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List of motorcycles by type of engine

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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List of motorcycles by type of engine is a list of motorcycles by the type of motorcycle engine used by the vehicle, such as by the number of cylinders or configuration.

A transverse engine is an engine mounted in a vehicle so that the engine's crankshaft axis is perpendicular to the direction of travel. In a longitudinal engine configuration, the engine's crankshaft axis is parallel with the direction of travel. However, the description of the orientation of "V" and "flat" motorcycle engines differs from this convention. Motorcycles with a V-twin engine mounted with its crankshaft mounted in line with the frame, e.g. the Honda CX series, are said to have "transverse" engines,[1][2] while motorcycles with a V-twin mounted with its crankshaft mounted perpendicular to the frame, e.g. most Harley-Davidsons, are said to have "longitudinal" engines.[1][2] This convention uses the longest horizontal dimension (length or width) of the engine as its axis instead of the line of the crankshaft.

There are many different models of motorcycles that have been produced, and as such, this list is not exhaustive and contains only more notable examples.

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Single cylinder

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The vast majority of motor scooters are single cylinder (see List of motor scooter manufacturers and brands).

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Split-single

The split-single (Doppelkolbenmotor to its German and Austrian manufacturers), is a variant on the two-stroke engine with two cylinders sharing a single combustion chamber. It is also known as a twingle, U-cylinder, or doppelkolben[5]

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Two cylinder

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V-twin

Longitudinal

Transverse

Flat-twin

Longitudinal

Transverse

Straight twin

a.k.a. parallel-twin, inline-twin, vertical-twin, straight-two, or inline-two

Transverse

Longitudinal

Tandem twin

The Tandem Twin is where the cylinders are longitudinal, and have two cranks geared together. A tandem twin is effectively a pair of geared singles, and is to be distinguished from an inline twin. Tandem twins are suitable primarily for two-stroke racers.

Longitudinal

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Three cylinder

Straight three

Transverse

Longitudinal

Upside Down

  • Nembo 32

V-three

Transverse

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Four cylinder

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This is a partial list of some of the many four-cylinder motorcycle designs.

Straight four

Transverse

Longitudinal

V-four

Transverse

Longitudinal

Oval Piston

Flat four

Longitudinal

  • Honda Gold Wing
  • Suprine Exodus (uses BMW flat four)[20]
  • Zündapp K800/KS800
  • Wooler 500cc (1948)

Square four

H four

Transverse

VR-four

Z-Line

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Five cylinder

Straight five

Transverse

V five

Transverse

  • Honda RC211V

Six cylinder

Straight six

Transverse

Flat six

Longitudinal

V-six

  • Laverda V6

8 cylinder

V-8

Longitudinal

Transverse

Straight-8

10 cylinder

V-10

Longitudinal

12 cylinder

V-12

Transverse

48 cylinder

Transverse

  • Simon Whitlock's 48-cylinder motorcycle[33]

Turbocharged and supercharged

Wankel

The Wankel engine is a type of internal combustion engine using an eccentric rotary design to convert pressure into rotating motion. All parts rotate consistently in one direction, as opposed to the common reciprocating piston engine, which has pistons violently changing direction. It is also known as a rotary engine.

Radial

The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel.

Rotary radial

The rotary engine was an early type of internal combustion engine, usually designed with an odd number of cylinders per row in a radial configuration, in which the crankshaft remained stationary in operation, with the entire crankcase and its attached cylinders rotating around it as a unit.

Turbine

Steam

Hydrogenation

  • Kawasaki Ninja H2 HySE[46][47]
  • Xiaomi Segway Apex H2[48]
  • MIT's concept fuel cell motorcycle[49]

Electric

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Electric scooters in Vietnam

Electric motorcycles and scooters are plug-in electric vehicles with two or three wheels powered by electricity. The electricity is stored on board in a rechargeable battery, which drives one or more electric motors.

Electric scooters

Emco

  • Nova

NIU

  • MQi
  • NQi
  • UQi

Piaggio

Silence

  • S01
  • S02

Super Soco

  • CUX
  • CPx

SYM

  • E-Fiddle IV
  • E-Mio
  • E-Xpro

Unu

  • Standard Classic
  • Scooter Pro

Vespa

Diesel

Only very small numbers of diesel engined motorcycles have ever been built. The improved fuel efficiency is offset by the increased weight, reduced acceleration and potential difficulty of starting, at least in colder climates.

  • Sommer Diesel 462[51]
  • Track T-800CDI[51]
  • Neander Turbo Diesel[51]
  • Star Twin Thunder Star 1200 TDI[51]
  • Hero MotoCorp RNT[51]
  • Royal Enfield Taurus[51]
  • Hayes Diversified Technologies M1030M1 (A modified Kawasaki KLR for the US Army)

Multi-engine

Train engine/Inspired by train engine/Other engine

Only very small numbers of train/inspired by train/other type engined motorcycles have ever been built.

See also

References

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