GP1 four-stroke

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GP1 four-stroke

GP1 four-stroke
Rotation principle

The designers of the racing departments are rotating: In the GP premier class, the change from two to four-stroke engines is pending. Honda is ahead by a nose a year before the first race.

Waldemar Schwarz, Lothar Kutschera

02/26/2001

After around a quarter of a century, the 500 cc two-stroke machines, which were spoiled for victory, will face serious competition again at the road Grand Prix: At the request of the manufacturers, large-volume four-stroke engines with a maximum displacement of 990 cm3 will also be allowed in the GP1 premier class from 2002. High-tech prototypes, which are divided into different weight classes depending on the number of cylinders, are allowed to start. With consistent application of the latest Formula 1 technology, they would be capable of gigantic performance and engine speeds: Up to 320 hp at 20,000 rpm could be teased out of a six-cylinder, for example (see also box on the right).
That’s the theory. The only question is,
whether such a motorcycle is manageable at all, when the tires are so
smoke a lot of power and torque and how many horses really
are necessary to the almost 200 hp
To outstrip two-stroke missiles in the future. A great regulars’ table topic.
But slowly some clarity is coming into the discussions about who will favor which engine concept. Honda has ?? as was to be expected from the world’s largest motorcycle manufacturer ?? the first factory to present its GP1 engine in Tokyo at the end of January. RC 211 V is the name of the litter, a five-cylinder V-engine that fully exhausts the limit of 990 cm3. In the mid-1960s, Honda first started the hunt for the most important title with a 500cc four-stroke and won the 1966 and 1967
Vice World Championship. Even in the early 80s, the company still kept the four-stroke-
Flag up, stood with the oval piston-
NR 500 against the two-stroke, however, at a completely lost position. Honda has also already used a five-cylinder four-stroke engine in the form of an in-line engine: In 1966, the Swiss Luigi Taveri won the 125cc World Championship with it.
For the four-stroke comeback in the third millennium, the choice fell on the Honda
Racing Corporation (HRC) also on five cylinders. When looking into the GP1-
Regulations make it clear why. A two- or three-cylinder motorcycle may be ten kilograms lighter, but was out of the question for Honda because of the lower power output. Just as little as a four-cylinder engine, because at 145 kilograms it is classified in the same weight class as the five-cylinder. A six-cylinder would have brought more top performance, but no better power-to-weight ratio: It has to be ten
Weighing more than five pounds.
The cylinders of the RC 211 V are
Arranged in a space-saving V. The front cylinder bank has three, the rear bank, in favor of a front-wheel-oriented weight distribution
thus only two cylinders. Because of the smaller cylinder units, the Honda unit is narrower than a row of three-
cylinders of the same displacement. The overall length also saves the underneath the partition-
transmission input shaft lying flat on the motor housing. The compact engine became shorter and narrower than the engine of the RC 45 superbike. In the front projection, the machine is even narrower than the NSR 500.
Honda refrained from experimenting with the engine layout. Due to the bitter experience with oval piston engines and the current weight handicap of such designs (see box on page 194), it was easy for the engineers to opt for round cylinders. A pneumatic valve train as in Formula 1 is not used, at least at this point in time.
The control via gear-driven camshafts and bucket tappets is easily enough to achieve around 230 hp at the speed of 16,000 rpm specified by HRC President Ikenoya.
Electronic intake manifold injection is just as much a part of modern racing technology as power transmission by means of a dry clutch and six-speed gearbox in a cassette design. According to the Japanese trade magazine “Young Machine”, the engine will be built into a frame that is a mixture of a Kawasaki ZX-12R (front) and a Honda VTR 1000 SP-1 (rear). The conventional layout of the RC 211 V-engine, so the Japanese colleagues suspect, will later also benefit the customer in the form of a sports motorcycle.
As a second Japanese plant, Yamaha will enter next year with a GP1 four-stroke. According to information from our correspondent, a V3 engine and an in-line four-cylinder have already been tested. Which concept is preferable
Yamaha intends to announce in February. From the European manufacturers, Aprilia will be at the start in the GP1 World Championship from the start. With which
Motor, but chief developer Jan Witteveen is still silent about that
persistently out.
Aprilia is associated with the Swiss Formula 1 team, Sauber Petronas, which has designed a GP1 engine and is now on the lookout for potential customers. In contrast to Honda, Sauber sees the best compromise in the in-line three-cylinder. But besides the argument of the
The tendency towards lower consumption (see GP1 regulations on page 194) and the favorable power delivery also seemed to play a role in very pragmatic considerations. The company, which started in Formula 1 with Ferrari engines from the previous year, launched a motorcycle racing engine on its own, off the shelf, so to speak. And current Formula 1 engines draw their power from ten cylinders, distributed over three liters of displacement; This results in a single cubic capacity of 300 cm3, which is three
Cylinders so 900 cm3. The regulations are set with ten percent more stroke-
compliant 990 cm3. The performance-
The development of the Sauber three-cylinder engine, which is expected to generate more than 200 hp, should be more homogeneous than that of the Formula 1 engine.
The crew around the Bavarian tuner Rupert Baindl and the Swiss Willi Ruffenacht also have an interesting GP1 concept in store. You want to use a two-cylinder with two counter-rotating crankshafts (see MOTORRAD 20/1999), in which two connecting rods are hinged to one piston. In addition, the system with a fully radial cylinder head, which has already been implemented in the SoS class, is to complete the planned parallel twin. The first functional models have already been presented to the public. Compared to the conventional three-cylinder, the concept has clear handling advantages with an identical weight of 135 kilograms, since the gyroscopic forces of the two crankshafts cancel each other out. However, it is questionable whether this will compensate for the performance deficit of the twin compared to the multi-cylinder? as well as the financing of the project.
M.

Interview with HRC President Yasuo Ikenoya (Part 1)

MOTORRAD correspondent Franck Peret spoke to HRC President Yasuo Ikenoya about the V5 project, which started in the summer of 2000.

Why did Honda build a V5 even though the regulations also favor a V3 engine because of its lower weight? We initially worked on a simpler solution, but that does not correspond to our philosophy of technical progress. That is why the decision was made for the V5. This concept has many advantages. In the superbike’s V2 engine, for example, the cylinder heads are positioned very high, the engine takes up a lot of space, and this makes the machine less manageable. With the V5, on the other hand, we have an extremely compact engine that can be placed very cheaply in the chassis. Believe me: The front panel of the V5 prototype we are currently testing is narrower than that of the NSR 500. The output of the V5 is estimated at around 230 hp. How do you intend to get a grip on this enormous force on the racetrack? I cannot confirm this number. But the engine has enough power for the new task in the GP1 World Championship. According to the regulations, the four-stroke engines will have to use the same tires as the 500 series next year. Bringing the power to the ground ?? that will be the real challenge for our technicians. To build a machine that is competitive and manageable over the entire race distance. The engine is not a technical revolution. To what extent did costs play a role in the design? We couldn’t develop based on technical criteria alone. Such a motorcycle must later also be affordable for private teams. If the concept is successful, will the machine be ready for satellite teams in 2003? for the same price as a current NSR 500. Were Formula 1 engineers involved in the development of the V5 for the GP1 class? No, this is the work of technicians from the Grand Prix, Superbike and development departments for the series.

Interview with HRC President Yasuo Ikenoya (Part 2) – Why did Honda build a V5 when that
Regulations also favors a V3 engine because of its lower weight?
We have to start with an easier one
Solution worked, but that does not correspond to our philosophy of technical progress. That is why the decision was made for the V5. This concept has many advantages. In the V2 engine of the superbike, for example, the cylinder heads are positioned very high, the engine takes up a lot of space, and underneath
the handiness of the machine suffers. With the V5
on the other hand, we have an extremely compact engine that can be placed very cheaply in the chassis. Believe me, the V5 prototype we are currently testing has a narrower front panel than the NSR 500.
The output of the V5 is estimated at around 230 hp. How do you intend to get a grip on this enormous force on the racetrack?
I cannot confirm this number. But the engine has enough power for the new task in the GP1 World Championship. According to the regulations, the four-stroke engines will have to use the same tires as the 500 series next year. Bringing the power to the ground ?? that will be the real challenge for our technicians. To build a machine that is competitive and manageable over the entire race distance.

The engine is not a technical revolution. To what extent did costs play a role in the design?
We couldn’t develop based on technical criteria alone. Such a motorcycle must later also be affordable for private teams. If the concept is successful, will the machine be ready for satellite teams in 2003? at the same price as a current NSR 500.
Formula 1 engineers at your company were involved in the development of the V5 for the GP1 class?
No, this is the work of technicians from the Grand Prix, Superbike and development departments for the series.

Game without limits

GP1 regulations: Info – GP1 regulations

From 2002, in addition to the 500 two-stroke models, four-stroke prototypes are also allowed in the GP1 class. Regardless of the number of cylinders, the displacement limit is 990 cm3. The following minimum weights apply to the various four-stroke engine concepts: up to 3 cylinders 135 kg up to 3 cylinders with oval pistons 145 kg 4 and 5 cylinders with oval pistons 145 kg 4 and more cylinders with oval pistons 155 kg 6 and more cylinders 155 kg For 2002 and 2003 the tank volume is limited to 24 liters, from In 2004 a maximum of 22 liters is allowed. The noise limit is 115dB (A) before and 120 dB (A) after the race.

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