Character In Engineering
Character in Engineering
WHEN ARE MOTORCYCLES MORE THAN THE SUM OF THEIR PARTS?
Kevin Cameron
So often you hear older riders deploring the lack of "character" in today's motorcycles, yet it's clear that the modern product is better in every measurable way than the product of the 1960s and '70s. Is "character" to be dismissed as just oil leaks seen through rose-colored glasses? Or is there more to it?
My recent research has revealed a view that clarifies this question. I’ve been reading the excellent engineering autobiography of the late William Milliken, Equations of Motion (bentleypublishers. com, $35.36), and on page 276 is his view of this matter, which is well worth quoting.
“In the past, physical products of the human mind—houses, automobiles, aircraft, etc.—had progressed from pioneering to classical to the purely functional. In the early stages it is a matter of demonstrating feasibility. Once feasibility has been demonstrated, the classic period usually brings a proliferation of approaches by different designers. The purely functional configuration, based on the available scientific knowledge, becomes more stereotyped. Products of the classical stage are more individualistic, bearing the stamp of the designer who, unfettered by the demands of rigorous technology, can introduce humanizing elements of style and beauty.”
This is just what we have seen with motorcycles, and it very neatly explains what “character” is in our context—and why some people seek and value it so much.
The earliest motorcycles, such as Daimler’s wood-frame 1885 “Standuhr” and the many de Dion-engine bicycles and tricycles of the 1890s, were all proofs of feasibility, designs so primitive that all the work that went into them was consumed in just making them run. English motorcycle columnist “Ixion” described this period, saying that the “LPA” (Light Pedal Assistance) required from the rider in order to climb hills was actually lung-bursting effort that brought a taste of blood to one’s mouth.
Once this stage was passed and the motorcycle was established as a practical product, the “proliferation of approaches” referred to by Milliken burst into flower. Suddenly there were singles, twins, and fours in great numbers, and all kinds of front and rear suspensions were tried. Shapes and styles multiplied. Multi-speed transmission by belt, chain, and gear eased the climbing of hills, and clutches set riders free of having to stop the engine at every cross street.
Characters
The Douglas opposed-twin had its cylinders fore and aft, while the ABC (All British [Engine] Company) experimented with projecting them to either side. Scott two-strokes presented rotary inlet valves and liquid cooling. Those who disliked being propelled by a series of heavy thuds from singles could choose the smooth four-cylinder Belgian FN or American Henderson. Engines became parallel twins, V-twins, flat twins, triples, V-4S and inline-fours. High-performance English'singles ruled the Isle of Man TT races, buthig twins, such as the Brough and AJS, gave the k5ng-distance rider something to pine for (Lawrence of Arabia owned many Broughs and wrote poetically of
their qualities).
The joining of seemingly incompatible elements has been a rich source of character. Max Friz was an aircraft engineer, so the engine he designed for BMW (he was at first unwilling, but management “incentivized” him) was the siippfest of airplane engines—a self-balancing flat twin With its cylinders where they had to be for best cooling\When Massimo Bordi designed Ducati’s “Supermono”'single, it had to be as smooth as his twins, so he gave it a rod-andweighted-lever balance system. There is character in its'' contrast with the expected rotary balancer.
Character also arises from the collision of a new trend with tradition. Classic Duesenbergs join the graceful, flowing fenders of the oncoming Art Deco era with a stubbornly boxy body. Edward Turner’s Triumph Speed Twin put a progressive engine into a chassis designed for a single, topped with a trendy rounded tank.
In the 1920s, there were nearly 200 makes of motorcycle being produced in England. In the US, the peak motorcycle year had been 1913, after which Henry’s Model T took 99 percent of the transportation buyers. Then came the Great Depression, followed by its stepchild, World War II, which, between them, knocked out a large number of colorful motorcycle producers. These events erased much of the classic past.
Into the ’60s market rushed rationally designed Japanese motorcycles, manufactured on the best automated tooling available. Features such as overhead cam, long considered too expensive for production machines, became normal. Thus began Milliken’s “purely functional configuration,” a time when nearly pure reason— and production economics—took over design. Those among us most sensitive to such things began to complain that “Japanese machines...they’re so functional, they do everything a motorcycle should do, but...they seem to have no soul.”
Such complainers were crushed-bythé’demonstrated superiority of The Japanese Way. The great names of the past (Triumph, jBSÁ, Norton) faded, committed suicide, or
dwindled away to glowing ember status (Moto Guzzi, Güera, Benelli). Why? Once motorcycle production came to be defined by cost and design for manufacturing, there was no alternative to
.rationality."
Despite this mortality, design quirks have momentum. English designers still dot their work with too many fasteners—look at the valve covers on a Merlin aircraft engine then at the timing cover of any Triumph—classic or modern. The Germans love dry-ice press-fits. The Italians choose the beautiful solution. American bikes are big and elemental. National character endures.
Classic brands are occasionally “revived,” a process made possible by combining modern automatic manufacturing with badge engineering. Certain makes (HarleyDavidson, Ducati, BMW) work hard at preserving specific elements of their character, but this adds cost.
We see Harley and BMW keeping the air-cooled look alive by liquid cooling their exhaust valve seats so they don’t distort at freeway speeds. Ducati, MV, and Bimota capitalize on the motorcycle-as-art hand-built-racer look with wonderful eye candy.
And the mass market? It has been said, not without justification, that if its bikes were painted gray, only an expert could tell them apart.
Yamaha is bringing back its SR400 kickstart, two-valve, air-cooled single as a 2015 model. By sailing upwind against every modern trend, the SR gives itself unforgettable identity. Its riders will have to learn—and enjoy—what used to be instinctive, to prod the crank around onto compression, pull the compression-release lever to ease it past, and then “forcefully depress the commencer lever.” No one will confuse this with a video game; this is engine starting with character.
And who was William Milliken? He was a founding father of automatic flight control for aircraft who then moved into the vehicle dynamics of cars. If we trace back the origins of the electronic control systems now being widely adopted on motorcycles, we eventually come to William Milliken.
English designers still dot their work with too many fasteners—look at the valve covers on a Merlin aircraft engine then at the timing cover of any Triumph—classic or modern.
xTlie Italians choose the beautiful solution.
The Germans love dry-ice press-fits. ,
A American bikes are big and elemental. National character endures.
