V100 Stelvio caught testing.

Joe Bar said:
From manufacturers descriptions they are clearly referencing the layout of the cylinders in relation to the bike, and generally always have done in my experience......
A single is a single, I can't recall seeing one referred to as being either transverse nor longtitudinal.
Click to expand...

Interesting as I've not heard of an engine's direction being anything other than crankshaft orientation. Longitudinal being ideal for shaft drive as the crank spins the same as the shaft while transverse being better for chain and belt as the crank turns the same as the sprockets. Car/truck engines are described based on crankshaft orientation, I wonder why some motorcycles are described oppositely?

Honda's 420 single is oriented sideways with exhaust going out to the side and crankshaft front to back or longitudinal. Honda did this because it's more efficient with the shaft drive setup. They describe it as a longitudinal single.

  • Engine Type​

    420cc liquid-cooled fuel-injected OHV wet-sump longitudinally mounted single-cylinder four-stroke
 
I would guess with cars that pretty much everything was longitudinal in the early days, with conventional engine, gearbox and rear axle layouts. Front wheel drive and mid engine layouts arrived much later and are generally referred to as transverse.

Bikes have always had a variety of engine layouts pretty much from the outset, and I guess that engine descriptions have usually always been attributed from the riders perspective when sat on the bike rather than from an engineering viewpoint.
 
Called with local dealer today , Stelvio demo available in March 2024 (Demos only to be available in "S" (maybe not called S) format) - unlike the V100. Seemed firm about date , which sounded much too early to me - considering the f'n about with the V100 .................
No details on any spec , confirmed launch later this year as most people have guessed.
Watch the space
 
I think the problem lies with how the Europeans describe the engine differs from how the Americans describe them.
we in Europe state the Guzzi engine is transverse as the pistons are transverse to the frame, whereas the Americans describe the engine in regard to which way the crank runs.

no confusion, just a difference in how an engine is described in different markets.
 
It IS confusing describing them both ways, maybe it's a NA or USA thing? I've only known it to refer to the crank orientation, I'm not sure basing it on which way cylinders point can be consistent? But many subscribe to that way, including some marketing departments apparently. Let's try some examples.

Parallel Twin such as Tenere' 700 would be transverse. Cylinders point up but are side to side left to right with crank oriented sideways left to right.
Upright triple such as Triumph triple or old Trident would be transverse same as above.
Longitudinal triple such as BMW K75. Cylinders in line front to back point to the left side 90* from vertical, with crank oriented front to back or longitudinal.
Longitudinal flat 6 such as Goldwing 1800, same as K75 above only 3 cylinders both left and right, crank front to back.
BMW R100 one cylinder left one right, longitudinal 180* boxer with longitudinal crank.
Moto Guzzi same as R100 only each cylinder raised up 45*, longitudinal V-twin.
Harley Davidson 45* V-twin. Cylinders point forward and rearward with crank sideways so a transverse V-twin.
ST1100 In line V-4. Cylinder banks 90* apart, two point left and two to the right. Crank in line front to back so longitudinal V4.
VFR 800 transverse V4. Cylinder banks again 90* apart but two point forward and two rearward with crank side to side or transverse.
Suzuki DR650 transverse single. Single cylinder points up with the crankshaft left to right or transverse.
BMW R27 longitudinal single. Single cylinder points up with crankshaft oriented front to back or longitudinal.


From https://www.motorcycle.com/ask-mo-anything/transverse-longitudinal-crankshafts.html

....what’s the difference between a transverse V-Twin and a longitudinal one, and what are the advantages of each?

Any engine, be it a V-Twin, V-Four, or inline-Four, is considered to be “transverse” if its crankshaft lies perpendicular to the motorcycle’s wheels, i.e. across the frame, parallel to the axles. Most motorcycles have transversely mounted cranks, including all Harley-Davidson V-Twins, nearly all four-cylinder sportbikes like the Yamaha R1, Kawasaki ZX-10R, Aprilia RSV4, all Ducati V-Twins and V-Fours…

Now back to the V100 Stelvio with its longitudinal 90* V-twin :). Or transverse if you prefer. After following the new R1300GS I'm looking forward to the Stelvio hoping it's a little less complex and less cost. The V100 drivetrain seems to have been trouble free during its first year. The engine makes nice power, especially compared to my V85TT! I need to look into what maintenance will consist of specifically how often and what's involved for valve lash checks. I recall someone saying the cams need to be removed and re-timed just to change shims which sounds expensive. But if it seldom needs done.....
 
Valve check is every 15k miles, which is not so bad. If you were to need to change any shims, the valve gear is easily accessible thanks to its transverse layout 😉
All the bikes I have had with shims under the buckets have rarely or sometimes never needed any attention.
 
Thanks seahorse, kinda sad it's so frequent but BMW boxers are the same I believe. But yes thankfully they are easily accessible, do you happen to know how many shop rate hours are figured just to check them? And how many more if resetting is necessary? Or is resetting them just based on hourly time based on how many need done?
 
I think for most people these days 15k is about every 3 years. Checking shouldn't take long but resetting would be a bit more work again. No idea how many hours would be allotted for that by dealers but would be a fairly big bill I imagine. Once out of warranty I'll be doing myself in any case.
I am more disturbed by the price of an air filter. £72 from Gutsibits here in UK!
 
Thanks seahorse. These dealer valve checks are both expensive and inconvenient and with some brands not needing them until 26,000 miles, others never at all, it seems odd designing an all new motor to need this so frequently. Thank goodness my car and truck don't require this. OK I'm done whining.

£72 is crazy for a filter. Honda sells them for the Goldwing for £33 here............ but it takes 5 hours @ £125 labour rate to do it every 15,000 miles! Some complain about how expensive new motorcycles cost, but to me it's the frequent expensive labour and tyres.
 
For comparison, the last valve check on my GS LC cost € 74.20 which is not too bad, don’t know how much they’d charge to change a shim if needed but from what I’ve read they pretty much never go out of spec

the Guzzi should be a similar cost I guess

I did try checking the valve clearances myself but without the special tool to tension the cam chain I couldn’t get a reliable measurement
 
No that's not too expensive since they didn't need adjusted. If one needs adjusted I think I'd have them set them all in the middle while they were in there. With the spec being anywhere from .34 to .41, if the four measured: .36, .41, .39, and .34 most mechanics would just say "they're all within spec" and let it go.
 
There's the more upright riding position, 19" F, a bit more suspension, and more wind protection, to differentiate it from the Mandello. I wonder if gearing was changed at all? Thankfully the valve covers are now gray.
 
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