Design of 65 degree V4 Moto GP Engines with Pneumatic Poppet Valves or Rotary Valves

Moto GP engines have since the year 2012 4 cylinders in V or inline layout for a total capacity of up to 1,000cc. With pneumatic valve spring but wet sump, and with the maximum bore limited to 81mm, the maximum speed these engines may have is about 18,000 rpm, with power outputs 250-260 HP. The paper presents the design of a 65 degree V4 Moto GP engine further optimizing the pneumatic poppet valve design, as well as a novel rotary valve design. The rotary valve permits up to extremely sharp opening or closing and very large gas exchange areas. The two engines are then modeled by using a 1D engine & gas dynamics simulation software package to assess the potentials of the solution. The improved design produces much larger power densities than the version of the engines with traditional poppet valves revving at higher speeds.