Kawasaki is Developing a New Two-Stroke Engine, But There’s a Catch

Two-stroke engines have never completely died — just take a look at motocross — but in terms of road bikes the smoke shows have long been unpreferred to the much more common four-stroke.

However, that could be set to change, at least to some extent, as Kawasaki is now developing an all-new two-stroke motor.

That is according to patent documents filed by the Akashi manufacturer, and published by Motorrad, which indicate a new two-stroke engine is on the way with fuel injection and intake valves operated by a camshaft — and a turbo.

The idea is that introducing injection and therefore doing away with carburettors, and combining that with a turbocharger, will increase the efficiency of the engine while maintaining the advantages of a two-stroke over a four-stroke, namely weight and complexity, the latter in turn meaning smaller manufacturing costs.

Motorrad also suggests that the engine is designed to run with a significant surplus of air in the combustion chamber, and will therefore run quite lean, helping fuel efficiency.

So, what’s the catch with Kawasaki’s new engine? Well, from a motorcycling perspective, merely that it seems unlikely that the engine will be used in a motorcycle. Instead, Kawasaki seems most likely to use it in aircraft, if in a vehicle at all. The basic point of this particular two-stroke is to provide constant torque, making it unsuitable to the ever-changing torque demand placed on a motorcycle engine.

If you’re disappointed by Kawasaki’s reluctance to build a two-stroke bike engine (a reluctance that is shared by the majority of the world’s current motorcycle manufacturers, it must be said), then KTM might have an answer, as their two-stroke motocross bikes have used fuel injection since the turn of the decade. Alternatively, Langen’s two-stroke model is made for the road, but also extremely expensive (such is its exclusivity) and currently only available to be reserved. A trip to the classifieds it is, then…

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