Total Engine Friction in Four Stroke S.I. Motorcycle Engine

Many papers are written on the frictional loss of each component in an engine, such as piston, crankshaft or bearings, but few papers describe on the total engine friction in detail. In this paper, the total engine friction is analyzed using the engine friction data of 145 HONDA mass produced motorcycle in-line engines, including single-, 2- and 4-cylinder configurations measured by the motoring method. Consequently, it is shown that the total engine friction, that is the frictional mean effective pressure (Pmf), is mainly influenced by the following dimensions; cylinder bore, piston stroke, crank pin and journal diameters. Thus the empirical equation for the total engine friction is derived, and it becomes thereby possible to reduce the total engine friction as well as to estimate it.