From the category archives:

Engines

Suzuki AX200 2 Stroke Parallel Twin from 2 Singles

by Paul Crowe - "The Kneeslider" on 7/31/2009

in Engines, Motorcycle Builders

Renjith Rao, one of The Kneeslider’s readers in India, has taken his Suzuki AX100 single cylinder 2 stroke and turned it into a parallel twin. The crankshafts are mechanically connected inside the joined cases and run at 180 degrees. Though a 200cc engine may be small over here, it’s a big jump from the small [...]

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Scientists in Liverpool working with some engineers from Ford, have developed an ignition system that ignites the fuel mixture with a laser instead of a spark plug. Engines in their labs are currently running with the laser system.
The laser can be split into multiple beams which means it can have multiple ignition points, improving [...]

{ 24 readers have commented so far, ... your thoughts? }

Several builders have taken the route of joining engines into a V configuration but Chris Ireland, editor of Brit Chopper magazine, sent me this photo of his just completed straight 8. The 6 month build is the combination of 2 1200cc NSU air cooled auto engines, joined end to end with the cranks running 90 [...]

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Here’s a 4 stroke engine concept you have to see to understand, the Peraves Superballmotor uses a multipart sphere to replace the usual crankshaft, rods and pistons of a normal internal combustion engine.
The moving parts of the sphere have ceramic balls on their exterior which travel in grooves in the case surrounding the sphere. [...]

{ 25 readers have commented so far, ... your thoughts? }

Bad Dog 215 Cubic Inch V-Twin – Update

by Paul Crowe - "The Kneeslider" on 5/11/2009

in Engines, Motorcycle Builders

Remember the Bad Dog 215 cubic inch V-Twin we mentioned last year? Bill Price, the man behind the engine, hasn’t been sitting around, he’s been hard at work sourcing parts for the prototype and refining the design. I haven’t been watching very closely and Doug Staab, one of our contributors here, just sent me a [...]

{ 22 readers have commented so far, ... your thoughts? }

Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Radial Engine

by Paul Crowe - "The Kneeslider" on 3/18/2009

in Engines

Since we’ve seen so many radial engines here on The Kneeslider, the Rotec radials used in the bikes by Jesse James and JRL Cycles, plus the radial being built by Russell Sutton, I thought it might be worth mentioning the Pratt & Whitney R-4360, a 28 cylinder radial built in 4 banks of 7, each [...]

{ 17 readers have commented so far, ... your thoughts? }

Honda XR600 9 Cylinder Radial Engine Update

by Paul Crowe - "The Kneeslider" on 3/16/2009

in Engines

Ian Drysdale thought we might want to know a little more about the Honda XR600 based 9 cylinder radial engine Russell Sutton is building that we mentioned last year, so he sent some more up to date photos. Ian’s working on the crankshaft and rods for the engine while Russell keeps himself busy with the [...]

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Fiat MultiAir Engine – Better Mileage, Lower Emissions

by Paul Crowe - "The Kneeslider" on 3/10/2009

in Diesel Engines, Engines

With the constant talk of electric vehicles being the next big thing, it’s interesting to see how much development is still being done on the good old internal combustion engine, the Fiat MultiAir engine is a good example.
The Fiat MultiAir Engine, uses a solenoid valve to control oil flow to a hydraulic lifter that actuates [...]

{ 16 readers have commented so far, ... your thoughts? }