Opening the V-angle to 112 degrees in 1987 made room for a quartet of 36 mm Keihin carburetors between the cylinders where they could be fed more cool air.

More improvements gave the 1989 NSR500 upwards of 165 horsepower (123 kW) at 12,000 rpm — essentially doubling the output of the 1966 Honda RC181 Grand Prix four-stroke.

The result was an unforgiving, but brutally fast, package that earned Honda a fourth 500 cc World Championship in 1989 thanks to Eddie Lawson who had joined the factory backed Rothmans team alongside Gardner and young Australian Mick Doohan.

[2] Though the 499 cc V-4 could produce more than 200 horsepower (150 kW), chassis development, sophisticated engine management and an Australian named Mick Doohan made the NSR500 a legend in the 1990s.

From around 1997, the NSR500 again featured the older "Screamer" engine in some factory racers, with Mick Doohan preferring the higher outright power of this design despite it being much more difficult to harness.

Constant development and ever-increasing sophistication sharpened the NSR500's edge, earning Honda two more 500cc World Championships, with Àlex Crivillé in 1999 and again with Valentino Rossi in 2001.

For the 2002 season, technical regulations for the World Championship motorcycle road racing 500cc class were changed drastically, with four-stroke engines being allowed to grow up to 990cc and up to six cylinders.