Twin Spark is now Official

MikeO · Nov 21, 2002

Whilst making a 'phone call at my dealer this morning, I noticed a letter on his desk announcing the twin-plug version of the R1150 engine. It said that it was being introduced to counter pending emission control legislation, but went on to say, between the lines, that it should also cure surging. The cylinder heads are fitted with 2 plugs & the ignition sytem is replaced with an uprated version.

I asked my dealer about the letter (which was marked 'for immediate release'). He told me that he'd been briefed just before the NEC show opened last week & that bikes with twin spark should start arriving in mid-December. He didn't know if it would be able to be retro-fitted, but speculated that, if it was, it would be a VERY expensive mod. The letter, oddly, was dated May 2002, but he reckons this is probably a typo.....

Meanwhile, my 8 month old, £8k + bike is still surging......

MikeO

shugie · Nov 21, 2002

There's an article in this months Ride about diesel bikes being the way of the future, mainly due to the application of new emissions regulations to bikes to bring them in line with cars.
Perhaps this is what is pushing BMW to introduce the twin-spark, and its really got nothing to do with performance. Bet the marketing guys push it as the latest thing, although Alfa cars have had it for yonks as, they claim, a performance enhancement.

The logic of the diesel bike in Ride was so the armed forces could have a single type of fuel, but the article does point out that diesel can provide better torque at low revs, but you can get that with a nice twin petrol engine too.
Somehow diesel and motorbikes does not strike me as a happy combination.

Todde-pip

Shug

"That was inedible muck, and there wasn't enough of it!"

(RIP) Yosi · Nov 21, 2002

I agree that the sound of a diesel on a bike doesn't somehow fit on a bike, but on the other hand think of going all the way to Madrid on one tank of diesel. Or overland traveller's doing 140 miles to the galon. Or conmuting....etc, etc.

Wreford Miles · Nov 21, 2002

I think a Diesel GS would be fantastic...think about it BMW know how to make a good Diesel.

So with this knowhow knocking out a Diesel with about the same BHP but maybe 110ftlbs of torque would be just the ticket for the nexts stage of eveolution for the GS.

80mpg at a fast pace, and enough torque to leave many road bikes for dead.

boxer · Nov 21, 2002

Is this what you read Mike??

boxer · Nov 21, 2002

Could be that the question should be, is this where you read it Mike??

boxer · Nov 21, 2002

BTW, nice avatar

Bill · Nov 21, 2002

The idea of a diesel bike is a sound one but by the time they've calibrated it for emission legislation, performance and economy will go out of the window!
I should know because that's my job!!

JohnnyBoxer · Nov 21, 2002

Diesel Bikes

This is the diesel engined Kwacker KLR Trail Bike being developed for the US Marine Corps.
Looks cool to me - a great winter hack and they reckon it's great on the dirt - all that torque for deep mud.
The Ride article is very interesting and they reckon by 2006-2010, the diesel bike will be where it's at.. Huge torque - 100 -170lb/ft compared to the petrol engined GS1150 @74lb/ft - wow that'll be tractable and 120-150mpg.You'll be able to get to Spain without refuelling on a Diesel Adventure.However better make sure the fuel line clamps are well crimped - don't want diesel splashing over your tyres now - do we?

AndyT · Nov 21, 2002

Twin spark is old news now

shugie said:
. Bet the marketing guys push it as the latest thing, although Alfa cars have had it for yonks as, they claim, a performance enhancement.

The Honda Transalp has also has twin spark plugs for years and that engines is fantasically smooth and flexible just a bit under powered for longer journies.

In my opinion if they can manufacture a diesel engine with the same levels of Torque that they have in the diesl car engines then bring em on asap.

Have Fun
AndyT

Timolgra · Nov 21, 2002

So it seems Simon Pavey was telling the truth about twin plugs.

Whilst doing my apprenticeship with Rolls Royce as a diesel fitter I had chance to work on a Merlees engine as fitted to Spitfires and that had twin plugs as I remember.

Also some of the two stroke grass track bikes we used to race had twin plugs, one for cold starting then swop over for hot running.
Tim

AndyT · Nov 21, 2002

timolgra said:
Whilst doing my apprenticeship with Rolls Royce as a diesel fitter I had chance to work on a Merlees engine as fitted to Spitfires and that had twin plugs as I remember.

Tim - Don't you mean the Merlin engine. Mirlees make big diesel engines for industry (ships etc. We would be talking German now if they had fitted diesels to Spitfires and Hurricaines......

Auf Weidersein

AndyT

Paul Young · Nov 21, 2002

The thing that surprised me about the Ride/diesel bike article, was the fact that diesel contains more realisable energy than petrol. I suppose it stands to reason when you think about it, but you have to think really hard and now my head hurts...... :confused:

MikeO · Nov 21, 2002

boxer said:
Is this what you read Mike??[/URL]

Boxer,

no, the wording is different; the letter I read didn't refer to any dates or model types (I got that from my dealer). Looks like the same basic message, though. I really feel that the way the letter concentrated on emissions etc was a smokescreen (ho,ho!) to avoid admitting that the main purpose of the mod is to overcome surging. If they admitted they'd done it to fix a problem with an existing bike, they'd leave themselves open to demands for retro-fixes from anyone who'd bought a bike that surged....

Anyway, better close, this thread's all about diesels

MikeO

ps Nicked the Avatar off a guy on the ADVrider site

Timolgra · Nov 21, 2002

AndyT said:
Tim - Don't you mean the Merlin engine. Mirlees make big diesel engines for industry (ships etc. We would be talking German now if they had fitted diesels to Spitfires and Hurricaines......

Auf Weidersein

AndyT

Yes you are right, it's the memory you know. Now then where did I put the keys??
Tim

MikeO · Nov 22, 2002

Just found this picture of the new cylinder head.....

MikeO

MikeO · Nov 22, 2002

Just found this picture of the new cylinder head...

MikeO

Pthagonal · Nov 22, 2002

tsk tsk

all this talk about engines, pretty soon well be fitting bloody steam engines onto bikes..

now that would be interesting lol

cecilthecat · Dec 3, 2002

Just spoke to my dealer today and they confirmed that my bike will be delivered with the Twin Spark heads for delivery in March.

Greg Masters · Dec 3, 2002

Official BMW release on 27 November 2002

To further improve exhaust emission quality and comply with the forthcoming EU 2 regulations, BMW Motorrad is introducing dual ignition on its 2003 range of boxer-engine machines.

Models affected will be the R1100 S, R1150 GS, R1150 R, R1150 RS and R1150 RT. The changeover in production has already begun and will be incorporated on a model-by-model basis. Implementation will be complete by the beginning of 2003.

The emissions improvement measure is designed to prepare engines for new exhaust emissions legislation set out in EU 2 and (in future) EU 3. The lead that BMW Motorrad enjoys in the area of emissions control will be increased further when the new conversion is complete.

The effect of a dual ignition system is to improve the uniformity of combustion throughout the engine's operating range - even in unfavourable conditions. Dual ignition represents a solution to the fundamental conflict between the need for the lowest possible emission of pollutants and smooth running - particularly evident in large capacity engines. As a bonus, the efficiency of the boxer engines has been further increased, with a slight reduction in fuel consumption. Engine power output peak values and torque remain the same for all models.

The dual ignition system for combustion engines has existed for many years and BMW has a long tradition of applying such systems to aircraft engines. The technical principle is simple - instead of a solitary spark plug in the combustion chamber to ignite the mixture, two are now employed and the plugs spark in parallel. The system requires an additional bore in the cylinder head for the second spark plug as well as a more powerful ignition system capable of providing the extra energy needed to create a second ignition spark.

All engines that are fitted with dual ignition will have a redesigned cover for the plug shaft, with "2-spark" lettering on it.

Twin Spark is now Official

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