Motorcycle cylinder: how to choose the architecture of your motorcycle?

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Not all types of motorcycles offer the same engine architecture. There are mainly engines varying from one to four cylinders. The five and six cylinders are rarer, the Japanese manufacturer Honda offered in 2002, competition two-wheelers with 4-stroke engine, V5 of 990 cm3 for example..

You are an A2 license holder looking for a motorbike or you want to change motorbike, but still not sure about the displacement. Here are some tips to guide you. But to understand in a nutshell the different configurations, remember that the more the number of cylinders is increasing the more the weight, the size, and the moving parts increase.

Motorcycle cylinder: how to choose the architecture of your motorcycle?

The single cylinder

Single cylinder engines are a minimum configuration. They equip light mopeds and small scooters, trial, motocross and enduro motorcycles, from 50 to 701 cm3. We find for example the Aprilia Pegaso, Yamaha XT 500, Suzuki DR, Honda Dominator, or supermotards like Husaberg, Husqvarna, CCM, Beta, etc..

They are characterized above all by a good response from low revs and low fuel consumption..

However, it offers little flexibility of use and tends to "knock" quickly at low revs, and vibrates a lot at high revs..

A single cylinder will be nice in town and peri-urban area, or on small country roads. It could be fun on the track for motorcycles mounted on supermoto. On the other hand, it should be avoided on long journeys, as the engine is not designed to stay at high speeds for long.

It will tend to heat up and could be damaged. In short, the single cylinder is appreciated for its ease of driving and mechanical accessibility, but is limited in power, therefore in top speed. Avoid on the highway.

The twin cylinder

We generally recommend twin cylinders to start riding a motorcycle. They offer good driving sensations with a nervous and torquey character. Very widespread, the twin-cylinder equips sports motorcycles, cruisers, trails, roadsters or road. But the configuration is very varied.

Modern Ducatis, for example, have an L-twin. V-cylinders are typical of Aprilia, certain Suzuki and Honda like the NTV 700 Deauville or XL700V Transalp, Yamaha, or Harley Davidson.

Yet another configuration, the Boxer-powered Bmw offers a flat twin engine while the Suzuki SV 650 features a 90 ° v-engine. Note that vertical twin cylinders are generally more compact and smoother. A characterful engine, the twin-cylinder offers lively starts and a good torque / power ratio, but lacks flexibility..

The three cylinder

It’s the ideal compromise between the nervousness of the twin cylinder and the extension of the four cylinder. The three-cylinder offers torque, power and length. A few years ago, the three-cylinder engine tended to be reserved for exclusive motorcycles like the Benelli.

Since the appearance in the early 2000s of the mid-size three-cylinder engine (675 cc), fitted to the Street Triple and Daytona, the English manufacturer Triumph has re-democratized the three-cylinder. Previously, these motorcycles were, in fact, difficult to insure for a beginner. This typical architecture is now also found on the MV Augusta, the Yamaha MT-09 to name only the most famous.

The four-cylinder in-line

4-cylinder engines offer great robustness. With a supple and smooth motor character, even hollow, in low revs and nervous in high revs, they have a great length and few vibrations.

On the other hand, in average displacement (500 to 650 cm3), they present a fairly low torque, easy to handle, but lacking in character.. On a motorbike restrained, driving will even be boring. The "four-legged" engine will be more interesting on a displacement greater than 750 cm3.

But beware, it will be heavy on the one hand, but it can also get powerful, even tricky at high revs. It is therefore not recommended for beginners.

A true chameleon, this type of engine comes in different shapes to fit into many types of chassis. It is the most rational and economical architecture to use. That is why it equips the majority of motorcycles on the market, and especially the Japanese, like the Honda CBF 1000, Suzuki Bandit 650 and 1250, Yamaha FZ6, Kawasaki Z800, and many more !

There are also a few motorcycles, such as the Honda VFR, with a cross-crankshaft V-4 engine. The advantage of the V4 is to reduce the width of the engine, therefore the frontal area of ​​the motorcycle, but it is still more expensive to manufacture than the "4 in line".

The six cylinder

Bulky and heavy, the 6-cylinder is reserved for large motorcycles, strongly discouraged for young drivers. The 6-cylinder is recognizable by its power, flexibility, versatility, total absence of vibrations which allow you to stay in the same gear from low to high speed, with a straightforward recovery and without vibration.

These engines are only found on large roads, usually at high rates. The only two motorcycles currently equipped with this type of engine are the BMW K1600 GT and GTL (with an in-line 6-cylinder block), as well as the Honda GL 1800 Goldwing (with a flat 6-cylinder).

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