Six-cylinder engines are pretty rare in the world of bikes, obviously due to packaging issues. If installed inline, it would either be too wide or too long to fit a bike frame properly. So we see V6 and boxer formats for 6 cylinders in bikes more often than an inline installation. Honda has made both boxer-6 and inline-6 bike engines before, installed in the Goldwing and the CBX respectively.
Though the very popular 320i here has a four-pot, BMW cars are very much well-known for their silky smooth inline-6 engines. BMW is now trying to bring inline-6 into bikes in a big way, as according to them it is the packaging issues that have prevented the cylinder format from really going anywhere when installed in a bike, whether in a production model or in motorcycle racing.
BMW claims that the BMW Motorrad Concept 6′s inline-6 engine is approximately 10cm slimmer than any production inline-6 engine coming before it, and it is only a bit wider than a large-capacity inline-4 engine with conventional technology. BMW has used a slightly over-square bore to stroke ratio measurement with a relatively long stroke and small gaps between cylinders. Electrical ancillaries and drive components are situated behind the crank in the open space above the transmission in order to minimize width.
The engine’s construction uses lightweight materials in as many areas as possible in order to keep the engine relatively light. Some weight-reduction techniques include hollow-drilled camshafts and light conrods. The engine’s inline-6 configuration does not require the use of a balance shaft. The block uses dry sump lubrication, helping lower the engine installation position. Like inline-4 installed in the BMW K 1300 series, the engine is tilted forward by 55 degrees for a lower center of gravity and better weight balance. The tilt angle also allows extra space for the aerodynamically-positioned intake manifold.
And now for some numbers. The inline-6 has 1.6 litres of displacement and can produce 130Nm of torque from just 2,000rpm. It revs up to nearly 9,000rpm. Look after the jump for photos of the Concept 6.
After dabbling for years in the IT industry, Paul Tan initially began this site as a general blog covering various topics of personal interest. With an increasing number of readers paying rapt attention to the motoring stories, one thing led to another and the rest, as they say, is history. An avid electronic gadget aficionado as well as big-time coffee lover, he's also the executive producer of the Driven motoring TV programme.
wow…. i like the design….who will be the product ambasador? rossi? hehe
BMW seems to be taking the path to challenge the Japanese head on technologically. Should be interesting to see how the Japanese respond.
sweetttt….nice bike…
nice bike with more power to weight…hope it will be on the road in future…
whoa! 1.6 six cyls…now thats what i call a compact "big" engine..BMW is always ahead of its time!
ley jd moto kamen rider akan datang ni..
honda made an inline 6 30 years ago. it was CBX 1000.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azTtUT4FCTM
stim weh.
Hm, from the front it looks like a Honda cub.
But if the acceleration is same or better than a K1200S this shouldn't matter:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqvkNDx6JwM
it would be wonderful if they could put this engine in a car. 1.6 engine that can produce 130Nm from 2000rpm and revs to 9k, wow!
Who's the designer??? Giugaro??? Pinin??? arggghhh, so nice……
This is the result from MV-Augusta buyout.
Agreed with DirkTooth! ^^
Wow now i see where all their 5 series , 3series designs went. simply awesome even for a non bike lover like me..
design ahead of time..nice..
damn nice
SUPER DUPER AMAZING BIKES..
SPEECHLESS…
I'm almost peeing in my pants when looking to this superbikes…
WOWWW… PERFECT!!! summore BMW…
if any a malaysian dude buy this bike probably for convoy only not more than that, but this bike will be hell speediest bike on road (if there are manufactured)
anr totally simple design for road, im like it!! if i have this bike i will ride in anytime to broken hehe..(bcause i'm will high on that time) does anyone have some weed..
Paul, you mean Under-Square? Longer stroke than bore?
reminded me of the anime mospeada….
fulamakkkk….
this is one hell of a bike!
wonder how smooth this bike is, and look at the exhaust! gosh it awesome!
pensel tumpul said,
November 11, 2009 @ 6:40 am
honda made an inline 6 30 years ago. it was CBX 1000.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azTtUT4FCTM
stim weh.
hehe bukan stakat inline six je. oval piston pon ade, 4 piston yang mempunyai 32 valve dan 8 crankshaft. diorang brilliant!
mospeada..hehe..my ringtone…
Hope it does have a great sound like the Y2K.
Wahhhh.. too much power for a bike… cheeer..
why cant we have this bike instead of the normal bikes
motorbike oso had 1.6 engine.
but sadly we had 660cc car. kah kah kah..
great bike
is it really needed that much power already from what is available
pensel tumpul said,
November 11, 2009 @ 6:40 am
"honda made an inline 6 30 years ago. it was CBX 1000. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azTtUT4FCTM
stim weh."
Yes, Honda copied the Benelli Sei from 1972:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benelli_750_Sei
hurm..
just like VYRUS..
azrai said,
November 11, 2009 @ 8:17 am
This is the result from MV-Augusta buyout.
****************************************************************
Well said Azrai,
BMW acquired the renowned motorcycle company Husqvarna Motorcycles a subsidary of MV Agusta for US106mil.
Husqvarna Motorcycles was owned by MV Agusta, who purchased
the brand from Cagiva.
Wherelse we at Proton bought the whole of MV Agusta for 70mil euro and sold
it for 1euro.
futuristic look…ala mospeda
beli satu bawak gi noreh getah bagus nih!!
From what i know, actually BMW bikes are famous for Boxer engine… I think that make BMW bike quite famous during 90's..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_Motorrad
BMW Motorrad produced 101,685 motorcycles in 2008,[5] with the most popular model being the R1200GS.
R series – twin-cylinder boxer engines of 1200 cc capacity featuring shaft drive. Models are R1200GS, R1200R, R1200RT and R1200S
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_R1200GS
The best thing is that even BMW bikes have ABS, electronic suspension adjustment & Automatic Stability Control. While even our local cars cant make it standart… Haiz..
demm..this bike is hot..i really admire the futuristic look..
that's why go away (from F1)…. i know…
bike 2.0L also got lah. this bike sure is fast, but i bet it sure lose to a 1000cc bikes as this new beemer isn't as agile as other 1L bikes. because the wheelbase is very long. long distance cruise also tiring. no front cowl.
i'd sell my house for this
BMW specialty has always been in-line six for its cars, it does make sense to translate that technology to their bikes. Can wait to see this on the road.