Flat-twin engine is a two-cylinder internal combustion engine with the cylinders on opposite sides of the crankshaft.
| FactSnippet No. 1,595,002 |
12 Facts About Flat-twin engine
2.
The most common type of flat-twin engine is the boxer-twin engine, where both pistons move inwards and outwards at the same time.
| FactSnippet No. 1,595,003 |
3.
Flat-twin design was patented by Karl Benz in 1896 and the first production flat-twin engine was used in the Lanchester 8 hp Phaeton car released in 1900.
| FactSnippet No. 1,595,004 |
4.
The flat-twin engine was used in several other cars since, however a more common usage is in motorcycles; early models oriented the cylinders in line with the frame, however later models switched to the cylinders being perpendicular to the frame to provide even cooling across both cylinders.
| FactSnippet No. 1,595,005 |
5.
Australian lawnmower manufacturer Victa produced a flat-twin engine push mower from August 1975 to 1980 dubbed as the 'Twin 500' and 'Supreme' these motors were manufactured in Canada, they are very sought after as production only saw few numbers most likely due to ignition and fuel related issues in early models, the supreme had fixed all these issues with a rear domed piston, crankcase mixers and refined ignition system.
| FactSnippet No. 1,595,006 |
6.
The equal and opposite forces in a boxer-twin Flat-twin engine do however generate a rocking couple, due to the offset distance between the pistons along the crankshaft.
| FactSnippet No. 1,595,007 |
7.
Citroen 2CV boxer-twin Flat-twin engine took advantage of this pumping effect to maintain a partial vacuum inside the crankcase, in order to reduce oil leaks when an oil seal malfunctions.
| FactSnippet No. 1,595,008 |
8.
Beginnings of the flat-twin engine were in 1896, when Karl Benz obtained a patent for the design.
| FactSnippet No. 1,595,009 |
9.
Toyota U engine was an air-cooled flat-twin engine produced from 1961 to 1976.
| FactSnippet No. 1,595,010 |
10.
Benefits of using a flat-twin engine mounted with the crankshaft running perpendicular to the frame are a low centre of gravity and that a belt-drive or chain-drive system can be used to transmit drive to the rear wheel.
| FactSnippet No. 1,595,011 |
11.
The downsides are that the Flat-twin engine cannot be mounted as close to the ground and that it exposes the cylinders and valve covers to the danger of collision damage.
| FactSnippet No. 1,595,012 |
12.
One of the first motorcycles with a longitudinally-mounted flat-twin engine was the 1916 ABC, which was built in the United Kingdom.
| FactSnippet No. 1,595,013 |