Wankel bike

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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

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. It seems amazing now that a British motorcycle manufacturer, clinging on by its finger nails, should think that using the Wankel rotary engine was a good idea is one of those mysteries of life: quite how this - by now tiny - factory could hope to make a success of the rotary when they knew Hercules had failed is a both a mystery and a shame: without this, perhaps the Norton name would have survived. After messing around with the engine for most of the s, the Interpol ll appeared in and was only for sale to police forces and breakdown services, such as the RAC. Eleven whole years after Suzuki had abandoned the RE5, Norton finally came up with a rotary-engined model for sale to the public, albeit a very small proportion of the public as only were to be built. Two years farther on from the Classic and Norton is still trying with the rotary engine and would continue for a few years still! The big change for the Commander was the adoption of water-cooling for the engine and, of course, that all-enclosing bodywork, complete with built-in panniers - no-one can accuse Norton of being boring in their thinking. 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. It was well-made and well-equipped, with an aluminum Spondon frame and high-end WP suspension and many of the bugs had been ironed out of the engine.

It was an important motorcycle in Wankel-engine history. What goes wankel bike must come down, and the same happened with the Norton rotary run, with the Commander being a Wankel-engined motorcycle with a somewhat lukewarm reception. Top 10 forced induction production bikes.

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. In fact, the first production Wankel-powered cars and motorcycles only came around in the '70s.

And now for something completely different, I am pleased to offer this rare Hercules W Wankel rotary powered motorcycle. Who even knew that this bike existed? Certainly not me until recently. Rare and unusual is what I love. According to the owner:. This is a later oil-injected example. No need to mix the gas and oil in the tank!

Wankel bike

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.

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Made by Dr. Given the warm reception, by , Norton launched what is now called the pinnacle of rotary motorcycles, the John Player Special-branded F1. Gtregs75 via Wikimedia Commons. Shown in , it was purported to be a cc machine making 85hp, but it disappeared without trace. The twist grip operated no less than five cables and the exhaust pipes were double-skinned to combat the heat problem inherent in the rotary design. Some examples of the Interpol motorcycle hit the market; you can still come across these in private hands. By , Kawasaki paused the project, and it remained frozen ever since, with just a few prototypes and trial runs made. The Suzuki RE5, however, despite having a single-rotor rotary engine, was complex and heavy. If the motorcycle looks familiar, it's because this prototype used the same frame as the Yamaha TX, a dirt-cheap classic bike in the market today. After Commander models, Norton finally called an end to the rotary-engine run but gave the world four fantastic Wankel-engined motorcycles.

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.

Giugiaro of Italy styled the bike, which included a round, tin can shaped instrument cluster with a sliding cover. Configuration Liquid-cooled twin-rotor Wankel engine Displacement cc 36 cu-in Horsepower 90 hp Torque 57 lb-ft. The Suzuki RE5, however, despite having a single-rotor rotary engine, was complex and heavy. 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. Despite these advantages, Wankel-engined motorcycles have drawbacks such as engine seal and emission issues, as well as limited lifespan. Some examples of the Interpol motorcycle hit the market; you can still come across these in private hands. Chuck Schultz via Wikimedia Commons. Many of us know and are fans of rotary-engined cars like the Mazda RX-7 , but there are even cooler Wankel-engined motorcycles. 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 managed to make more than 86 horsepower before Kawasaki halted the project due to one main reason. If the F1 was rare, then the F1 Sport was super rare. Gtregs75 via Wikimedia Commons. The twin-rotor, cc engine actually 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. After messing around with the engine for most of the s, the Interpol ll appeared in and was only for sale to police forces and breakdown services, such as the RAC. 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.