Wankel bike

Many of us know and are fans of rotary-engined cars like the Mazda RX-7wankel bike, but there are even cooler Wankel-engined wankel bike. The likes of KawasakiSuzukiand Yamaha have also created wild rotary bikes.

APART from providing endless schoolboy sniggers the Wankel rotary engine is one of the greatest near-misses of 20th century engineering. It promised to revolutionise the bikes we rode and cars we drove, but despite decades of work never quite overcame the problems that prevented it from becoming a mainstream hit. But the basic idea of getting rid of all the reciprocating bits of a normal engine — the pistons, con-rods, valves — and replacing them with a design that does the same suck-squeeze-bang-blog sequence using purely rotating parts is, frankly, genius. We all know about Nortons and Suzuki RE5s, but there has been a host of other Wankel-engined bikes over the years, from prototypes to full production models. First on our list comes the earliest production Wankel motorcycle. The Hercules, which was marketed as a DKW in the UK, was sold for most of the s and as such was one of the most successful rotaries in terms of numbers built.

Wankel bike

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Some examples of the Interpol motorcycle hit the market; you can still come across these in private hands. The twin-rotor, cc engine wankel bike developed by NSU and Citroen and originally intended for a car made a claimed bhp and was said to give the bike a mph top speed — not too shabby in when production finally started, several years after the first prototypes had been made.

The internal combustion engine has been with us since the s, but it has remained largely the same in all that time: pistons moving up and down in a cylinder, converting that movement to rotary movement by the use of a crankshaft. One brave and seemingly revolutionary development was the rotary engine , conceived by Felix Wankel in the s and offering advantages in simplicity of construction and power output. Here, we celebrate the motorcycles that dared to be different. It was also expensive, with Cycle World magazine summing up thus: "Less performance for more money takes this rotary out of the realm of practicality. It might not have made it into production - only two prototypes are believed to have been built - but it just shows how serious the Japanese manufacturers were considering the Wankel engine and how it was seen as one possible future for the motorcycle. It made its first appearance at the Tokyo Motor Show and was powered by a 66 horsepower, single rotor engine, fitted into the frame and running gear of the Yamaha TX, which at least gave it typical s Yamaha good looks.

APART from providing endless schoolboy sniggers the Wankel rotary engine is one of the greatest near-misses of 20th century engineering. It promised to revolutionise the bikes we rode and cars we drove, but despite decades of work never quite overcame the problems that prevented it from becoming a mainstream hit. But the basic idea of getting rid of all the reciprocating bits of a normal engine — the pistons, con-rods, valves — and replacing them with a design that does the same suck-squeeze-bang-blog sequence using purely rotating parts is, frankly, genius. We all know about Nortons and Suzuki RE5s, but there has been a host of other Wankel-engined bikes over the years, from prototypes to full production models. First on our list comes the earliest production Wankel motorcycle.

Wankel bike

Like many teenagers in s Australia, I was a willing participant in the Japanese rotary-engined street racer phase that swept the country at the time. But for me, the whole thing crystallized when my mate Daryl rolled up in a red Mazda RX-3 one weekend while I was still in high school. Not at all. Fast forward 20 minutes later.

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Given the fact that Norton was enjoying racing victories again with its rotaries in the late '80s, it seemed odd that the first production bike it built around the engine was the Commander tourer. Download Datasheet Enquiries. Another prototype that never got beyond that stage, the Kawasaki X99 RCE demonstrated the need of the Japanese manufacturers to stay one step ahead of their home competition or, at least, keep up with them. Two years farther on from the Classic and Norton is still trying with the rotary engine and would continue for a few years still! Norton spent most of the s fiddling with prototype rotary-powered bikes, but it took until before finally creating its first production Wankel, the Interpol II. Here, we celebrate the motorcycles that dared to be different. It might not have made it into production - only two prototypes are believed to have been built - but it just shows how serious the Japanese manufacturers were considering the Wankel engine and how it was seen as one possible future for the motorcycle. It was produced for only two years before Suzuki followed the herd and concentrated on its inline four-cylinder four-stroke engines. Its final iteration today is a rotary-powered beast unlike another. Unfortunately, the even better looking F2, shown as a prototype in and intended to be a cheaper follow-up to the F1, never reached production. Although pretty tidy-looking, only a couple of prototypes are believed to have been made. After endless development the Norton Classic was the first proper production rotary from the British firm. What is an A2 motorcycle licence and how much does it cost? The same cc engine now made 95 horsepower and showed the world what a finely-tuned rotary motor could do.

The revolutionary rotary engine designed by Dr.

It's also perhaps the world's best-known rotary bike, with a single-rotor, water-cooled subcc motorcycle pushing out 60 horsepower. However, these motorcycles never made it to production due to various reasons. Top 10 car-engine bikes. It also tends to have more power, is smaller, and weighs less. Again, Yamaha never made a production Wankel motorcycle, although it nearly did, in the form of the RZ One brave and seemingly revolutionary development was the rotary engine , conceived by Felix Wankel in the s and offering advantages in simplicity of construction and power output. This website is owned and published by Crash Media Group Limited. Given the warm reception, by , Norton launched what is now called the pinnacle of rotary motorcycles, the John Player Special-branded F1. Kawasaki almost made the largest-displacement rotary engine motorcycle, the X , but the oil crisis cut short its ambitious project, leaving the Wankel-engined Kawasaki X99 frozen in limbo. Top 10 Wankel engined bikes Rotaries might have been a blind alley, but plenty went down it…. First on our list comes the earliest production Wankel motorcycle. With the oil crisis at a peak and the motorcycle taking in too much fuel, it could never make production, even as it made for a smooth ride. Frankly, the Interpol and the Classic were just the starting point for Norton when it came to Wankel-engines motorcycles. Gradually, the engine was being developed into something that anyone could ride, although it would be fair to say that you would need to be a Norton fanatic to actually choose one over a contemporary BMW or Japanese touring bike.