How about 1500cc of cross-plane crank goodness
I am generally not one to muse about what may or may not happen in regards to future motorcycle models, instead I try to keep MCNews.com.au the place for Aussie motorcyclists to secure the facts, rather than clickbait conjecture.
But…..recently I found myself mulling what I personally would like to see come forth from the loins of the motorcycle manufacturers in 2021.
First I detailed what I would like to see from KTM (Link), now it is Yamaha’s turn…
The cross-plane crank four-cylinder engine first introduced by Yamaha in 2009 with the YZF-R1 is one of the greatest gifts Yamaha have given to modern motorcycling.
998cc cross-plane crank Yanaha engine
This engine is arguably the most evocative in-line engine ever made and boasts even more character than plenty of mainstream V-Four, triple or twin-cylinder motorcycles.
And this is Japanese level character, which means it actually works. Rather than derive its personality through character flaws, that end up adding a certain level of eccentricity that charms, this engine makes beautiful noises and produces a resonance that invades your senses on many levels, but still runs smoothly everywhere in the rev range and pulls like a stream train.
In MT-10 guise, it is almost the perfect street-bike engine. Enjoyable while tootling around, yet howls with a visceral throb when stirred.
Relatively efficient, reliable and cheap to maintain but still capable of stirring the soul on an almost primal plane.
But I want more of it.
If a litre of cross-plane crank wonder excites the senses, then surely 1.5 litres of it would step the whole game up to next level…
Of course it would….
Imagine a 1500 cc cross-plane crank four-cylinder engine in a practical bike the likes of what we already have in the MT-10.
It doesn’t need the expense and complexity of forced induction, just give us cubes, lots of them. That deep growling resonance that makes the current engine so special can only get deeper, more effluvious and more piquant with a bigger crank throwing some heavier pistons.
Dress it in a nicer set of clothes than we see in the transformer styled MT-10, add some smartly integrated luggage mounts to further practicality and I reckon that has the makings of a real killer package.
That’s not too much to ask, is it…?
Then how about a 2000cc version in some sort of bagger!
Come on, you know it makes sense…
Source: MCNews.com.au