Quote:
Originally Posted by old3
Just for conversation a bike with a forward crank and a rear crank for two inline longitudinal cylinders would be very different from our P2. Imagine the cranks in the same plane as ours, across the bike, transferring the power to the trans the same way, no 90 degree change in direction. Basically a front single cylinder/crank and a second one behind it. Cranks locked together by chain or gears.
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Those are very different engines, agreed. But the cylinder arrangement on both is still a parallel twin and/or inline twin. Either name would remain applicable.
Quote:
Originally Posted by EsrTek
[source=http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/universal-threads/12923-difference-between-inline-twin-parallel-twin.html]
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That reply isn't necessarily correct. The firing arrangement and crankshaft orientations can vary quite a bit, but the definitions of what those orientations need to be for it to be a "parallel twin" aren't concrete. A better link is here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straight-twin_engine
In that reply, it covers some of the fuzziness of these terms when applied to motorcycles:
Quote:
Terminology
In motorcycles, as with cars and other vehicles, the terms "parallel-twin", "inline-twin", "vertical-twin" and "straight-two" are used.[7] The term "parallel-twin" is sometimes used with the special meaning that the crankshaft is transverse across the frame, while "inline-twin" would mean that the cylinders are arranged front to rear, in line with the direction of travel.[8] This special meaning for "inline" has been used for motorcycles with a longitudinal crankshaft, such as the Sunbeam S7,[9] and for tandem twins, with a transverse pair of crankshafts, but the cylinders arranged longitudinally, one in front of the other.[10] The term "parallel twin" is also sometimes used to refer specifically to a four-stroke straight-two engine with 360º firing intervals, causing the pistons to travel parallel to each other.[11] Other times, "parallel-twin", "inline-twin" and the other variants are used interchangeably and treated as equivalent.
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As listed above, people have different perspectives on the use of the terms, but all it comes down to is terminology. Back to what we're talking about in this thread, the fact that Yamaha calls it an "inline-2" doesn't definitively mean anything different about the engine setup, compared to any of the existing parallel twins we are all familiar with.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sirref
Alex, with all these domain name purchases for small displacement motorcycles, have you considered creating a site based around all of the small displacement (say 400cc and under) motorcycles? It would work in much the same way as the different generations of kawi ninja's on this site with each bike having it's own forum area and adding in consolidated areas as well. That way the site's community would evolve into a small displacement bike community and not just a ninjette community now that there is an entire field of competition. just food for thought.
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I've thought about this, and will probably think about it some more. The reason I'm partial to ninjettes is because we've owned a bunch of them. I'm comfortable talking about them, and comfortable curating information about them because I'm familiar with them. Having the site morph into a larger and broader site means it takes it further from my comfort zone, in terms of hands-on experience with the bikes. Doesn't mean it's a non-starter, but it is a bit different from what I've done here.