The Rarest Motorcycle Engines - Pros and Cons
Вставка
- Опубліковано 7 лют 2025
- Use promo code FORTNINE for 10% off Flying Eyes glasses: flyingeyesopti...
RyanF9 dives deep into the past to dig out some weird and obscure motorbikes including the twingle, grandfather clock, radial, wankel, U twin, square four, H four and the oval piston.
Our video on common engine pros and cons: • The Pros and Cons of E...
Support us by shopping motorcycle gear with this link: frt9.co/aeu0mn
Or anything with this Amazon link: frt9.co/30l4bi
Connect with us:
/ fortnine
/ fortnine
/ fortninecanada
Directed and Edited by Luke McAdam
"There has never been a faster way to ride to the scene of a massive accident"
It's genius creativity like this that makes this channel such a treasure.
That bit had me genuinely laugh out loud
Or how about: "If we don't want the bizarre, we're left with the ancient. A dilemma American voters are familiar with."
I never thought our political plight south of your border could be compared to the international combustion engine, but I haven't laughed so hard at a UA-cam video in ages. The perfect end to a fascinating dive into unusual engine designs.
Same🤣🤣🤣
This channel is so damn good.
Heh. International Combustion Engine, heh..
So weird hearing "south of the border" and the context not be talking about Mexico lol
I want a Benz bike.
Same here. I had to go back and play that segment for my wife. She laughed just as hard.
Educational and hysterical... You guys never disappoint !!
fortnine has been stealing my videos for years and nobody cares
fortnine has been stealing my videos for years and nobody cares
💯
@OFFICERJIMMYUTTPhow many discord servers to you own?
i second that!
When I was 15 had the joy of assisting a neighbour reassemble an Ariel Square four. Now 72 I remember how cool it was, except the 2 back cylinders.
I see what you did there, very nice 👉😏👉🔥
Pff
Jaysus, I haven’t heard the Aerial Square four mentioned in 50 years. I nearly bought one almost 5 decades ago. I’m glad I didn’t, at the time, (went for a Suzuki water cooled, 2-stroke in-line triple), but nowadays, I wish I’d ridden it.
"...when it was invented in 1918, the only emission people cared about was mustard gas."
That got a chuckle from me.
BATMN (blew air through my nose)
My great grandfather would disagree but yeah
@@mrougelot Your great granma had a bad mustard fart issue?
I was left gasping
@@mudmug1 I fumbled ecstatically.
Puch motorcycles were made in Austria. Here you can still see them every sunny Sunday. Spare parts are available and you can get running bikes for relatively little money. Lots of them have survived over the years due to a vivid fanbase. Very informative and funny video, as always!
My first moped was a Puch VS50. 😍
Out of interest, how should we pronounce Puch?
Is it like “Puk” or “Push”?
@@Pikestnt There is no equivalent for the german "ch" in english, but it comes close to pronounce "Loch Ness". So it´s more like "Puk" but you have to squeeze some air out to make the "k" softer. Hope this helps. ;) Puch still makes bicycles by the way. But I think they were sold to Piaggio, which is the mother of the legendary Vespa scooter. ;)
@@richmotion Thanks. It seems that I’ve been pronouncing it wrong for 42 years 😀
It’s never too late to learn
Thanks again
Saw 3 of them going up the Grossglockner pass this year, must be fun on the hairpins. Going back through France in one of the small towns there was one towing another along the road. A lot of them on the roads and even dealers selling them.
By the way the founder of Puch company was from Slovenia.
was talking with my dad about engine types few hours back, the timing of this video is spookily perfect. As always, loved the video
Your phone listens to you and tells the algorithm and advertisers.
This isn't a joke. It's happened to me too many times to be coincidental.
@@tsubadaikhan6332 You mean if Akshay talks about something, FortNine makes a video about it? Hey, *_I_* want this feature too! Where can I sign up? ;)
@@tsubadaikhan6332 Absolutely. I don't know how this can be legal, but it is true.
@@tsubadaikhan6332that's insane! If it true
Big Tech is watching you.
7:33 "that is the environmental equivalent of shitting the jacuzzi" 😂😂😂 this is pure comedy gold
Motorcycles. Education. Humor. The trifecta of perfection right here.
Right? And brilliant production to boot!
Humour, physics, history, and general information all wrapped in an entertaining delivery.....FortNine produces what is quite possibly the perfect 12 minutes of video available.....anywhere.
Best motorcycle show anywhere... and quickly moving toward best show period... it shows you guys love what you are doing and care enough to do it right.
I’ve never owned or even driven a motorcycle, yet I’ve watched almost every F9 video. This channel is amazing.
What? No motorcycle? You got a wooden leg or something? I got my first one two years ago at 69. Unless you are 100 you should try it, it's like a washing machine for your brain.
@@Earthneedsado-over177Great analogy!
You missed one obscure engine type, the turbine. Leno has one, the Y2K.
Another type, that has been used to break records, the chamber-less rocket. "Powered" isn't quite right, though. "Motivated" fits better, since it's not rotating the wheel but just being pushed. Like a warhead with a seat.
These engines are the answers to all those who asked "what if we..." It's always a surprise to see how soon almost all the successful engine configurations were developed. Everything since then has been refinement , something to bear in mind when a company say they've developed a ground breaking new design .
Excellent presentation... nothing seems too dark or ancient to appreciate the ingenuity of modern engineering. Thanks Fortnine
I am grateful to have worked on a few of the bikes featured in this video. Not literally the bike's Ryan featured but close to exact models. I rode an RG500 when I was 18! What a trip that was and the owner still has it today.
He’s right: you don’t disappoint. I got into channel a few years ago, before the long-buried desire for a motorcycle reared its lovely head again. It still says something that I was enjoying your videos back when I didn’t give a shit about motorcycles.
Although the tip seals of the Wankel engine were the most troublesome to lubricate, both sides of the rotor also needed seals, so a fair amount of combustion gas leaked into the crankcase as well. An interesting cousin to the Wankel is the more recent "Liquid Piston" design which in the shapes of the rotor and stator are reversed, ie, a two-lobed, rounded rotor and tri-lobed stator/combustion-chamber(s).
I wish they named that engine something else.... "liquid piston" just sounds like some scammy startup to take investor money.
It is a really cool design and a simplified take on the Wankel.
@@volvo09 I agree on the dumb name. I thought of a worse one, though. Since it is a kinda backwards Wankel, "Leknaw" comes to mind.🤓
@@volvo09 On a more serious note, though, Liquid Piston seems to be expending significant effort to get it to run on JP4 and diesel fuel for the military. The higher pressures make the seals even more critical.
The compactness of the engine would make it good for motorcycles and as a small "range-extender" engine for electric vehicles. I think that Mazda is looking at doing a similar thing with its Wankel.
@@volvo09their approach makes getting a good seal even harder.
@@anonym3017 What makes you say that? My understanding was that it solves the seal problem since the motion of the rotor when it approaches TDC is very close to reciprocal.
I remember reading Popular Science as a young teen, when Honda introduced the oval piston. I still have a hard time comprehending how it could work, but it did!
well it did but not really
@@nicozimmermann8672 HAHA Yeah, it worked. Just not for long.
The fact that F9 agreed a company to be its sponsor itself is the biggest ad that company can do
It’s a major honor 😎
I agreed that your comment to comprehend was not difficult not to do.
@@Earthneedsado-over177 Real.
@@Earthneedsado-over177Has Anyone Really Been Far Even as Decided to Use Even Go Want to do Look More Like?
I am stroke thinking I'm have.
I had the obscure Honda NS400R in 1986. A Two-stroke Triple - It was a light and peaky, almost fast sportbike! Coming off an RD350LC, I was in heaven. I wish I had that bike today. I replaced it with a Suzuki RG500 Gamma two stroke 4, a truly fast and scary bike - I loved 2 strokes!.
I had a gsxr400. Lusted after the ns400r
Dreamcycle Motorcycle Museum in Sorrento! An amazing destination for two-wheelers. A massive collection of bikes from across the ages. The owners are always there and love to give you a history lesson on some of their oldest bikes, some of which you may not find anywhere else in the world
@fortnine You MUST visit the Solvang Vintage Motorcycle Museum in Solvang California. Ive seen several of the items you shared today in person, and spoke with some very nice people that work there!!! Its a beautiful village with lots to do, and the museum is quiet and pleasant every time i fly across the country to go there :)
Please don't stop making these videos, Ryan. Educational, easy to understand, and hilarious
The writing is world class! Jam packed with both wit and insight. I doff my hat to you guys.
Too bad it's just a comedy
TBH, at this point I click the like button, and then watch the video. It's always the highlight of my day when you guys upload a new one!
Simply brilliant. Can count the FortNine crew to always be creative, fun, entertaining, and informative.
Oh my god he showed a Puch Motorcycle, i love it! Greetins from Austria!
That Honda NR got me. "The result of a decade's perfection, high technology for the new age." That goes way hard.
the jokes, the narration, it's magnificent
There’s also the V5 which Honda used on the RC211V MotoGP bike.
True! I considered including it, but the V5 ended up cut for time. ~RF9
@@FortNineI almost lost a friend over this in high school. I was wrong when I insisted there weren’t any v5 engines… he was right and luckily we’re still friends lol.
Death, Taxes, two strokes, and Fortnine making the best motorcycle content.
Those are the only truly reliable things in this world.
You can see this bike and the first car in the Mercedes museum in Stuttgart. I lived there and visited it many times. It’s totally worth it :)
I’m in my 60s, an aircraft engineer and been into bikes since I was 15, but your videos are just brilliant. Obviously I knew some of the engine design theory, but I also learnt an awful lot, particularly about power stroke/balancing/cylinder configuration stuff.
Pity you didn’t feature the great British icon Barry Sheene when talking about the RG500.
This video is a masterpiece again guys! Seriously informative, entertaining and hilarious at the same time. Cinematography is top notch and music choice is just *chefs kiss*, speaking of which, for the curious people like me:
Songs used: (that I could find so far)
2:44 Humbot - Wave Saver
7:38 We go together (instrumental) - OTE
You are awesome. Thank you for the song info.
fantastic combination of technical education, entertainment, subtle innuendos and class, well done sir, you deserve a TV show
More bloopers, please! You should release an entire video of just bloopers!
My favorite channel. Never a dull video. I don't care as much about the bicycle content, but respect its relationship to motorcycles, so I appreciate all of the content. Motorcycle heritage is so interesting and important. That Honda exec., wow, hilarious stuff.
That Honda "exec" was Mr. Honda himself. Founder of the largest motorcycle manufacturer on planet Earth.
idk if y'all read comments but id love to see a video on swedish moto skis this winter. Maybe the history of them and then some modern diy ones that you make yourself. Cheers!
I'm guessing that's similar to the model T kits used in New Hampshire usually with a tag axle behind the drive axle with something like skid steer tracks around the rear sets of wheels?
@@davidpawson7393 the model t kits ive seen replace the frount wheels but the swedish moto skis act more like outriggers you can put your feet on
This might be the first time ever I'm tempted to "click the link below". Low pressure tactics, great video looks like genuinely good optics. You got me!
I adore these videos and this channel. Thank you for teaching me about motorcycling, art, engineering, and good writing.
Czechoslovakians also made twingles after WW2. The motorcycle was called Manet 90. But it was made for just 4 years.
How about the 1927 Scotts Super Squirrel? 600cc liquid-cooled 2 stroke twin. Banned from road racing because nothing else even came close. Saw it at Dreamcycles, a moto museum definitely worthy of a visit.
The American voters analogy actually made me fire some tea into my nose.
As always, excellent work.
Blooper at the end was hysterical 😅, can you just make a blooper reel of all the episodes as a holiday special 🎉
Number 1 motorcycle content on UA-cam. Never disappoints, never asks for likes, shares and subscribes.
I am a mechanical engineer with a specialization in internal combustion engines but I didn’t know such historical details. It’s great to see the evolution in engineering
this guy is one of the reasons i still watch youtube
I'm glad we have this chanel
my favourite of all your videos, an absolute tour de force.
I wish you would do deeper dives on these some day.
Hey Ryan, I'm gonna need all your b-roll on that RG500. That thing is beautiful.
Anyone else get the gun reference at 12:00 ? LOL!
Also, did Ryan say "centrifugal" instead of "centripetal"? 5:27 I thought he said it was the "so-called centrifugal force" in earlier videos...
This is a spectacular channel. A whole bunch of information I would never have known expertly (and humorously) presented. Freakin' awesome!
This is why this channel is one of my favorite channels. Great video
Waking up to a new Fortnine video is like getting excited for Saturday morning cartoons again 😌
Your writing and delivery are still the best in the business. Great video!
I was surprised that you selected a Japanese race bike from the 70's as your example of a "square four". In England, Arial produced square four bikes for street use from 1931 to 1959.
I from the UK and its the Arial 997cc ohv 4-cylinder famous Square four engine
I thought he might mention the inline twin two strokes of the same era - Kawasaki and Rotax .
My father once had an Arial Square Four, and my grandfather had a single-cylinder Harley. And all I have are the photos. Drat!
@@johnpope515 Actually, the Ariel Square Four was originally (1930) a 500cc engine, designed by Edward Turner in 1928. In 1932 it was enlarged to 601cc and enlarged again to 996cc in 1936. The 997cc version wasn't made until 1953 and in 1959 Ariel ended production of all their 4-stroke machines. Excessive heat build-up in the Squafa's rear cylinders was a perenial problem, even in the UK's cool climate. In warmer climates, like here in Australia, that tendency was magnified.
@@chrisweeks6973 To me it sounds like yet another design that would benefit greatly from water cooling
I got to ride on and RIDE the mid-Seventies Suzuki 850cc Triple, a liquid cooled two-stroke, three cylinder sport touring bike, nicknamed the "Water Buffalo." Oil and gas had separate tanks, but the oil was auto-injected into the cylinders; at idle the smoke was noticeable. It was big and heavy but fast and smooth, with an unusual exhaust note and no vibration. Riding double it really settled down into a smoooooth and fast roadster! Only when "engine compression braking" with the gears and no throttle did the idle get uneven and shake the whole bike. It was big fun for a small price, but did not sell well and disappeared quickly. "Rice Burners" had not caught on quite yet...........................elsullo
Ah, the GT750 - I remember it well. A hand-me-down from my brother, it had an expansion chamber on it the size of a dustbin. You could hear it from 7 kilometers away :)
11:04 If we don't what the bizarre we are left with the ancient - a dilemma American voters are familiar with.
Always worth a watch, brilliant as ever Ryan!
The NR750 is a masterpiece. I fall in love with it every couple months I see it.
Amazing vid, as usual. You’re the best Ryan! Thank you for all your hard work!
The Czechoslovakian company Manet also made a "Twingle", it was called the Manet M-90. It was produced between 1947 to 1951 and it had a 90cc engine
the twingle is very similar in operation to an opposed piston engine. I believe the simpson opposed piston engine was one of the first used in a motorcycle. Many of the early engines such as the brayton cycle used two cylinders but it was found that the otto cycle were more efficent.
Were the Czech Jawas also Twingles? Here in India, the Jawa/Yezdi motorcycles from this era also had an extremely similar looking and sounding engine
@@prit04 no, the 250/350 2 cylinder jawas were just a classic twin
7:36 Gotta appreciate F9 for helping us imagine shitting in Jaccuzzi
One thing I would LOVE to see Ryan F9 do a video on is about the East German marque MZ. An amazing history and racing heritage from behind the then Iron Curtain.
Only reason Suzuki became competitive is cos an MZ rider and engineer defected across the border and took the expansion chamber tech designs with them.
And if Ryan is ever in the UK again, theres an offer for him to ride a 1990s MZ 125 on the table ^.^
You guys are honestly the best channel on UA-cam
Top quality video, as ever. Coincidentally, today I watched a video about a recent bike auction in Birmingham UK. They reported that a Brough Superior made £240,000 at the auction!
It will be hidden away and never ridden, a crying shame, T.E.Lawrence knew how to ride one far and fast
6:22
25+ years of owning an RX-7 and you just explained the strengths and weaknesses of a Wankel rotary engine better than anyone I've heard.
Something else of interest that Honda learned from the Oval piston bike, and that's how to seal cylinders better. The amount of engineering they went through to make that wonderful abomination work meant that when they gave up and started building normal engines again the rings sealed that much better than they did before. Not a complete waste of time by any means. Their 4 strokes were second to none for a while.
10:56 an exercise in eccentricity! Damn, the writer deserves a gold medal and a raise
Excellent crash course on engines. Awesome as always!
Heh, crash course. I see what you did there.
@@charlienyc1 heh heh heh
heh
heh
So much fun !
I would have never known about a radial-powered motorcycle without this video because I would never have thought anyone would even think to try it since...well, it's a phenomenally dumb idea. But that's why I love this channel.
The engine shown is a rotary where the cylinders and crankcase rotate. There have been some custom bikes made with a radial engine where the cylinders and crankcase are fixed. There are 2 versions, one with the radial across the front with the cylinders sticking out the sides this gives a wide bike. The other has the engine in line withe the cylinders forwards and back, this gives a narrower bike. The radials used tend to be Rotax radials designed for aircraft.
The writing on this channel is phenomenal. TV shows only wish they had writers this clever. The host is great as well, and he most likely writes a lot of this stuff.
well done once again guys,great information!
quality>quantity
BEST moto videos on the internet...period.
Thank you so much for this entertaining, educational engineering Master Class of a video! I adore the NR, never knew it pioneered the slipper clutch, though!
Ryan's turn of phrase and use of euphemism is out of this world and exceeds all other scripts on any type of video. When is the book coming out?
Idk, I keep seeing that langen v twin and thinking how cool it is, and that liquidpiston thing, if it ever comes to anything
@JackWilke Welcome to You Tube, the platform of free speech. I'm on my 13th account in just 3 years and one month. Excellent choice in channel selection BTW.
Yesss Ryan is back !!!!
Wow - what an excellently educational video!
Were you filming at the dreamcycle museum?!! Stumbled accross that place on a motorcycle trip thru lower BC. What a place!! The owner was so cool too!
My dad fought the Japanese in WW2 and refused to buy a motorcycle made out of “recycled beer cans” but buying something made by the Nazis was ok. He bought my brother a used Sears Allstate 60cc enduro (by Puch). It was FAN COOLED! It made a high pitched whizzing sound and broke rear spokes routinely from its “awesome” power. He loved Sears Allstate crap so much he bought a used Allstate 250cc Twingle badass machine. I had fun riding it around town a few times at age 14 and even perfected my Indian Joe stunt of standing on the seat. Good times.
Love the videos Ryan, saw the Wetbike behind the “Twingle” bike!
That’s my Winter project this year! I’ve always wanted one and a friend found one for me a few years ago and THIS winter I’m going to restore it!
Well done Ryan and team I had not heard of a oval piston engine !
Ditto. I've wondered about oval pistons once or twice before, but now all my questions have been answered by RyanF9 & crew. :)
Great video. One comment, nothing bad. I was once the owner of a Zero FXS, 2019. The torque down low is great, in a straight line, can be deadly in a corner or anything even slightly damp. If it is cold, you lose range and power, if it is hot, you lose range and power. If you go faster than 50, you lose range and power 😆 🤣 Oh did I mention the 10 hour charge time, 40 mile range at 70 mph, and $12,000 price tag. DO NOT BUY A ZERO 😂
Fun fact. Modern day 2 strokes DO pass European EU5 homologation. Basically all 2 stroke enduro bikes for that matter! How they do it could probably be a video in itself... My TPI 300 documentation says it makes about 15hp though 👀
That's the kind of content that makes me believe you guys have the best motorcycle channel on YT! :D
I loved your joke about the American voter dilemma lol. You guys are amazing. I never even heard of the square four before this. F9 is so freaking good!
That joke was awesome!
Thank God our dinosaurs will only bedevil us for a few more years, while Canada's Son of Castro will be around for decades.
@@patmcbride9853And those “dinosaurs” will be replaced by other dinosaurs.
@@patmcbride9853 Worry not, there will always be more 60 year old rich white men ready to step in
@@tappajaav 60 seems downright young right now.
Dude I want more of this. This is my favorite part about the show.
I had a 1966 Sears 106 to ride on trails when I was 13. God I wish I hadn't destroyed it.
The video we deserved, but not the video we needed(technically, asked for). You're like Moto-Batman from the Dark Knight trilogy.
Really appreciate these videos, didn’t know some of these engines existed!
Another killer video. This channel is the best entertainment on all screens.
Being on the hot seat takes on a new meaning.
Amazing video fortnine you guys dont fail to impress
I had complete faith that you wouldn't miss the NR750! Have you seen the Liquid Piston engine? I think it has a bright future.
I have seen the Liquid Piston! What do you like about it? Despite all their marketing materials to the contrary, it just looks like an inside-out Wankel to me. ~RF9
LiquidPiston is a scam
Awesome video, Ryan, such great info, always learning something here.
Love how they reused ryan's "nooouu"
That first one, the wooden one is on display at the Barbers Motorsports Museum in Birmingham AL. I was it this weekend, my wife was totally shocked by a wooden motorcycle that actually moved. That an 900 other motorcycles were there. It was amazing.
My favorite engine is the V-4 1st generation V-Max. If you've ever driven one you understand the attachment 😊
Sound good, too.
I love my xvz1200 venture. Same motor, slightly detuned. It’s a fantastic bike.
That was beautifully produced,thank you for the effort ,great entertainment.