rsellens@watdcsu.UUCP (Rick Sellens - Mech. Eng.) (03/29/85)
In article <235@vaxwaller.UUCP> bob@vaxwaller.UUCP (Bob Palin) writes: >The bikes I currently have, a 1984 VF700 Sabre and a 1980 CX500 DeLuxe, >are both water cooled, this is one area in which I can find no advantage, >they both get just as hot as air cooled bikes, they're heavier and there >is no noticable performance gain compared to similar air cooled bikes. > >Why water cooled ? > >Bob Palin, zehntel!varian!bob The use of fluid cooling in an engine allows the designer far better control of the temperatures in the engine. By increasing cooling flow in areas where the heat is causing problems, the temperature can be locally reduced, substantially reducing wear and tear on the engine. Also, fluid cooled engines have a much narrower operating temperature range (once warmed up). This allows closer fit tolerances which will increase the life of the engine and tighter tuning which could improve emmissions and performance. I suspect that water cooling on bikes does not generally give a net performance improvement. ( Increased power and increased weight gives about the same power to weight ratio. ) Small water cooled dirt bikes are probably an exception because of the small amount of weight involved. The big plus for water cooling is durability. Look how long Gold Wings last, even subject to long hauls on hot summer days with the poor engine hidden in under a fairing. Does anyone have any ideas about increased use of the engine oil as a cooling medium? Many bikes spray their engine oil onto the piston bottoms for cooling. All bikes already have oil circulation systems. If these were enlarged, and big beefy oil coolers added, we might get some of the benefit of water cooling without as much weight penalty. Rick Sellens UUCP: watmath!watdcsu!rsellens CSNET: rsellens%watdcsu@waterloo.csnet ARPA: rsellens%watdcsu%waterloo.csnet@csnet-relay.arpa
tatge@hpfcms.UUCP (tatge) (04/09/85)
Oil cooling:
The new Suzuki GSXR750 uses oil cooling exactly as you suggested. At 388
pounds dry and 107 hp I guess they are on the right track eh?
George Tatge
Fort Collins, CO
ihnp4!hpfcla!tatge