Taking a Supermono Approach​

Single-cylinder engines have a reputation for being buzzy and full of vibration. Many of them are. One way to smooth out that vibration is to add a counterbalancer. That’s exactly what Ducati did with its supermono engine a while back. According to Cycle World, Suzuki recently patented a similar design.

The idea behind the counterbalancer is to smooth out the engine’s operation and to allow it to rev-higher and produce more power. The engine has one cylinder with a nearly vertical orientation. In a more horizontal position sits a foreshortened con-rod This is attached to the crank journal that the single piston is. There’s also a weight opposite the piston.

According to Cycle World, this is exactly the same idea as the supermono engine from Ducati. The thoughts and ideas for the design are the same, but the execution for Suzuki’s engine is different. As I’ve said of other patents, just because it was filed doesn’t mean it will be put into production.

Still, Suzuki looks to have really thought this through and I’d be interested to see it appear on a bike. A cool dual sport would make sense to me. Of course, with all of the smaller displacement street bikes out there these days, I wouldn’t be surprised if this was added to some retro-inspired machine for the road.

The post Suzuki’s Counterbalanced Single-Cylinder Engine Patent Looks a Lot Like a Ducati Design appeared first on Web Bike World.

Spoiler

Read More...