[31261]

While taking a stroll through the various motorcycle blogs, I ran across this - a 5 cylinder, 3 injector, valveless axial engine. It looks like this:

Supposedly it has very little vibration, due to its counter-rotating components, runs on a variety of fuels, has no valves and is lighter and smaller than a conventional engine of the same displacement. With the ever-present desire for increasing power/torque while reducing weight, this could be interesting. Explanatory video below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bny77SEefQ

Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with any of this.

 

[wehrme]

Interesting concept.

 

[Richard Clem]

why

I've often wondered why no one has tried a rotary engine in a moto. Seems like a natural fit.

Richard

 

[megatwin]

suzuki had the rotory engine in motorcycles,along with another manufacturer,that I can't recall the name of right now.
For the auto mechanics out there,that engine design they are talking about there,looks remarkably like the GM "pancake"ac compressor the used for awhile,i terms of operation of the compression.
GM called it a wobble plate,I think.

 

[MarkEkberg]

Looks like it could be the next step to the rotary engine. Looks like the only real failure point is that weird wobble joint that would need one heck of a bearing.

To take it a few step further.....

Direct injection forced induction via turbo or charger. You will see double hp figures with same weight.

 

[Rustydust]

suzuki had the rotory engine in motorcycles,along with another manufacturer,that I can't recall the name of right now.

The Suzuki RE-5 was quite the concept back in the mid '70's but it burned a lot of fuel, was not very fast and it cost a lot of $. A year or two after they came out dealers discounted the hell out them just to get rid of them. A friend had one and he bought it just because he hoped that they would be collecters item some day. He was right because they are now.

The other company was Hercules. They did even worse than Suzuki and were gone in about a year.

 

[nedro]

Some of the fastest little cars I have ever seen had rotary motors.
Emissions laws killed them.

 

[nedro]

I just watched and the one thing they did not talk about was one of my very first questions when viewing the video.
How are they sealing the combustion chamber as it rotates along the disc head? And how stout is that seal.

 

[Biker John]

I had a Coleman snowmobile back in the 70's with a rotary engine in it, ran great.

 

[ccsailor]

Looks like a modernized Wankel??
Hope it works better
the concept is great if they can only get it to work ( and last)

 

[nedro]

It's nothing like a Wankel.

 

[Stove Pipe]

Interesting concept!

 

[BlackShadow95]

Reminds me of this motor I saw on Youtube. I had originally found an English version that I can't seem to find now. But what is unique is the outer casing is an electric motor. So as the engine is spinning and creating mechanical power, it is also producing electricity. And on decel, it'll still work like hybrid motor and produce electricity.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kT5Exdu2Cvo