Triumph T-Plane Engine Explained and Compared with Yamaha's CP3 Crossplane Inline 3 engine
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 31 พ.ค. 2024
- Secondary balance: • Deep Dive: Inline 4 vs...
The inline three is the new inline four. In the last few years we have seen this humble engine configuration become ever more widespread. A 1.0 liter inline three together with a turbocharger has replaced 1.6 or even 2.0 liter inline fours on many cars. An inline three has less cylinders therefore less friction and more efficiency. It’s also of course cheaper to manufacture and easier to package due to the reduced overall length. But when it comes to motorcycles an inline three of course isn’t considered downsizing, seeing that motorcycles on average have less cylinders than cars. Instead inline threes are a mix of luxury and oddity in the motorcycle word, and while there have been some very impressive and iconic motorcycles over the years, the configuration remains uncommon.
Now, one of the companies that has definitely done their part when it comes to contributing to increasing the percentage of inline threes is Triumph and in today’s video we will see how their T-plane inline 3 engine (Triumph Tiger 900 and Tiger 1200) abandons decades of established design logic to try and create an engine with a split personality, and we will also see how the T-plane compares to other inline three engines including Yamaha's “crossplane” inline three (aka CP3) engine (MT-09, Tracer, XSR900)
If we take a circle which is 360 degrees and divide it by three we will of course get 120. And this the crankshaft configuration that pretty much all inline three cylinder engines employ. We have the crank pins 120 degrees apart from each other which means that we have a piston reaching top dead center every 120 degrees of engine rotation. The result is of course an even firing interval. Now in a four stroke engine we need 720 degrees to complete a full combustion cycle. 180 for intake, 180 for compression, 180 for combustion and 180 for exhaust. To get the firing interval we simply divide 720 by the number of cylinders. The result is 240 and this tells us that the inline three engine fires every 240 degrees of engine rotation.
When we sum everything up the traditional inline three is a humble engine but it’s a good deal. It’s overall less smooth than an inline four thanks to a gap between power pulses and worse primary balance but it makes up for it by being more cost effective, more compact and more efficient.
But despite this Triumph rejected the traditional good deal offered by the inline three and chose to up-end the logic of this engine.
Instead of having of all the crank pins evenly spaced out and separated by 120 degrees they separated them by 90 degrees creating a configuration which looks like the letter T when viewed from the nose of the crankshaft - hence the name T-plane crankshaft.
Of course having the crank pins 90 degrees apart means that our even firing interval goes out the window. Instead of firing every 240 degrees of engine rotation the t-plane has an uneven firing interval where we fire cylinder 1 rotate 180 degrees and then fire cylinder 3 after which we rotate 270 degrees to fire cylinder 2 and then again 270 degrees to fire cylinder 1 again. So our firing interval is 180 270 270 and our firing order is 1 - 3 - 2.
So why would Triumph chose to take an engine that is barely smooth enough and make it less smooth by employing an uneven firing interval?
Well, there are two main reasons behind this. The first one is that an uneven firing interval creates a very distinguished sound character which sets the motorcycle apart from competitors.
A specific sound gives the engine a unique character and definitely helps sales. It definitely worked for Yamaha and their crossplane inline four which sounds completely different from any other mass produced inline four.
In fact the marketing worked so well for Yamaha that they tried to forcefully trickle down the word crossplane into their engine offerings with fewer cylinders, which is why their inline two and inline three cylinders are called CP2 and CP3….the cp being crossplane.
Now I completely understand the need for marketing, brand identity and so on but Yamaha’s CP3 engine is just a conventional inline 3 cylinder engine and it has the same crankshaft configuration as any other inline three. 120 degrees apart for the crank pins and an even firing interval.
Calling an inline four crossplane definitely makes sense because all the other inline fours are flatplane. All the crank pins lie in one single plane. But the inline three configuration is naturally crossplane, that’s at the core of the engine’s design. All the other inline 3 on the market are crossplane just like the CP3.
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00:00 Conventional i3 firing interval
03:15 i3 Primary balance
07:13 i3 Secondary balance
09:09 T-plane interval and sound
17:26 T-plane primary and secondary - ยานยนต์และพาหนะ
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I recommend a Polaris parallel twin found in sportsman vs cam am v twin found in outlander
If I had a teacher like this I would definitely go for engineering school.
yeah if it didn't cost so much and it got you a great job right away sure
Same here
I went to an engineering school and still didn't have a teacher like him.
You do, thats him and he teaches you over youtube.
@@zachstoltenburg5150 engineers are needed and in short supply. Right out of school you are almost guaranteed to get a job with a starting salary of 60k plus. 5 years in you should be making 100k. Engineering school cost only slightly more than any other bachelor's degree.
As a guy who's ridden for >50yrs and has only the most basic understanding of engineering, I absolutely love this channel, and am so glad I discovered it recently. Brilliantly clear and fascinating explanations, matched by equally brilliant graphics. Keep up the amazingly great work, and thank you!
Ridden for 40 pus yrs does not make me an engineer LOL I got basic understanding of bikes and the physics of some bike things but riding gives good riding experience, I know a few things but not an engineer by any definition. 4 yrs of engineering would be better than a ton of riding experience but 4 yrs of engineering does not replace riding experience as far as riding goes. I do a lot of things and did and until I took a beginners racing class at a track by racers I did things and did not even understand why or how it worked it just did, but knowledge is definitely good. understanding how things like counter steering works and trail braking, and manual speed shifting works is cool. Not to mention how to load and unload suspension for corners and how to load tires. I was told just do not surprise the tire before making a direction or braking change and it worked but until race school did not fully understand the physics of it. Still not a physicist but basic grasp of what bike is doing in transitions, best rule is this smooth is fast. jerky motions slow you.
Hey! Daytona 675 owner here, although it sounds like the tripple would be a not so smooth engine it actually is one of the smoothest bikes I’ve ridden, vibrates a lot less than a few of my mates bikes. Sounds nicer stock than any other bike and honestly the power delivery after 4k makes it feel like it’s got a vtech engine in it, highly recommend any bikers to have a go on a triumph because the engine is amazing and their bikes amazing handling, 10/10 hit the spot for what I wanted in a sports bike
I've ridden Daytona 955is for over ten years now and I agree entirely. Most of my riding is highways long distance and the triple is just so comfortable to ride with heaps of torque low down, but great power as it revs out.
The 675 Daytona is a dream. Amazing handling and sounding too
I concur.
your teaching ability deserves MONEY...
I'm an engineer, and you gave me some insight into the finer details of a 3 cylinder engineer, plus a Triumph fan & rider.. 👍
Just when you thought 3-cylinder engines were really straightforward :D I kinda envy early engine guys when they started experimenting with all these geometries!
And now I have a craving for some CP Chocolate Pudding :D
I often imagine the early days and all the experimenting! Must have been an incredibly fun time.
@@d4a Hi, waiting for you to cover. Inline 8 vs V10 vs V12 vs W16.
Also IF possible cover Viper V10 vs LFA V10.
Thank you 😉 your content is awesome and easy to understand.
Careful asking for cp mon, might get something highly illegal or the feds
@@yogawan3805 locomotive engines leave no limit. Let’s have videos on i12 and v24 engines with 10” bores
Interesting sound from the t- plane crankshafts it's intriguing.
Man, this is becoming the engine balance channel
Oh man! I consider myself as a very capable technician, but I feel that I'm running to follow you.
You speak really fast, and the figures in the background distract me, and I paused the video often in order to understand.
It's not a complaint, just describing a fact; your videos are amazing, and I don't want to lose even a single one.
Thanks, Greetings from Argentina.
Bah, don't feel bad, it happens to me too.
But it's worse if your attention span it's very short like mine and get easily distracted.
@@GIGABACHI I'm sorry, I got distracted... what were we talking about...?
Is my ADS.
You can slow down the playback speed. Try 80-90% and see how you go.
@@andoletube nah, never mind...
Excellently explained. I've got the T-plane engine on my Tiger 900 and it really does have a split personality. Above about 4500 rpm it acts like a four, under that it's more like a V-twin, and sounds great at any revs.
In the later 60's Honda wanted to build a big bike. They sent scouts to America to feel out the potential market. They got back to Japan and said, "Americans want a bike that sounds good". The Honda 750 four was born.
It's about the SOUND.. even my old '05 Daytona 955i airbox is designed so the rider can hear the throttle bodies induction noise . The airbox snorkels are turned backwards towards the rider.. Engine, exhaust sounds are a huge part of the experience .. Those who have ridden my Daytona even say wow, what a sound .. very clever marketing tool.. visceral experience ..not sure the T-plane has any performance advantage ...this was done waay back in 2014 with Smiths Racing IOMTT Daytona 675 .. changed the firing order. Gary Johnson won on the T-Plane 675 that year.. but that was that. Sure sounded great. Always a give & take .. I think it's the exhaust note which makes you 'feel' like it performs differently..
@@carlmayer691 Only tiger haves t-plane other models has crossplane cranks. So why this video maker is like talking that all newer Triumph's haves t-plane crank. I have too -05 Daytona but it's converted to speed triple.
I have a Tiger 900 and when I knew my motorcycle has such a strange engine configuration I thought this was stupid. Now I do not think it is stupid anymore. Thank you. Keep beeing probably the best channel on mechanical engineering ever.
I'm a new powersports mechanic, 7 months into it now. This channel teaches me so much about the concepts and functions of engines, etc. I can repair and rebuild all day, but learning and understanding the theory and concepts of operation helps so damned much. Thank you for doing what ya do man!
❄️🍻❄️
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I wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the knowledge you share. I'm a ship engineer and you helped me understand my profession even better than the best teacher I had till now. Best of wishes.
I am no way major in engineering and all other stuff but this guy makes it easier for a dummy like me to even understand a fraction of it. Now this is what you call born to be a teacher! PLEASE KEEP THE VIDEOS COMING!!!
intake through palatable pieces
Wow that Laverta Jota is stunning
The Petronas FP1 did use a 180 degree flat plane crank in some of their race bikes during their final season in WSBK. It was never homologated and yes it would have sounded different to the 120 degree but they were desperate for power during that last season and the other teams knew it would never be a title contender due to being a smaller capacity engine compared to the 1000cc 4 cylinder bikes being used after the change from 750cc 4 cylinder to 1000cc 4 cylinder. The petronas FP1 was never going to be a bike that got sold even though rumours that the full homologation numbers were not met, Petronas did actually build the number of bikes needed to homologate them for racing even though they never passed homologation for the road at the time. Riccardo engineering did run a number of them to try to homologate them but due to over heating of the rear facing cylinder heads and the issues the race bikes had with cylinders becoming oval due to massive heat behind the cylinders and colder air on the forward facing intake side Petronas decided it was too much of a risk for them to sell due to the liability claims they could face.. But they did use flat plane cranks in a number of bikes. How do I know?? I worked for the company that made them..
Copy and paste right off the www verbatim ...LOL Smiths tried that in 2014 IOMT Johnson's Daytona 675 ..he won...but that was a one-off engine which really had no performance advantage except for the sound LOL
@@carlmayer691 co[y and paste off WWW? The 180 degree flat plane crank has not been mentioned on the internet and was never spoken about even though other teams will have known from the sound. But the 180 degree crank was quite a bit lighter than the 120 degree cranks. I know because I worked at the company that made them. The 120 degree cranks would allow the bike to rev to about 13,000 rpm but in the end the lighter 180 degree crank engines were supposedly going to 15,000rpm and as they plugged a fresh engine in after every race the extra loads on the pistons and rods was a risk they were willing to take. So between race one and race two later that same day the engine would have been swapped. The FP1 had bigger issues than the crank, it was only 900cc not the 1000cc like the others and the reversed head was distorting the cylinders as the back of the engine was so hot with no air supply to remove the heat and the colder intake at the front would have a disparity from front to back that was enough to distort the engine during racing conditions. The flames when going into corners was them dumping extra fuel (and some oil getting past the rings) trying to cool the engine every chance they had.
You're right.
Recently comverted triumph 3 fan here. Have had everything else and then on a goof a bought an old speed triple. I loved the engine character and the chasis, though everything else was kind of mediocre and it had no tech at all. Moved up to a 1050 rs which has all the goodies and an even better version of the engine. Eventually I'll go to the new 1200. Triples 4 lyfe.
yamaha CP3 is a gem
My Daytona 675r might have some fuelling issues atm but the sound when she's right is just the most beautiful thing. Knowing a bit more about it from this makes it even more special. Nothing like a triumph triple
Thats a nice bike, I would have gotten one if the riding position wasn’t so agressive
Totally with you there! I've got a 2009 Street Triple and I love the engine note. When I see other triple's I know it before I even see it just by the sound.
When I started watching your contents, I was in school. Now I am an Automotive engineering student.
i loved the Chocolate Pudding explanation -- this is the mastery of math-logic
Loved my Trumpy 1050cc 3 cylinders engines. Add a race pipe and tune and those were awesome sounding flame throwers :)
The 'flat plane', 180° Laverda triple was known for being better able to withstand race tuning than the 120°, a lot of racers continued using it long after the introduction of the latter. I think this was because the pressed-up crank was less prone to twisting its crank pins/webs out of alignment at high RPM and outputs with the 180° layout.
In the early 80s I rode a 1200 Mirage TS which had a 180 degree crank. The vibration was terrible. It was also very heavy at 250kgs. The original Jota was also 180 but I test drove a newly released 120 which was fast and smooth. I didn’t buy it because I wanted a tourer not a cafe racer. The Mirage with a120 crank would have been a great motorcycle.
.
@@selbub I can imagine what the 1200 must be like, in theory at least as much vibration as a big (400) single, probably worse in fact. The RGS with its polypropylene bodywork and 120° crank was my dream bike back in the day (one of the most expensive bikes on sale at the time), might have suited your needs by the sound of it. Laverda always made their engines heavy (the twins were just as chunky), I think the idea may have been to 'mass damp' the vibration (which didn't really work). People convert the twins to 270° with some success.
If the middle of these 3 pistons had have doubled in weight, it would have balanced out the oscillating masses of his lighter brothers.
Best teacher on youtube, teaching me about things i didn't even think i needed to know
I definitely need a coffee after this engineering class ☕
I will have to admit that a derestricted Rocket3 has the most glorious exhaust note.
I often hear them going past my place and they are the one bike I can instantly identify by sound .
They sound surprisingly like a Rolls Royce Merlin. I know this because I once had a spitfire pass over my house at an altitude of about 30 metres.
bro.. its a 2.5 liter engine. what do you expect
@@TheRealBhuado capacity has little to do with it
@@paulg3336 displacement is the ONLY reason the sound is deep and throbbing. have you heard a 400 sound deep? no. because the displacement is what makes the sound rich
@@TheRealBhuado Vintage 250 and 350 singles wit megaphones
There's something about the exhaust note of engines with numbers of cylinders divisible by 3--3s, 6es, and 12s. There's kind of a 5th overtone in there that's lacking in twins and fours. It may have to do with the fact that there's a 3:2 ratio between the stroke and the firing interval--like 180/120 which in harmonics is a 5th overtone. It's a beautiful sound, I think.
Triumph does this for ages and does it perfect. Great bikes with great felling and power on the road..
This guy is a natural. Well done!
Just commented after the brake video.
I would absolutely love a master cylinder video to help understand how you can actually brake faster (and almost more importantly, more consistently). Some guys deleted the booster but install a larger master cylinder. Chasebays make great kits, especially their dual piston master cylinder with a 6:1 pedal ratio.
Thanks for these video,
Mark
The smaller the bore diameter the higher the braking force, however the smaller the bore diameter the less fluid it can move within the same stroke. so when you remove the booster, and swap to dual masters, they are usually smaller diameter than the single boosted master. Some people like the feeling of stiffer pedal and go up in bore size regardless if its boosted or not, however it requires more pedal force to get the same clamp force at the caliper. you can offset that a bit by increasing the pedal ratio (if space constraints allow, and pedal wont be too high)
You cannot brake harder than the tyre grip break point that all well maintained brakes without abs should easily obtain. I have never been on a motorcycle that more than two fingers are needed , stiff calipers, air , and pad/disc contamination are behind all crap braking imao.
@@MyKharli that’s true, but I don’t think that’s the question. I think it’s more about braking feel and that will be ABS independent. It’s ultimately a hydraulic system, so changing pistons on either side should affect the mechanical advantage, same as changing the fulcrum on a level.
Ran Lotus and AC without boosters. No prob on light cars with single piston calipers and small discs. Double the brake tube diameter and add heatsinks on the steel lines. 3x the amount of fluid scavenges heat from the pads very quickly. Avoid rubber hoses.
I own a Triumph, I've always liked the different engine sound and the low down grip. I just didn't know why it was happening. My day is better for knowing. Thank you. 😊
Great explanation of the differences between the design of these triples. Surprised our host didn't include a pic of the Triumph Trident from the 70s. Must point out a small mistake in his commentary, however, that occurs around 9:03. In talking about imbalances he says, "Secondary balances become very noticeable and don't require a balancing shaft." What he meant is negligible, not noticeable. As always, great presentation, information, and graphics.
So glad you remembered the Early Laverda Jota Engine . Idea was good . Vibes like a 350 single was their idea.
Great presentation 👍👍
I love my 2017 3-cylinder 815cc John Deere Gator🇺🇲.
I road raced a 1975 Laverda 1000-3🇮🇹 way back when. ✌️
Cheers from New Hampshire.
Those sound examples, magnificent, can hear the rithm of my own Triumph.
Thx for the explanation!. I have a 120 crank BMW K75s with bal shaft and an old Jota. Just really enjoy triples!
I wondered if anybody would mention the K75. I had a few and was surprised to learn that the K100 didn't have a balance shaft but the smaller engine did. Took me years to find out why.
Also had three XS650, there are videos on youtube with this engine featuring a 270 degree crank, sounds cool!
Now I know why the Triumph triple sounds like it does. I do love it. Excellent work, as always.
I was waiting till end of video to tell you about laverda jota but you got it 👍 however, no need for cross plane i4 in a car, non equal length headers kinda do the same for sound. Awesome content again. Love the engineering side of things. Further in depth the better 👌
Forget the sound, I want the feeling of the CP engine ! Flat crank engines feel like an OFF/ON switch unless it's a V8.
Bro I was literally looking everywhere for a in-depth video on the Inline 3, your timing is perfect
You get extra points for caring about the clarity of your presentation.
Great animations! It´s becoming difficult to see such quality in YT nowadays!
Your animations and explanations are better than anything we can get from the manufacturers by a mile! It's funny how the trend in automobiles seems to be the opposite... Barely can find a good picture of their motors, let alone mechanical details, images, and thorough explanations. We have to rely on third parties for that... And in that realm your videos are superior... Please keep creating them!
Thank you for this explanation.
As an owner of both a Tiger 1200 and Street Triple, I was not really understanding the difference between these two engines, particularly where off-road traction is concerned.
Now I see how the T-plane assists traction, and also it’s distinctive sound.
Definitely miss my street triple R. Phenomenal bike
Wow, came to learn about the difference between I3 engines and learned a concept about motorcycle traction I have never heard anyone explain before. Great video!
Okay, that gave my brain workout after my morning run gave me a body workout. So much information compressed into so little time. Kudos!
I love your videos. That's all I got man. You're criminally underviewed.
Oh wow so far the best explanation of motorcycle engineering! I used to be confused about why Yamaha called it CP3 while it sounds too "smooth" for crossplane unlike CP4 that sounds more deep and rumbly, and the other side Triumph Tiger 900 sounds deep and rumbly like CP4 despite it has 3 cylinders only, but now I understand all thank you for your explanation, we need more teachers like you because the explanation is easy to understand ❤
I am a proud owner of a 2022 Tiger 900GT and i will say im in love with my triple engine. When i saw this video, i had to watch :) The engine really does have a split personality, a great sound and is such an enjoyable motorcycle.
Great video! These engines are very mis understood. However, there is characteristic I think you didn't gave enough prase. You did briefly touch on it, but as an owner of two triumph 3 cylinder bikes, I feel it wasn't represented enough. The power curves are incredible. The ability to have such low rpm power and high rpm power is a great combination for a rider. Usually you trade one for the other, but these engines are so useful and fun because of this. Having to choose a low-end or high-end power band can seem fun, but over time impractical nature feels like a unseasonable limitation. The problem is, until you spend a reasonable amount time on a triple, this is hard to fathom.
That being said, this video was incredible! 👍
Another superb explanation - and I'm very pleased to see you included the brutal Jota 180 in there, making the video instantly 200% better (subjectively, of course!) Great!!
Perfect analogy used to describe a rocking couple. You're a great teacher
I am in love of this explanations...you deserve a medal 💪
Been on bikes for many years. I have old parallel twin british bikes, old british wankels, and some new Triumph stuff.
In my humble opinion the inline 120° 3 is the best of all when you need a awesome otto-engine. You lack a tiny bit of high rev power, but you got all the torque from down low ;). Well me being a wankel-wanker I will all day love the 120° 3-pots 😎
The old Laverda was called 2 up 1 down ).
Cool video. This makes me think of the 2.9L F154 V6 in the Alfa Romeo Giulia/Stelvio Quadrifoglio. I believe the firing order in that guy is 120-60-120-60-120-60. The sounds is astoundingly unique. Audi/Porsche have a 2.9L V6 as well, but they utilize offset journals to accommodate an even firing order. Lower RPM and nowhere near as fun to listen to.
I had no idea the gap between power strokes was significant to traction! Makes me wonder how this affects EVs with their smooth, constant power delivery.
I know it is a late reply but any motor with 4 or more cylinders also has no gap in power so they would act similarly. Main thing with EVs is the instant 100% torque at any RPM
@@dankmemedog that makes sense, but the question still remains, as 4+ cylinder motorcycles are never used in offroad applications. Triumph are really the only ones making adventure bikes (dual purpose) with 3 cylinders, the rest are 2, and dedicated offroad dirt bikes are all singles. Probably just a miniscule part of the equation, but curious nonetheless.
electric motors actually have better traction control compared to Piston engines because the computer controlling it can monitor each and every power pulse. A three phase induction motor has three pulses every rotation. A 4 stroke single cylinder has one pulse every 2 rotations, so an electric motor can modulate power 6 times as frequently. There's nothing stopping someone from programming the motor to mimic a 4 stroke single, or going even further. This is further amplified by the fact electric motors are geared shorter compared to Internal Combustion Engines because they can rev higher.
@@nightcoremetal2518 I hadn't thought of the phases of an electric motor! Great insight.
Read up on the Big Bang engines used in Moto GP
Fantastic explanation of the balance challenges and the pros and cons with the different configurations. Regarding the Laverda triple, I have to point out that all the production 3 cylinder (3C) Laverdas had the 180 engine from the very early ´70s up until the 120 crank made it's appearance at around 1982. The Jota was simply one of the numerous models produced. The reason for going to 120 was not vibration but engine noise for the regulators. A 180 motor in the rubber mountings of the 120 frame is a vibration fix. The character of the 180s has ensured that there are many who have never strayed, they are a unique experience and that is a major factor for a great many motorcyclists.
Soy de Mexico, por consiguiente hablo español y se un poco de ingles (muy basico) entonces me avente el video subtitulado y a velocidad de 0.75 para poder escuchar, leer subtitulos y ver las representaciones, aun asi esta super bueno el video, se ve que eres una persona que sabe demasiado del tema, explicas muy bien y se entiende todo, felicidades! Tienes un subscriptor mas
Eu sou do Brasil e se me passa exatamente o mesmo, inclusive a velocidade de 0,75 e entendi igual. Super bom o vídeo
This is a cool video especially since I own both an MT-09 with the CP-3 and a Tiger 900 with the T-Plane triple. Both are awesome engines but good God do I love that Yamaha
3 cylinders engines details I was looking for, thank you, excellent video!
One of the best persons to explain engines
Excellent job explaining the engineering behind the 3 cylinder engine.
Very good explanation of the different character of the two major crank configurations in triples. Extra points for including a brief comment about the old Laverda flat-plane triple.
Most comprehensive explanation ever!
The best teacher on the youtube there is. Make my sundays perfect Who says sundayschool is boring.
Thanks a lot! Today i learned something about my Tiger 955i and recognized it right away in the sequence with sound simulation. Great explanation as well!
Brilliant video. Something aside from firing interval and balance is the inertial effect of the constantly oscillating piston on the rotation of the crank. Don't claim to be an expert on this but I believe that a 90 degree crank pin spacing cancels this out while 180 spacing reinforces it. I have not seen any of your videos refer to this. Could be one reason the cross plane engine is so good for racing because the crank rotation is smoother and better for tire wear and traction.
You're speaking of secondary balance. Watch the graph and the 90 vs 180 crank offset will immediately make sense. Watch the linked video to learn why it actually happens.
Excellent and informative. Love the firing graphic.
Uber picky motorcycle rider here. Just wanted to say great video 👍
Very excellent explanation. I learned things I didn't even know I didn't know today.
Triumph and BSA developed the 750cc triple cylinder engine with 120 degree cranks in the 1960's as the Trident and Rocket lll and they were lovely engines bearing in mind the state-of-the-art in those days. The engines ran in perfect primary balance with plenty of torque but a unique sound when pushed hard.
I owned a Triumph T150V Trident for more than 30 years - blew it up in '78, kept it as a basket-case then rebuilt it in about 2005 and regret getting rid of it now. I loved that bike, but the roads are so much more manic nowdays and I doubt I would have survived to today if I had kept it 😬
Just some praise for the algorithm: Hands down the best channel about this topic! 🤗🤩
Thanks for gifting us your talent of teaching us something so complicated that you made is so simple that anyone with the appetite to learn engine function to a deep level can just see you videos to get there 🙏. Thanks 🙏
All you videos: Thanks for in depth descriptions. Excellent graphic animations too.
This was a great video with fantastic animation and technical detail. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
10:40 legend has it that if you tap 3 of your fingers sequentially, you can replicate the engine
Excellent analog way to represent it.👌🙂
BSA Rocket 3 is a derserving winner of the accolade, Triple Trouble. BUT, when everything is right, not many bikes sound quite as good!
I like the moto2 sound a lot more than the motoGP sound. Thank you Triumph!
I used to have a Polaris 650 two stroke 3 cylinder snowmobile with triple pipes. That was the coolest sounding machine.
I was really waiting for you to explain the Laverda's I3 flatplane motor and compare it with the other 2 styles...
Otherwise excellent video once more! Cheers from a Greek fan.
Me too - I can't figure out the firing intervals of a flatplane triple!
@@PrimoStracciatella it will be 180-180-360. Basically the engine is a 360 degree inline twin with another cylinder stuck in the middle 180 degrees behind. The middle cylinder can fire either 180 degrees before or 180 degrees after No. 1, either way we get the same interval.
I once went to this ranching heritage day fair. And they had an ice cream machine from early Industrial Revolution times. It was bizarre. The single cylinder fired only once every 5-10 seconds .
It was really cool … “bang” then it would whirr and the gears turned and just as it slowed down “bang” ….
Just happy to see you showing stuff on these motors. Love my Tiger
love my RIII Roadster 2014 from triumph with that inline 3 cylinder engine- absolutely awesome engine!!!
Your videos are simply amazing. A huge thanks
Your engine balance videos are my favorite of the videos you do and by far the best explanations I’ve seen on the topic. This may be a bit tangential to your normal automotive-related content but are there any special considerations for engine balance or firing interval when it comes to non-automotive 2-stroke applications like chainsaws? Or just 2-strokes in general, even in an apples-to-apples comparison like 2/4-stroke motorcycles, how does balance differ?
Also it would be great to see engine balance videos about some uncommon or oddball engines. Like straight 7, various radial engines, opposed piston engines etc.
Awesome video man. You are a very talented engineer and have a great way of explaining complicated concepts.
Awesome video. Thanks for putting this out. This is great. I love the inline twin with 270 deg crank, however; I really want to try the T-crank triples.
Thanks so much for sharing another awesome video! The color coding was especially helpful for clarity and quick understanding of concept. Nicely done, and very informative!
Amazing video! Keep on with the great work! Greetings from Brazil!
I'm the proud (original) owner of a 2014 FZ-09, and I have to say, it's the smoothest motor I've ever ridden. The dyno chart is pretty much a 45 degree straight line. There is not a flat spot anywhere in the rev range and the spread is amazing.
Thank you, you put together an amazing explanation of the 3 cylinder engines. I ride a triumph sprint 1050 and love the engine.👍
Is the 1050 a T-plane?
@@fredrosse no it isn’t. I believe triumph came out with that firing order in 2019
Very cool video. Normally stuff like this just goes well over my head, like even if you explained it like I'm 5 I probably still wouldn't get it, and yet I was able to comprehend most of this. I think the visual stuff helped a lot.
I have just read a book on the history of Kawasaki. Of interest is that when using h2r engines in sidecar racing some teams built their crankshafts so that all three cylinders fired together. An early adaptation of a big bang engine. Wonder what it sounded like!!
Great video! I just typed out a whole comment about Laverda and the 180-degree Jota asking if you knew about it, and then you covered it 😂
Thais was EXCEPTIONALLY well-presented and illustrated. 👍🏻
Fantastic engine theory...again! Would love to hear your take on the “thunder rod” modification to the LS shown at sema. It moves the rod pin down from the standard piston pivot.
Excellent, particularly the firing animations, subscribed!
I find that theory about “rest intervals increasing traction” with uneven firing order more than a bit dubious. Sure, in the gaps the tyre will have better traction - but there's no free lunch, the flip side is that when the firings come they do so in even shorter succession, leading to even more tyre spin at that phase. The best traction would actually be achieved with an _electric_ motor, avoiding firing gaps altogether so no piece of the tyre stays unused for propulsion.
If there is an advantage to odd-firing engine, it is probably that the more intensive shaking and sound can give a (sufficiently skilled) rider better feedback how to modulate the clutch and throttle to maximize use of the rear tyre.
But the real advantage to low cyclinder count for offroad bikes is just that they're lighter and simpler, and that the disadvantage of more vibration doesn't matter if the road surface is anyway vibrating the bike even more strongly.
Excellent description, thank you!
Your information is very helpful to me as I'm preparing upgrades to my H2SX but it has a high compression ratio so It's nice to know what to look out for :)
Great explanation as always! 😃
When I first heard the new Triumph Tiger 1200 it made me hopeful for the sound of the Koenigsegg Gemera, but I've since realized and you confirmed that it's very unlikely that a T-plane 3-cyl would be put in a car 😄
The Tiger 1200 though sounds as a Koenigsegg should sound imo. Check Schaaf's video!