Photo: wikipedia.com
Several sketches that show the schematics of a two-stroke engine attributed to Honda surfaced and certain people kind of went wild, claiming that this might be a new bike engine Honda would be working on.
Now, we don't want to be the party breaker, but this engine sketch seems to show an engine with a bottom flange. It doesn't take an engineer specialized in building motorcycles to understand that a bike engine isn't installed in a frame using bottom flanges.
This solution is an efficient one when used to mount small engines that power small industrial tools. At the same time, the long stroke of this design tells a story of more torque than top-end power, as the peak revs would be limited by excessive vibrations.
The guys at morebikes, as excited as they may be, should consider that a high-performance, high-power engine would need to reach higher revs, and this means a reduced stroke in favor of a larger bore in compensation.
How much room there is left in the high-performance segment for such engines remains a matter to be discussed. In terms of power versus displacement, two-strokers are obviously the winning choice, but with environment protection regulations getting stricter by the year, things are not as easy as it seems.
With advanced fuel injection systems, 2-stroke engines might eventually become much cleaner than they used to be, so the emissions levels would comply with regulations. It looks like the injection and exhaust management systems may hold the key to the resurgence of two-stroke engines.
A modern version of the 500cc power plant that used to power the NSR500 could indeed be an appealing choice for the speed freaks. Not sure how feasible a liter-class two-stroker would be, but with a half-liter 1997 engine delivering 185 PS, such a prospect is ludicrous.
This solution is an efficient one when used to mount small engines that power small industrial tools. At the same time, the long stroke of this design tells a story of more torque than top-end power, as the peak revs would be limited by excessive vibrations.
The guys at morebikes, as excited as they may be, should consider that a high-performance, high-power engine would need to reach higher revs, and this means a reduced stroke in favor of a larger bore in compensation.
Modern two-strokes might have indeed a future
While we seriously doubt that this very engine depicts the layout of a future motorcycle engine Honda eyes to deliver to the world, we cannot fail to observe that two-stroke engines came a long way from two decades ago.How much room there is left in the high-performance segment for such engines remains a matter to be discussed. In terms of power versus displacement, two-strokers are obviously the winning choice, but with environment protection regulations getting stricter by the year, things are not as easy as it seems.
With advanced fuel injection systems, 2-stroke engines might eventually become much cleaner than they used to be, so the emissions levels would comply with regulations. It looks like the injection and exhaust management systems may hold the key to the resurgence of two-stroke engines.
A modern version of the 500cc power plant that used to power the NSR500 could indeed be an appealing choice for the speed freaks. Not sure how feasible a liter-class two-stroker would be, but with a half-liter 1997 engine delivering 185 PS, such a prospect is ludicrous.
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