Very interesting.
This article taken from superbikeplanet com
Kawasaki's MotoGP Engine: Probably A Lot More Conventional Than You Might Think
by dean adams
Monday, February 04, 2008
Kawasaki's 2008 MotoGP engine: this tall cool one garnered a great deal of interest--and misconceptions.
image by wouldn't you like to know
The MotoGP images that we ran from the semi-recent MotoGP test at Sepang garnered a great deal of interest from fans and gear-heads. None more than the images of the new Kawasaki "Screamer" engine.
Kawasaki's own press release infers that the test at Sepang almost stopped when people there first heard the the bike fire up and sent down the pit lane. It sounds, according to those there, like an F1 car, or more like a 990cc MotoGP bike of circa 2004-05. If the sound alone didn't stop a tech-nerd in his tracks then the very tall engine might do it.
The pictures of the Kawi' 800, though, stunned some. The lack of conventional exhaust ports jutting from the front of the cylinder head (or, the side closest to the front wheel) and large bar in its place told some that the induction/exhaust was reverse what is conventional in motorcycle engine. (FWIW: Moto-Guzzi made a "reverse induction" prototype in the 1950s while on their technological adventure which led them to their V-8 racer. And they certainly weren't the first to do so.)
Actually, if one examines the photos, some things become a bit clearer. And a whole lot more conventional.
The presumed "spray bar" in front of the engine is probably about the size needed for a Hemi 'Cuda, not a 800cc MotoGP engine with fairly strict fuel capacity limits placed upon it.
Most likely that bar is actually a water pipe, and is part of the cooling system.
We're presuming that the Kawasaki engine was just placed in the frame, or the rolling chassis rolled out of the crate shortly before the image was taken.
Hey hey hey, what's that under those exhaust studs, stud? Looks like plated-over exhaust ports.
image by: the ghost of denis jenkinson
In the image at right, if one examines it closely, you can just barely see plates over the exhaust ports, especially the port on the far right. These may have been bolted on for shipment.
This means the Kawasaki engine is fairly conventional—the exhaust exits from the front of the engine, anyway.
What's more, in the upper image on this page, near where the frame bolts to the top of the engine, there are two cables hanging in the breeze. Are these simple throttle cables or part of the exhaust system? It's hard to believe that a MotoGP bike would have a mechanical servo on the exhaust in the year 2008—Eddie Lawson's Yamaha YZR500 had guillotine-style exhaust port tuners in the 1980s. (And even select Harley-Davidson models come with fly-by-wire throttle in '08.)
If those are throttle cables, this would seem to preclude Kawasaki using fly-by-wire technology on this engine, at least at this time.
ENDS
Kawasaki's MotoGP Engine: Probably A Lot More Conventional Than You Might Think
by dean adams
Monday, February 04, 2008
Kawasaki's 2008 MotoGP engine: this tall cool one garnered a great deal of interest--and misconceptions.
image by wouldn't you like to know
The MotoGP images that we ran from the semi-recent MotoGP test at Sepang garnered a great deal of interest from fans and gear-heads. None more than the images of the new Kawasaki "Screamer" engine.
Kawasaki's own press release infers that the test at Sepang almost stopped when people there first heard the the bike fire up and sent down the pit lane. It sounds, according to those there, like an F1 car, or more like a 990cc MotoGP bike of circa 2004-05. If the sound alone didn't stop a tech-nerd in his tracks then the very tall engine might do it.
The pictures of the Kawi' 800, though, stunned some. The lack of conventional exhaust ports jutting from the front of the cylinder head (or, the side closest to the front wheel) and large bar in its place told some that the induction/exhaust was reverse what is conventional in motorcycle engine. (FWIW: Moto-Guzzi made a "reverse induction" prototype in the 1950s while on their technological adventure which led them to their V-8 racer. And they certainly weren't the first to do so.)
Actually, if one examines the photos, some things become a bit clearer. And a whole lot more conventional.
The presumed "spray bar" in front of the engine is probably about the size needed for a Hemi 'Cuda, not a 800cc MotoGP engine with fairly strict fuel capacity limits placed upon it.
Most likely that bar is actually a water pipe, and is part of the cooling system.
We're presuming that the Kawasaki engine was just placed in the frame, or the rolling chassis rolled out of the crate shortly before the image was taken.
Hey hey hey, what's that under those exhaust studs, stud? Looks like plated-over exhaust ports.
image by: the ghost of denis jenkinson
In the image at right, if one examines it closely, you can just barely see plates over the exhaust ports, especially the port on the far right. These may have been bolted on for shipment.
This means the Kawasaki engine is fairly conventional—the exhaust exits from the front of the engine, anyway.
What's more, in the upper image on this page, near where the frame bolts to the top of the engine, there are two cables hanging in the breeze. Are these simple throttle cables or part of the exhaust system? It's hard to believe that a MotoGP bike would have a mechanical servo on the exhaust in the year 2008—Eddie Lawson's Yamaha YZR500 had guillotine-style exhaust port tuners in the 1980s. (And even select Harley-Davidson models come with fly-by-wire throttle in '08.)
If those are throttle cables, this would seem to preclude Kawasaki using fly-by-wire technology on this engine, at least at this time.
ENDS
