Working of a Motorcycle Engine

A bike motor is actually an internal combustion engine which provides a frontward thrust to the two wheeled machine we called motorcycle. These motors can be operated on petrol or diesel. Now a day, electric energy is also used to power the bike motors. The spirit of motorcycle movement is dictated by the very principle of gyro motion.

Complimenting each other while the bike is in motion, the forces of centrifugal and centripetal provide stability to each other. Forward motion is an essential element of stability while the bike is moving. The internal combustion provides with the power needed for this forward motion of the bike. The bike motor is always located right below the fuel tank as this gives a better balance by lowering the center of gravity of the machine. Motorbikes are always rear wheel driven.

The rear wheel gets its traction power from the motor that is connected to it by a steel chain, which helps it move ahead. Bike motors have a relatively simple assembly. There are single or multiple pistons that move in a compartment called chamber. It gets started by an electric spark generated by a dynamo that creates combination of gas and air to produce gases that provide an up and down motion to the piston. Rear wheel, which is connected by a chain to the bike motor, is moved by up and down motion of the piston that provides energy to a mechanism. Pistons generate all the power that a motor produce. Pistons pass on the power they produce to the crank. Bike motors can be either two stroke which have a simpler design, generate more power and are easy to maintain or four stroke which are more quiet, give a smoother ride and are far more environment friendly.

A stroke means one movement of the piston. Every second stroke in a two-stroke motor is a power stroke whereas in four stroke every fourth stroke is. Four stroke motors can have more than one cylinder thus can generate more operating power, which is another plus point. The bike motors, which run a motorcycle is rated in regard to its capacity, which means the size of the chamber where piston operates. The output of the power which is called BHP (Brake Horse Power) depends on the chamber and piston capacity.

The biggest capacity of any mass production motorbike is Triumph Rocket III. It has 2300 cc motor, which is the largest displacement motor and generates 140 brake horse power. In the beginning a kick is used to bring a motor to power, which means a lever is pressed downwards by foot. Now days the motorcycles are fitted with electric ignition where a starter motor start the piston. During the early days of motorcycles a magneto is used to supply the current. Now a CDI (Capacitor Discharge Ignition) system is used to start the motor. An option of diesel bike motors is also available, but these are not much suitable to be fitted in the on a motorcycle because they are more noisy, poor weight to power ratio, slow acceleration, have greater vibrations, a lot more heavy and are considerably low in efficiency. There are though some diesel motorcycles available. Some of the production motorbikes in diesel are Sommer Diesel 462, Track T-800CDI, Thunder Star 1200 TDI and Neander. There are multi cylinder motorcycles, which have two, four or up to six cylinders which are in mass production and are available in the market for you to buy. Triumph Rocket III, Kawasaki KZ1300, Kawasaki Vulcan, Honda Valkyrie, Honda CBX, Suzuki Intruder, to name a few.

Positioning of a cylinder can be vertical or V twin. They can also be positioned in a line. There are advanced liquid cooled bike motors available that are fitted with a radiator like a car. The function of this radiator is same as that of a car. It moves water and coolant to keep the bike motor cool. This liquid cooling radiator system is more successful on bike motors with higher displacement as it helps to produce blistering power. There are air cooled motors also available, which have simple design principle and are easy on pocket as well. The life of a liquid cooled motor is far more than the air cooled motor. It’s the four stroke motorcycles, which sell more worldwide. They have all that a biker would like to have in his bike. Their motor is quieter, more efficient; generates more power, is smoother in running and above all, very environment friendly. The market for two stroke engines and four stroke engines is divided geographically. Two stokes engines are cheaper to buy and cheaper to maintain thus have a market in developing nations where the pollution norms are not strict and cost is a major factor while buying a two-wheeler

. In the developed nations like the United States of America and Western Europe four stroke motorcycles have completely wiped off their two stroke brothers. Electric motors are coming up in a big way, as this motor is extremely environment friendly in terms of noise pollution and smoke emission. This saves a lot of precious petrol and diesel. There are first generation lead batteries and latest lithium batteries available that are used to power the electric scooters and motorcycles. They have a couple of limitations though. They are heavy in weight, have longer charging period and their performance as compared to bike motors run by petrol and diesel is limited. In future more powerful electric motors are expected to come which will surely change the face of motorcycling.