Ever watched one of those 3D animations of what happens inside a combustion engine? Cute, but that can’t compare with what’s actually going on in a real one, so here’s a chance to get a closer look thanks to these mad Finnish bikers.
Taking a look inside the engine while it’s working is kind of impossible, but these guys managed to modify a two-stroke 50 cc dirtbike engine to offer a us a view on what’s going in, and it looks amazing.
The standard cylinder head got replaced by a thick slab of plexiglass (I presume) through which they drilled some holes for the bolts and the spark plug. Cranked the engine and magic started unveiling.
Of course, being a two-stroke is the reason this project was such an easy thing to do since the cylinder heads on these don’t have valves. Which is also nice, because nothing blocks the view of those nice explosions driving the piston.
And wait to see what happens when the engine really goes up in revs. Those rhythmic flames happen so fast they look like one single high-intensity fire burning in the hole. It’s mesmerizing to watch and I spent some good 10 minutes rewinding the videos and watching them all over again.
Plexiglass might be tough, especially at that thickness, but the heat and pressure start deteriorate it quickly, cracking it and popping the sparkplug out at some point. Oh, and if you’re not sure what’s that wire doing at the base of the sparkplug, it’s there to assure the mass, since the metal part acting as one has been replaced with a nonconducting material.
Not sure about you, but I wish someone would invent a more solid transparent material and do a whole engine block out of it.
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