Quote:
Originally Posted by mikstr
Could we see a Honda I4 in future MotoGP competition? Boy, wouldn't that be ironic, lol Of course, it could get them back to winning, something their current package obviously isn't doing....
Ok Larry, unleash the diagrams, lol
P.S. sorry to my oath-taking brethren but this one was too good to pass up  |
Honda decided that old I4 architecture was no longer a part of their Gp
racing back in the 70s... rather they adopted the new cube block short
crank narrow V4 architecture for all it's inherent advantages... Yamaha's
cross plane crank I4 mimics what a V4 does naturally... give the rider more
confidence at the edge grip...
Quote Kevin Cameron...
"In the mid 1970s, Honda awoke from the pleasant dream of its new
automotive success to find its old dominance of the bike market in
danger. A fresh engineering focus was needed, not just more UJMs.
While engineers sought a new concept that could sustain long
development, the company dazzled the public with glamorous but
derivative models like the six-cylinder CBX. The past was no key to
the future. Honda's 1960s GP bikes found power in lots of small
cylinders, turning tremendous revs-but as revs rose, internal friction
took evermore of the power generated. Much of the loss came from
vibration,leading to parts misalignment. A new engine architecture was
needed-one naturally braced against vibratory forces."
"A "freshman class" of young engineers was set to the task of
developing radical ideas. The natural alternative was a V-Four. Narrow
and compact, it would also have perfect primary balance, a great
improvement over the buzzy, second-order vibration of inline Fours. In
testing, the cube-like crankcase of a V-Four was indeed found to be
inherently more rigid than the longer, beam-like case of an inline
engine. This translated to reduced friction loss at higher rpm-just
what the company needed as a basis for a new product line."