Dirt ad Trail Online Nov 2020

than 200 BHP – unheard of back then.
Inline fours are generallytoo wide to fit into
adventure and dirt bikes, where you always
look for a more compact design..
Aprilia Tuono V4
ATTENTION!!!
Aprilia V4
engine
Inline Six cylinders: Six pistons going up
and down next to each other.
Big, wide, in your face…
Probably quite impractical due to the
sheer size…In the early sixties Honda put
themselves on the map with a wailing six
cylinder four-stroke grand prix racer which
dominated the 250 GP class at the time.
Just the sound alone of this engine which
peaked at 22000rpm in a field of thumping
singles and some twin cylinder two strokes
made everyone sit up and take notice
of the Japanese manufacturer, and sent
enthusiastic buyers into Honda showrooms
world-wide. A classic case of how racing
can sell product!
When the other Japanese and the
odd European brand brought out their
competitors to the mighty Honda 750-4 and
started to ease customers away from the
big H they dropped another bombshell.
The in-line 6 cylinder Honda CBX 1000
road bike. Honda proved their engineering
skill and marketing savvy once again.
Kawasaki soon followed suit with their
Z1300… Due to the sheer size, weight and
girth of these girls, neither bike handled
very well…
These days the only production inline
six cylinder is the
monstrous
BMW touring
bike, a
machine big enough to need a reverse
gear to get it out of a parking bay.
Popular examples: Honda CBX1000.
Kawasaki Z1300.
The Vee’s:
Vee twins: Two pistons going up and down
at an angle, usually 60 or 90 degrees.
There are many, many Vee twins on the
market, from 250cc right up to monster
2000cc versions. They also feature
balance shafts, electronics, fuel injection,
and trick mounting systems to protect the
rest of the bike and rider from vibration and
sheer strength.
There are also air-cooled and water cooled
versions. They also vary in the way they
are mounted with Ducati (Transverse),
Harley Davidson (Transverse), all of
the Japanese and other manufacturers
mounting them in line, that is with one
cylinder behind the other. Then
there are a few companies, like
Moto Guzzi (Opposed) and
Honda, who have turned them
sideways, with a cylinder poking
out at an angle sideways. Honda
even sold one like this with a
turbo…a classic quite sought
after these days. In the off-road
world, Can-Am has made the
Rotax V-Twin engine their weapon
of choice. Interesting is the
fact that Aprilia fitted their RXV
dirtbikes with a V-Twin.
Fun to ride, and something very
unique…
Popular examples: KTM 990/ 1190R.
Suzuki V-Strom. Harley Davidson. Can Am
Renegade. Moto Guzzi. Ducati Multistrada.
V- Four cylinder: Like a V- twin engine but
with two pistons on each side.
You got it – four cylinders in a V formation.
This creates a fairly unique form of power
delivery – like the Tuono that we rode in
last months issue…
Manufacturers like Ducati are romancing
these designs again. Popular example:
Aprilia Tuono, Honda’s VFR lineup.
V8: Four Pistons on each side moving in a
V-pattern.
Yup – the V8 found its way into some
bikes…There has been a factory made
V8 in the Moto Guzzi 500 V8 GP bike of
the 60’s, but the size and complexity of
this engine makes it just too impractical
for a regular road bike. There are a few
custom V8’s around using car engines in
cruiser type frames, but they are few and
far between.
Popular example: The Boss Hoss.
Other V-s Hondas GP bike was a V5…
and you could argue that radial engines
found on the old aircraft also classify as a
V- configuration.
Flat twins: Two pistons going side to side in
opposite directions.
Everyone knows the BMW-style opposed,
or flat twin. They have developed it into
a very sophisticated power unit, and
have managed to squeeze a surprising
amount of power out of it. Interestingly,
the technology has never really caught on
with other manufacturers, Honda made a
Goldwing with a flat four, Ural uses BMW’s
design from WW2 for their machines, but
to our knowledge (and there is not much of
that), this is just about the exclusive domain
of BMW. However you can still buy a new
URAL which is based on BMW’s WW2
designs…Popular example: BMW GS1250.
So what’s next?
With the world going greener, engineers
around the world are looking for cleaner,
more efficient technology. Who knows what
the future holds. Frankly, even motorcycle
manufacturers are not entirely sure. KTM
made giant strides with the introduction of
the TPI range of two stroke machines – but
is that enough?
What’s next? The sky is the limit for the
boffs out there – we look forward to lots
more different kinds of horsepower in the
future…
HAVE YOU BOOKED?
Dirtbikes Only. All Brands welcome! Sunday 15th of November
Enter solo. Enter as a couple. Enter
as a team. Cool trophies, Prizes
and Medals are up for grabs!
Where?
Legends Off-road Park, on the
Rayton road. Clean toilets, shady
trees. The restaurant is open. Bring
your gazebo and deck chairs.
What?
A lekker, challenging day in the saddle.
Not hard enduro. All rideable
and not a bike breaker. See how
many loops you can do in 4 hours.
Loop?
Roughly a 30 to 40 kilometre Enduro
loop that incorporates elements
of MX, Enduro and Off-road.
Legends has opened the mountain
for our exclusive use for this event.
Booking forms and more details
@ Legends
15th November 2020
Trail
AND
@ SILVER LAKES
Funduro
Anette.acc@mweb.co.za
.foleyg@mweb.co.za 0721770621
Riaan@traxktm.co.za or (012) 111-0190
Whatsapp line – 072-177-0621