(VIDEO) All types of motorcycle engines, clearly explained and exemplified

In the world of cars, most car enthusiasts will easily tell the difference between an in-line, V-shaped or boxer engine. But in the world of motorcycles, where cylinders are fewer in number, where two-stroke engines are still popular in some regions and segments, and where there are several nicknames for some types of engines, it is often harder to understand the architecture of these and how they work actually. So the author of the Fortnine YouTube channel specialized in motorcycles came with clear explanations, with examples of engines.

The simplest, of course, is the single-cylinder engine, for which everything is simplified to the maximum and is included in a single copy. On a 4-stroke, 1-cylinder engine, it performs combustion at two revolutions of the crankshaft, which with all the transmission can sometimes result in a power surge at a full wheel revolution, giving it time to recover adhesion.

There are adverse effects such as vibration and noise, which is why 1-cylinder engines are usually limited to 650cc. The desire for more power means either increased capacity and necessarily a higher number of cylinders.

From two cylinders up everything changes radically and, as long as you want to keep a simple motorcycle, this number of cylinders is ideal for a much larger range of applications, which is why it is also the most widespread. V-twin engines are V2s, with cylinders arranged in a V-shape and usually transversely mounted. In the beginning, the angle between them was small, but nowadays they are from 50-60 degrees upwards, there are also engines with 90 degrees between the two cylinders. Ducati, for example, calls them L twin, after the right angle of the letter L.

Also analyzed in the video are engines with two cylinders in line, usually positioned transversely for better cooling.

Then, there is also talk about boxer engines, initially preferred especially by the Germans and then by many of the more mature motorcyclists for their specific driving pleasure.

There are also engines with 3 cylinders in line on motorcycles, which have the same problems of geometric imbalance as in cars.

Of course, you can also reach the 4-cylinder line, much more balanced. There is also a background imbalance here, caused by the imperfection of distances and the Pythagorean formula.

So the rarest engines on motorcycles, those with 6 cylinders in line, are, like on cars, the most balanced, naturally and physically.

Because they are big, however, and a bit heavy in the corners, it comes back to the analysis of 4-cylinder engines, this time V-shaped. MotoGP races show that 20 out of 22 bikes there operate with V4 engines.

See everything with much more details and examples in the video below.