Development of Elliptical Piston Engine for Motorcycle

Honda developed a 750cm³ V-4 engine adopting an elliptical piston, and began selling the “NR” motorcycle with the engine installed in 1992. The adoption of an elliptical piston and cylinder achieved a compact layout of eight valves, which consists of four intake valves and four exhaust valves per cylinder. This paper explains the features of an engine with such a layout, focusing on the following:

1. 1)
   Multiple valves and short-stroke enable the 750cm³ engine to achieve 15,000rpm.
2. 2)
   The engine is more compact and lightweight than an engine having the same displacement, and more powerful than one with twice as many cylinders (8 cylinders).

Also, this paper describes the techniques giving improved blowby gas and oil consumption characteristics as related to the sealing property of the piston, cylinder and piston ring and achieving performance equivalent to a conventional motorcycle engine.