Big Bang Theory
Sep 9th, 2008 by Leo
This might be of interest to only a few citybikers, but it’s too cool not to mention: Yamaha’s 2009 R1 will have a “big bang” engine. “Um okay” you say as your eyes glaze over getting ready for a technical discussion. The Big Bang engine is a regular inline four cylinder engine that works like a two-cylinder. Instead of firing each cylinder in a regular pattern, Big Bang engines fire two at the same time (or very close together) so that it runs more like a 2-cylinder engine. MotoGP bikes have been experimenting with this for years now. The result is that the bike gets better traction (the theory being that the pause in between the pistons firing gives the tires more of a chance to connect with the pavement in a similar way to Ducati’s twin cylinder sportbikes). The downside to this engine setup is that it causes more wear and more vibration. People have been talking about this as a possibility for a while now, so I’m interested to see this for myself.
Also new for 2009 in sportbikes is ABS for Honda’s CBR 600RR and 1000RR. Yamaha takes the cake for the wow factor this year – no one I know is super keen on ABS just yet, although out of the two technologies Honda seems to have a better grasp on what riders really need for the street.
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