Wankel bike

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Many of us know and are fans of rotary-engined cars like the Mazda RX-7 , but there are even cooler Wankel-engined motorcycles. The likes of Kawasaki , Suzuki , and Yamaha have also created wild rotary bikes. To know more about rotary motorcycles, we first have to get to know the rotary engine. Made by Dr. Felix Wankel in Germany in , it took some time for the eccentric rotary mill to jump from drawing board into production, be it for cars or motorcycles.

Wankel bike

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. But it nearly did, and this was it. Although pretty tidy-looking, only a couple of prototypes are believed to have been made. If you like the look, though, you can always try to find a conventionally-powered Yamaha TX — it used the same frame and suspension and looks virtually identical to the prototype RZ 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.

Despite these advantages, Wankel-engined motorcycles have drawbacks such as engine seal and emission issues, wankel bike, as well as limited lifespan. Two years farther on from the Wankel bike and Norton is still trying with the rotary engine and would continue for a few years still!

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. Compared to the two-strokes of the time, however, the Wankel was just too complex and unreliable and the manufacturers had an uphill struggle to persuade customers.

The Hercules W used a Sachs-sourced Wankel, single-rotor, rotary engine. Felix Wankel born in Lahr, Germany had the vision for his remarkable rotary engine at the age of 17 and began working on prototypes 5 years later. He gained his first patent for his engine in The first motorcycle applications for this promising engine appeared shortly after the first rotary-powered automobiles, the Mazda Cosmo and NSU Spider were introduced in It had separate intake, combustion and exhaust cavities. A rotary engine has no piston chugging up and down. Think of the rotor as though it is a piston with fewer parts and spinning instead of circulating up and down. The most famous rotary engine was the to Mazda RX The head does not contain a combustion chamber, but instead seals off the rotor. The plate on top of the engine accesses the top crankshaft bearin g.

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. Things had been pretty sedate up until now, but the moment the lights went green, Dazza stood on the go pedal, and all hell broke loose. I was—for the first time in my life—unable to keep my head straight and my eyes forward while accelerating, thanks to the g-forces that this very humble-looking car could pull. Though I tried to fight it, I ended up with a shocked look on my upturned face and a set of eyeballs that were having serious issues seeing over my cheeks. Welcome to the wonderful and frightening world of the Wankel rotary engine.

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Yet again, what sounded good on paper and even on the prototype could not successfully translate into production, and the Wankel Yamaha remained an unfinished dream. 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. Top speed was accordingly 84 mph, increasing to 94 later, and around 1, such motorcycles were sold from to It carried a cc air-cooled engine with a single rotor, making 20 horsepower and later producing 32hp. Configuration Air-cooled single-rotor Wankel engine Displacement cc 18 cu-in Horsepower hp Torque The Vintagent. For Wankel-engined motorcycles, there are serious drawbacks when it comes to engine seals and emissions, and these motors tend to have a limited lifespan. Mecum Auctions. Click to see our engines undergoing rigorous testing and to watch how they perform under tough conditions. 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. 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. Configuration Liquid-cooled single-rotor Wankel engine Displacement cc 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.

APART from providing endless schoolboy sniggers the Wankel rotary engine is one of the greatest near-misses of 20th century engineering.

Featuring a liquid-cooled, twin-rotor engine, both power and torque were at acceptable levels, but the Wankel rotary engine advantages - smooth running - were nullified by the usual problems - mechanical noise at low RPM, weak engine braking, heat issues and much higher fuel consumption compared to a conventional internal combustion engine which, in the era of the oil crisis and high gas prices, was definitely a no-no. Smooth and sporty, the Classic was light, powerful, and, more importantly, very reliable as it came based on Norton's police-spec motorcycle, the Interpol. Configuration Air-cooled four-stroke twin-rotor Wankel engine Displacement cc 42 cu-in Horsepower hp Torque lb-ft. Made by Dr. Configuration Liquid-cooled single-rotor Wankel engine Displacement cc 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. While the other contenders on this list were made in tiny numbers, the Suzuki remains arguably the only bike to have been truly mass-produced. Configuration Liquid-cooled twin-rotor Wankel engine Displacement Two years farther on from the Classic and Norton is still trying with the rotary engine and would continue for a few years still! Again, Yamaha never made a production Wankel motorcycle, although it nearly did, in the form of the RZ The development of the X prototype started in , featuring an almost cc rotary engine. Top speed was accordingly 84 mph, increasing to 94 later, and around 1, such motorcycles were sold from to We don't just build engines - we consult, conceptualise, develop, design and test solutions to your problems. More conventional styling that owners could equate to the styling of the race-winning bikes in British Superbikes and at the Isle of Man TT, but it was definitely a case of too little, too late as, by this time, Norton was in its final death throes, which was a shame as the rotary engine had finally come good. Another unique thing about this motorcycle, other than the Wankel engine, was a strange rotating biscuit tin instrument cluster.