I see the design of the 2 stroke engine kits as being close to the perfect design for a bicycle motor. I'm immensely grateful to the Soviet engineers that put the time into considering so many aspects of the engine and bicycles. I realize the cheap knock offs from China suffer from quality irregularities that weaken the case for these motors, but the decades of use have proven that the design is rock solid.
As it stands I've never seen a 4 stroke engine kit that has any real advantages over the Russian design. The 4 stroke kits I've seen are bigger, heavier, and awkwardly wide. The only reason I could see someone being swayed to buy a 4-stroke is if they needed something as reliable as possible, which is difficult to counter with a China 2 stroke. I would love to see a new generation of professional engineers tackle the motorized bicycle the way they did 60 years ago.
Does anyone think a well engineered 4 stroke engine kit could be made smaller, lighter, and narrower to compete with the China 2 stroke, or does the simplicity of 2 strokes give the design a permanent advantage at the size we're looking at?
The Ducati Cucciolo seems impressive, but I can't really judge its strengths/weaknesses well.
As it stands I've never seen a 4 stroke engine kit that has any real advantages over the Russian design. The 4 stroke kits I've seen are bigger, heavier, and awkwardly wide. The only reason I could see someone being swayed to buy a 4-stroke is if they needed something as reliable as possible, which is difficult to counter with a China 2 stroke. I would love to see a new generation of professional engineers tackle the motorized bicycle the way they did 60 years ago.
Does anyone think a well engineered 4 stroke engine kit could be made smaller, lighter, and narrower to compete with the China 2 stroke, or does the simplicity of 2 strokes give the design a permanent advantage at the size we're looking at?
The Ducati Cucciolo seems impressive, but I can't really judge its strengths/weaknesses well.