RONAX 500

[Rosco61]

Oh boy.

[Manny]

136,000?? For real??

[stoinkythepig]

I love two strokes and think that would be a riot to ride, but not for that much money...

Why two crankshafts? Seems to go against the purpose of a V-engine layout and add a lot of weight and complexity.

Why do they need to push it the first and last few feet?

[Kurlon]

Two stroke V4s are traditionally twin crankshaft designs. The crank is part of the intake path, it'd be near impossible to make a traditional 90 degree V single crank two stroke that breathed well as you'd never get good compression under the pistons.

[stoinkythepig]

Two stroke V4s are traditionally twin crankshaft designs. The crank is part of the intake path, it'd be near impossible to make a traditional 90 degree V single crank two stroke that breathed well as you'd never get good compression under the pistons.

Ah, that makes sense, totally forgot about the pressurized crankcase... Feeling dumb.

[nt650hawk]

Feeling dumb.

Josh is good at making most feel like that.

[jim v]

I love two strokes and think that would be a riot to ride, but not for that much money...
Why two crankshafts? Seems to go against the purpose of a V-engine layout and add a lot of weight and complexity.
Why do they need to push it the first and last few feet?

Back when two stroke 500's were the top racing class, Honda's had a single crankshaft and always made the most power but didn't always handle well. Yamaha's had twin counter-rotating crankshafts and handled great but didn't make the most power. People theorized that the counter-rotating shafts canceled out any gyroscopic effect resulting in better handling, while the single crankshaft gave more power.

As for the pushing it the first few feet - maybe they're priming a fuel pump? Just guessing

[Kurlon]

Honda's 500: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_N...ction_Hall.jpg

Yamaha's: http://phildystunt.free.fr/wp-conten...2_engine.2.jpg

Look at what Honda had to do to get proper cylinder filling, #1 and #4 are spaced apart, compared to the more compact Yam. They had to do this as a normal V4 layout on a single crank would result in two cylinders overlapping the same crank area and unable to get proper pressurization. I didn't realize Honda went down that road, but it makes sense given they've been playing with odd cyln count Vs since. (V3 and V5s anyone?) They could have just as easily gone with a traditional inline layout and had a similar width motor using a single casting cylinder, ala the old Yam 750. Interesting design.

[scottieducati]

For anyone questioning the price, I'd love to see you design your own engine, mill your own cases, do your own FI system and map it, and all the other stuff that goes into a one-off. IF this things is reliable and has any sort of warranty, it's a bargain.

[JettaJayGLS]

For anyone questioning the price, I'd love to see you design your own engine, mill your own cases, do your own FI system and map it, and all the other stuff that goes into a one-off. IF this things is reliable and has any sort of warranty, it's a bargain.

I agree...my only problem with this bike is for track use. Unless you can find insurance that covers you, a small tip over may cost you a quick 20k....who knows, a set of replacement pipes for this thing could cost that much alone.

Then again, if you have 100k+ to spend on a toy in the first place you can probably swing any sort of repair costs.