A Rotary Dirt Bike Failure

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This video is fair use under U.S. copyright law because it is transformative in nature, uses no more of the original than necessary and has no adverse effect on the market for the original work.

[@audriusbaranauskas6227]

I keep watching this channel and keep forgetting how much research and work it takes to produce a single video in such detail. Much appreciated VisoRacer!

[@The1Doktor]

I had the pleasure of owning a W-2000. The Wankel engine is extremely smooth, puts out about the same power as an RD 250, but has a very different feel to it. Kickstarting the engine feels very weird, there is no real feeling you're coming up on compression. Feels more like you're kicking against a friction brake, but starts up and runs fine. Sold it to a friend who still has it to this day. Mine was the later oil injected model. I never actually calculated the fuel mileage, but it certainly drank a whole lot more fuel and oil than my RD 350 ever did. I would guess in normal riding the economy was probably less than 20 miles per gallon. There is a component on the engine with a vacuum line going to it which looks a lot like the vacuum modulator on an old automatic transmission, I think they refer to it as a vacuum advance. It seems to be an EGR valve Which opens under high intake vacuum, such as on deceleration or at idle. Mine was stuck closed, which results in an idle where it fires on all three faces, then misses on all three. Basically the brap brap brap you hear from the Mazdas That have been modified for high output. With the valve stuck open, it idles very nicely, firing on every other face of the rotor and sounding a little bit like a four stroke single. Also with the valve stuck open, you have very little power. Thank you to VisioRacer for spreading information on these cool bikes to a larger audience. I have been watching your videos for a while, and am always amazed by the information you dig up on fairly obscure machines. You are one of the rare treasures on KZbin.

[@charliecollins889]

that Hercules sounded insane, like a 4 stroke down low and a 2 up high, best of both sounds

[@zogzoogler]

Great informative video. Worth pointing out that the Norton Rotary won the IOM TT with the legend that is Hislop.

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

I owned a Suzuki RE-5 for a while. One of the only other rotary powered bikes ever manufactured. Man that was a heavy machine.

[@hyper8545]

Rob dahm should do a rotary motorcycle build o0o😮

[@hugejohnson5011]

Thanks for yet another cool video, VisioRacer! I always enjoy the historic footage that you conjure up for us. Especially scenes of auto plants, and old promo videos. Keep up the good work!

[@Mach5Johnny]

I’d love to take that puppy for a ride out at California City and the Pismo Dunes!

[@amaccama3267]

What the bloody hell is that giant rotor out of in the picture early in this video?

[@confuseatronica]

haha yeah at 0:19 - Maybe it's like a engineering mockup thing? But it looks like a complete machined part with all the different metals and coatings, and maybe even carbon on the outside from running. I would so love to see a giant wankel boat engine like that, running

[@andyharman3022]

An Ingersoll-Rand rotary. Built in the USA at 2500 cubic inches per rotor, it was used to power pumps on natural gas pipelines. They put out IIRC 550 hp (per rotor)@ 1000 rpm and lasted 30,000 hours between rebuilds.

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

Thanks, Visio, for bringing some rotary braps and content to my eyes and ears today! I have so much love for the dorito engines, and youre right, theyre quite difficult to source, especially here in the US

[@danw1955]

Very cool stuff! I had no idea they produced a rotary dirtbike. Seems pretty snappy too. Pretty weird that the rotor was mounted horizontally, and then ran through bevel gears to turn the power output to a standard bike transmission! Thanks for the documentary VR!!😉

[@julieanddavidmyers6641]

I love the smoke and sound of those engines

[@ziffer90]

what on earth was that man-sized rotor for? a locomotive or ship?

[@ThePontiacgto65]

Where did you find all this information? And the Hercules 502A, I knew the w2000 but the 502 I never heard that name, a single spark plug and yet more than 100hp/l, with a second spark the performance would have been improved as on the mazda13b. thank you for this great video,😉

[@djcjr1x1]

Vintage Sachs snowmobile engines are my favorite. I thought that was my brother with the Panther rotary snowmobile shown since he yas that exact one. I rode it all day once and it made great power but ran so hot it was melting the inside of the fiberglass hood even through the thick insulation. Made me sick as hell😨, I'll stick to regular piston engines from now on!

[@motorflusterer6307]

Hey Visio, Many thanks for your report. Interesting like every time. Can you collect and present some facts according the biggest Wankel applications? Best greetings from Germoney 😉

[@jimbowcracklehead8071]

Yessir, I love this

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

I want a rotary sachs chainsaw or snowmobile so bad. Ive been looking for years.

[@DOCTRJ]

Cool concept like all inventors and inventions 👍🤠😎

[@BinneReitsma]

I would really want to ride that offroad bike, experience the power development compared to a piston bike.

[@fidelcatsro6948]

Todays modern 4 stroke dirtbikes would run circles around them and still have enough gas in the tank😂😂

[@wankelgs]

@@fidelcatsro6948 Are you sure ? Did you ever test a 502 ? Come over and ride mine.

[@alex-bk9wl]

Hi visio

[@andykerr3803]

Wow, never heard of that one! Too bad for the crazy price... Yup a BIG Thumper 😅

[@reggielavoie5048]

You would think having a centrifuge inside your bike would make it more difficult to steer.

[@ukwan]

Who doesn't love a Wankel?

[@daveselbow9128]

have you seen the Crighton CR700W limited edition rotary super bike . only 25 to be made. £100K+

[@apismellifera1000]

Has a lot of nice BRAAAAPP!

[@gucciog2231]

Some one has to stick a Mazda rotor on a bike already

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

Norton and Suzuki both built rotary bikes.

[@gucciog2231]

@@goosenotmaverick1156 I know but I mean the small Mazda 1 rotor would be insane on a bike because it’s small engine for a car but for a bike it’s huge like a 13b

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

@@gucciog2231 Suzuki RE-5 was a single rotor 497cc which is not far off from the roughly 650cc that a single rotor of a 13b displaces. The RE-5 mad 67hp in the 70s

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

@@gucciog2231 like I get what you're saying but a 12a is nearly the same as two of the rotors from the Suzuki bike. If that makes sense. The displacement per rotor is not all that different.

[@gcactus69]

Puerto Rico..........

[@fidelcatsro6948]

Toyota should makes these rotary engines for motorcycles!

[@skrzatRG]

Toyota makes reliable engines wich wankel is not.

[@fidelcatsro6948]

@@skrzatRG Toyota will make them reliable once they make em

[@guestrblx7669]

where to buy

[@srimansanjit6588]

Amazon

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

Sachs manufactured rotary engines, and rotary engines in general, are pretty rare to find for sale local or often. I've been looking for multiple years to buy any version/example of a sachs rotary in the dead center of the US practically, without any success. I did buy a Suzuki RE-5 and had that for a while, but motorcycles aren't really safe to ride around here and I have kids. So it had to go 😭. I'm aiming for a chainsaw or snowmobile. If you find one near Arkansas, let me know 😂

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

And when I say years I mean a literal decade and the RE-5 was sadly my only find

[@fidelcatsro6948]

Walmart

[@srimansanjit6588]

@@fidelcatsro6948 no amazon

[@DOCTRJ]

Keep doing what you do brother, your a bit like morgan freeman

[@VisioRacer]

I am a bit like Morgan Freeman? What does that mean?

[@DOCTRJ]

He narrates a lot of movies like The shawshank redemption

[@alexandermathar7780]

The backdrop is Sachs rotarys need oil to work.

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

So does every other engine? Are you talking about premixing? It's that or use oil injector pumps that tend to fail as they age.

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

Most old school Mazda guys premix anyway. It's just a rotary thing, not specific to sachs

[@sandervanderkammen9230]

Sachs never made Rotary engines..

[@sandervanderkammen9230]

@@goosenotmaverick1156 You have to be monumentally ignorant to pour the wrong oil into the wrong filler hole...

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

@@sandervanderkammen9230 according to who? They made plenty of examples. Shall I further Google for you and give you some model numbers or can you do it yourself this time..?

[@fastinradfordable]

300cc and only made 30hp My 81 yamaha 400xs made 40😂

[@wankelgs]

The 502 in a 1976 bike and it has 39 PS at the wheel at 12'000 rpm.

[@deborahchesser7375]

Two words APEX SEALS 😆

[@simpleclean2468]

I can't buy? I accept the challenge.

[@brianellison3525]

Themain problem with the rotary lies in the fact that the concept sucks.

[@confuseatronica]

sad but true- it's part of that whole pistonphobia thing where people REALLY wanted to replace any reciprocating piston with rotary motion, no matter what it took because of course that must be better. Yet we all have these piston engines buzzing away with no problem for hundreds of thousands of miles. I like my RX7 but the inline 4 powered car next to it is quieter smoother more efficient and more reliable, and its not even that much bigger.. oh well

[@andyharman3022]

The concept is elegant in that it packs a lot of displacement into a small package, is perfectly balanced no matter how many rotors are in the engine, and has great breathing because of 270-degree intake and exhaust phases. Its downfall is poor combustion chamber shape. Unfortunately, that outweighs its advantages.