OK, here is good news as of this past week.
I read an article on Adventure Rider about Yamaha's recent patent for a two cylinder forced induction engine. Obviously this lights up their forum with stories of a turbo 500/700/900 in a bike.
As per Yamaha, they do not want to develop new engine technology that will only be used in one line of machines. So this engine may end up in ATV's or even sleds. Let's hope and pray sleds, as a small turbo could fill the line up.
And let me repeat that, not replace the 998T in the Sidewinder, but fill the line up. Possibly replace the 1049, or even offer that missing 150-165hp class engine! Or offer up that 90-120 class engine.
Here are some pics posts, and the body of the article. I take no credit in writing this. It's obvious that most of these bike guys are oblivious to the existence of the 208hp triple being used in the sleds. Enjoy!!
Yamaha Developing A Twin-Cylinder Turbo Engine
It seems that forced induction may be making a comeback of sorts
Mike / @Ride2ADV
4/12/2019
It seems that forced induction may be making a comeback of sorts. Factory turbos made a short appearance in the motorcycle world back in the early 1980s. The “big four”;
Suzuki,
Yamaha,
Honda and
Kawasaki all had factory turbocharged machines. Bikes like the XN85, XJ 650T, CX 500/CX650 and GPZ 750 roamed the streets featuring forced induction.
But the reign of the turbo motorcycle was brief, and the various turbocharged models died out. The bikes suffered from an assortment of ailments including turbo lag, excess weight and, flexible frames that made riding less enjoyable.
However, it seems that some manufacturers are re-examing turbochargers for motorcycle use. Suzuki has been making patent applications for years for a machine they have called the Recursion. More recently, rumors have been circulating that Suzuki will re-introduce the Hayabusa with a turbocharger.
But now it appears that another manufacturer is looking at turbocharging a motorcycle. Yamaha has filed a new patent application for a turbocharged parallel twin engine.
The patent drawing shows what looks like a Yamaha MT series engine fitted with a turbocharger. Whether Yamaha will ever put it in a motorcycle isn’t known. But with at least two of the “big four” motorcycle manufacturers filing patent applications, it looks like they have more than a passing interest in bringing turbochargers back.
It could be that the upcoming new Euro5 emissions regulations have something to do with the renewed interest in turbocharging. Technology has come in a long way since the early 1980s; it would be interesting to see what “modern day” motorcycles could do with forced induction.
