Engine types?

[SteWhit]

Ok, I was thinking about this the other day…

What are people's opinions on the different type of engine layouts? By this I mean V Twin, Single's, parallel Twins, Triples, 4's etc…

Only ever having ridden single's and Parallel Twins, was just wanting to know what, if any, difference this makes to the way the bike feels when driving and the way they deliver their power?

Your opinions/experience welcome
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[innominate]

I find that the less cylinders = better noise.
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[bish777]

Ive ridden singles from 100 2 stroke up to a 650, a 750 V twin, and a number of fours. Singles and twins respond slightly better at low to mid RPM, but fours anhiliate them at the top and fours are also smoother and arent as snatchy at low RPM.

Never ridde a triple but id guess its smoother and more powerful than a twin but not as powerful as a four but less peaky.
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GSXR1100J

[mr.z]

It makes a tremendous difference..

Not just the cylinders but the layout

opposed twin? bmw
inverse twin? cx/motoguzzi
v-twin? take your pick
parralel twin? e.t.c.


And the fireing order, lithe the TDM800/850 acts like its a Vtwin (punchy) rather than a parralel twin that it is (smooth, controllable)

Then theres number the of valves...

Had a transalp(600cc), 6valves, current bike (cx500cc) 8valves, both twins.. the cx sounds not so raspy, smoother.. the engine feel is different too... the TA was @6000rpm to do anything (and p1ss weak tbh) the cx pulls well from 4000rpm..




Allot of its about feel.. a twin isn't generally any more powerfull @low/mid revs then a four, but its punchy delivery/feel makes you think it is... a four will keep spining up and murdering tyres the higher you go up the range..

Personally i prefer a twin every time (allthough to be fair i've only had goes on fours) top speed isn't my thing and most of the time i'll barely get to 70% of the max revs.. it also sounds nicer, and is grunty
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[Teaman]

https://auto.howstuffworks.com/engine5.htm
Single: Called a “thumper.” Most dirt bikes, many small motorcycles, and the BMW F650.

Inline Twin: two pistons side by side.

V-twin: Harley Davidsons, Ducatis, Honda Hawk and Superhawk, Moto Guzzi, and a couple of Suzukis including the wonderful SV650. The 90-degree twin is very well balanced; other angles may or may not be, depending on whether the crankshaft has one pin or two.

Flat-twin: classic BMW design offers good balance and natural air-cooling.

Inline-three: Three pistons in a line. Typical examples are Triumph and BMW K75.

Inline-four: Staple of the UJM or "Universal Japanese Motorcycle," found in everything from the 400cc Honda CB-1 to the 1200CC BMW K1200. In the UJM it's mounted with the crankshaft sideways; in the BMW K it's mounted with the crankshaft aimed north-south and the pistons off to the left.

V-four: Honda VFR 800 (sideways) and ST1300 (longitudinal): smooth like a four and balanced like a twin.

Flat-six: Honda Gold Wing and Valkyrie: smooth torque monster with low center of gravity.



all quoted mate,.,,,
googles handy
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[bish777]

[Jack_Cheese]

Rotary engines are the best i believe norton used to use them - high revving, low tax, compact, and smooth. A little low on torque, but the power is all there!

The W configuration is probably the most compact of the recips. it is basically a v confivuration that had been squashed, meaning that some cylinders become slightly opffset with others in the same block. WV has developed one, i think the bentley continental gt uses it...

Jack
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[stevo as b4]

Turbo charged engines are the best, but maybe not for sportsbikes, where you want to gradually feed in the power mid corner whilst banked over.
Turbo deisels arn't bad now, except for the noise.

[bish777]

Diesel bikes arent far off, the the US and UK militaries are developing a diesel engined KLR, its now a 600cc 48 hp single.
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GSXR1100J

[stinkwheel]

2-stroke triples appeal to me. Smooth as a babies bottom. One bang every 120 degrees.
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[Fastgut]

I personally think that triples sound awesome.

[Gazdaman]

I've ridden small singles, a 500cc parallel twin, 2 IL4 600s, 1 v4 800.

The 800 was very nice, power delivery was awesome, and so much of it! but that's probably because it was the most powerfull bike.

I like revvy 4s, the XJ600 and the R6 just love to be thrashed, just how I like it.

Parellel twin was very smooth but uninspiring. And small singles are just plain fun. But more to do with the displacement rather than engine type.

Gaz

[stinkwheel]

A German company made a bike called the "Megola sport" back in the 1920's which had a 5-cylinder Gnome rotary engine built into the front wheel.

I was sent a picture a while back of an Aussie muscle bike with a three cylinder radial engine.

Both configurations generate frightening amounts of torque but are somewhat impractical for building into a motorcycle (the Megola had direct drive, 1 engine rotation = 1 wheel rotation. If you stop, it stalls.)
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[VFR400UK]

you heard about the new VFR?

a Vtec injected V4 that runs like a twin at low RPM not sure what the twin firing order is, either 1-2 3-4 or 1-3 2-4

[Robby]

The Vtec V fours don't behave as twins at low revs. They use 2 valves per cylinder instead of 4, because it uses less energy to operate 2 valves than 4. Less energy used = greater engine efficiency.

As for the diesel bike, pretty sure its nowhere near 48hp. Maybe half that. It is a N/A 700 odd cc diesel single.

[wristjob]

[Teaman]

https://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_bikes.html
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There is no point in ranting about someone stupid because there is nothing u can do about it. There is no cure for stupid.
Someone stupid does not realise they r stupid.stupidity is indistinguishable from malice U just have to accept that some people are thick as p1gsh1t and work around them.

[extreme3d]

[kb-zxr]

Am I right in thinking (in small cars at least) generally 8valve engines of the same size are better low down than the 16v equivilent?

eg. 1.2l 8v, 1.2l 16V

Kurt

[J.K.R]

Ever heard a V Max on stage 3 with K+N's and the cans off?!

Oh the ringings still in my ears to this day
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[stinkwheel]

[Robby]

An 8v 4cyl engine will be better at low revs than a 16v 4cyl engine.

To explain it very simply, you need more valves to flow more air and fuel. At low revs you don't need so much air and fuel.
To force 8 more valves open and closed and keep a second camshaft spinning requires a certain amount of force. Ever tried to compress a valve spring? It takes quite a lot of force. Ever bump started a 50 odd horsepower engine? Its not that hard.
So its a bit more efficient at low revs - its doing less work to burn the same amount of fuel.

At high revs however it needs to burn more fuel and air. As much as you can get in, really. This is where having as many valves as possible is good, because it means you can get more fuel and air in.

Of course, on a small car engine you'd want 4 vales per cylinder, because you can expect to spend a lot of time chasing the redline. Big car engines get away with 2 valves per cyl, like chevy V8s.

[bish777]

[Teaman]

[G]

It's not only the lay out of an engine, but what it is designed to do.

For instance a v-twin in a cruiser has a lot of low down toruqe, but not much power at all. While in my more sports focused TRX, you have to have it above 4k rpm (half revs) before it starts doing anything decent.

In a similar manner, while 4 cylinder bikes tend to be revvy, some of the 'detuned' varieties (say Hornet 600) actually have quite a flat power delivery, not to far off that of a sports twin.

Generally the layout of the cylinders shouldn't make too much difference. A v layout gives a 'big bang' firing order. This does not increase midrange, but it does offer the possiblity of slightly more grip for various reasons. However I would expect you would at least have to be a top club racer, if not faster, to exploit this.
It is possible to to convert a parrallel engine to a big bang firing order (the TRX has this as standard, more for the engine sound and 'charcter' than for performance I suspect, as it was designed to compete with Ducati.)