Associate Editor Kelly Callan and I were out testing a Honda CRF250RX and a Beta 250 RR out in the High Desert of Southern California, and that means switching back and forth between bikes, even if we’re not doing a comparison test. The more time spent on different motorcycles, the better.
In the case of the Honda and the Beta we were riding, the motors are completely different. The Honda is a DOHC fuel-injected four-stroke, while the Beta is a power-valved carbureted two-stroke. Despite having two radically dissimilar methods of internal combustion, they both work great when applied to dirt bikes.
The feel of each motor’s power output is quite distinctive, so I can imagine that some riders prefer one architecture over another. In my case, I love them both, even as I switch back and forth during the day.
When I ride with Kelly, our conversations over the Cardo Packtalk Slim helmet-to-helmet intercoms are often about motor preferences, along with comparing the two bike’s ergonomics, suspension, and handling. Invariably, it’s hard to pick a favorite. Each bike has its unique personality, with things to like and dislike about it—just like people.
When I get onto pavement, where four-strokes hold sway in the internal combustion world due to tailpipe-sniffing bureaucrats, the many choices of engine configurations make themselves known. You have thumpers at one end; at the other are six-cylinder machines. In between, we get quite a few choices—especially for twins.
Twins can be Vs (longitudinal and transverse), parallel, and horizontally opposed. Again, each has a personality setting it apart from its brothers. Triples are all inline, though the Triumph Rocket 3 mixes it up with a longitudinal mounting. Sadly, a W-3 probably isn’t in the cards.
Fours bring us back to Vs and the classic transverse inline-4s. Four-cylinder designs that have fallen by the wayside include longitudinal (Indian and BMW in the 1900s), horizontally opposed (early Honda Gold Wings), and transverse (Honda STs and CTX). Sixes come inline (BMW Ks) and horizontally opposed (Honda Gold Wings). Singles have the least variety, though the Honda MiniMoto bikes have a laid-down single design rather than vertical.
Through all that, I can’t even pretend to tell you which configuration I like best—or least. Each engine design brings something to the riding experience that I don’t want to give up. The visceral feel of a single or a V-twin is nothing like a howling inline-4 or as smooth as a 6, and that’s exactly how it should be.
Perhaps this is why many motorcyclists are apprehensive about a future with only electric motors. While you can theoretically “tune” an e-motor in a virtually infinite number of ways with parameters much wider than internal combustion engines, it will always physically feel like an electric motor with no identifiable power pulses.
So, while I like riding electric motorcycles and owning an electric car, let’s not give up on a relatively ancient technology that, thanks to the use of fire, taps into our very souls.
Gentlemen, start your engines.
