Characteristics of a triple?

[Motu]

Also, I'm not sure how you'd describe a typical Masport. Vertical single?

Vertical shaft - standard terminology.You are making problems where there are none,you aren't thinking very hard at all.

[El Dopa]

As for riding them - a 750cc twin,triple and inline 4.....a big twin is all about bottom end grunt,sure they will rev,but get inefficient at higher revs.A 4 cyl is a revbox,they will make seamless power from whoa to go,but are better at high revs.A triple really does fit in the middle,they love to rev,but will still ''hang on'' in the lower rpms.

And of course the best thing about a triple is the noise!

Thankyou Motu.

One question, 29 replies. One of which answers the question (yeah I know ZRXER sort of did, but not in as much detail).

[doc]

Thankyou Motu.

One question, 29 replies. One of which answers the question (yeah I know ZRXER sort of did, but not in as much detail).

If you judge it by noise broadly speaking

V-twin attitude (look at me stuff)

Triples undecided (can't make up their mind they want something else)

4 cylinder practical (no character,boring, but have the final say)

What do you reckon should have been a shrink?

[Motu]

Triples undecided (can't make up their mind they want something else)

Have you ever heard a triple? They have a sound all of their own,the best sound of any motor.

Check these suckers out,to hear one in the flesh sends shivers up your spine....

http://www.commer.org.nz/Commer%20Co...ns/movies.html

[xwhatsit]

Meh. Nobody should ever need more than 640 cylinders...

[doc]

Have you ever heard a triple? They have a sound all of their own,the best sound of any motor.

Check these suckers out,to hear one in the flesh sends shivers up your spine....

http://www.commer.org.nz/Commer%20Co...ns/movies.html

Yep had a T150, and a Waterbucket (first one in the Sth Island) don't do it for me. Give me a Hardley or a Duke any day but I ride a 4 and a vtwin, each to his own. Friends like their triples one even has a T150 since new and a mint T160 but presently has a new Buell. Go figure we all need help.

[Chisanga]

Gee I come back from football and find a myriad of answers and my head is aching to try and make sense of them all

I agree about the sound of the Triple - went I was picking up my bike from it's service at AMPS a customer was taking a Speed Triple out for a test ride and it sounded incredible. That was part of the reason for answering the question in fact.

Thanks to all who contributed to answering my question. It looks like I need to do a lot more reading about all things bike to increase my knowledge

[James Deuce]

Have you ever heard a triple? They have a sound all of their own,the best sound of any motor.

Check these suckers out,to hear one in the flesh sends shivers up your spine....

http://www.commer.org.nz/Commer%20Co...ns/movies.html

Prefer an Audi 5 cylinder myself.

[T.W.R]

A good triple sounds & performs like nothing else

having had three triples mmm interesting concept a 750, 850, & the 1200 can say they're thoroughly intoxicating when set-up properly.

as for power it's smooth & linear

The XS750 yamaha had the most torque between 2-5000rpm of any comparable engine when released even more than a Kawasaki Z1000 at the time

The 850 I had, I could take to idle revs in top gear, roll the throttle on & it would pull away cleanly with no hesitation or drive-line snatch.

The 1200 Harris 3-1 plus other goodies just made it an awesome mount

[disenfranchised]

I was under the impression that the bore to stroke ratio made more difference to the engine characteristics than the layout.

With 4 cylinders each one has a smaller bore, so generally the bore to stroke ratio becomes smaller, resulting in an engine with less torque and more top end power
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stroke_ratio

Wouldn't the layout just change the engine balance, centre of gravity etc, which would change how you mount it in the frame, design the bike etc...it might also change the nature of the turning forces on the crank slightly because of where each push is coming from as each cylinder fires.

[Lou Girardin]

Bit of a newbie question, have done a quick search with no joy.

I know the basic differences between a V-twin engine, an inline-four and a two-stroke but could the knowledgable ones out there explain to me the basic characteristics of a "triple" engine such as used a lot in Triumphs.

Also if there are other major engine configurations that are used regularly could you let me know.

Cheers for your help.

Stay Safe

As far as Triumphs are concerned, the best sound on the road (like a Merlin), huge bottom and mid-range torque, smooth power band, frugal with fuel.
Will that do?

[Motu]

A triple is also badly out of balance dynamicaly....perfect static balance of course,but when the motor is running it's a total mess.You can feel it in a long crank bike like the GT750,when idling the motor feels like it wants to throw itself out of the frame.The Daihatsu triple has a balance shaft,and it's a puzzle as it has a single lobe and runs at crankshaft speed.I did find an explanation and it's pretty simple really...but makes no sence if you look at it.Easiest way to balance a triple is put two back to back so the forces cancel out,but an inline six always needs a harmonic balancer on the shaft.

[Mr. Peanut]

Square 4s!

500cc BIG BANG TWO-STROKE SQUARE FOUR, GOOD GOD AND GREAT BALLS OF FIRE

[Mr. Peanut]

.......e as it has a single lobe and runs at crankshaft speed.I did find an explanation and it's pretty simple really...but makes no sence if you look at it.Easiest way to balance a triple is put two back to back so the forces cancel out,but an inline six always needs a harmonic balancer on the shaft.

I though inline 6 engines had perfect primary and secondary balance?

[Motu]

They do,but the crazy triple forces are still there acting through the long crankshaft....the harmonic balancer balances out the harmonics....simple huh?