spaced tables. And then the food begins to arrive—romesco and vegetables from the garden served on a tiny, smoldering grill; a single, perfect prawn from nearby Andratx floating in an intense broth made from prawn shells.

 The light, the rough architecture, the scent of olive trees at dusk, and, above all, the delicious flavors merge to induce a gentle sensation of pleasure. This, one imagines, is the essence of the Mediterranean.
The modular engineering concept goes one step further and Honda is now using many motors and major components across groups of motorcycles, the twin-cylinder CB500 range being a prime example.

The CB500 uses a 471 cc liquid-cooled parallel-twin motor producing 54 hp as its base, and it is already available in naked CB500F, sports CB500R and adventure CB500X guises in most areas of the world, and in 400 cc capacity in Japan where a tiered licensing system makes bikes less than 400 cc significantly cheaper to ride – the smaller capacity is achieved by reducing the stroke from 66.8 mm to 56.6 mm and the power output of the 400 version hasn't suffered that much at 47 hp.

This 47 hp, 400 cc twin-cylinder powerplant is the engine used in the Bulldog, and it was designed as a flexible motor with useful power throughout the rev spectrum, and with a range of low friction technologies in order to achieve outstanding fuel economy. The claimed fuel efficiency figures of 39.7 km/l (93.4 mpg) is 28 percent better than the claimed figures for the four cylinder CB400 which sits alongside it in Japanese showrooms.

The recently induced global oil price decline may have reduced the pain at the fuel pump, but having fun on something that runs 93 miles on each gallon of gas is a reward in itself for thinking folk.