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While you may call it the antithesis of performance and hate it but you can’t ignore it… its the modern day diesel engine.

Not many companies have charted the unknown territory toward building a diesel engine motorcycle while some like Neander Motors have achieved a reasonable degree of success with them but the fact remains that none of the mainstream motorcycle manufactureres have shown even a hint of interest towards the oil burners.

This is all set to change as latest reveals unearth Yamaha’s European patent application filed at the beginning of July which covers various technological developments the core of which is lies a motorcycle sized in-line four and two cylinder intercooled turbodiesel engines. The packaging of such an engine in a bike chassis is a huge challenge considering a diesel engine is big and heavy and its built to withstand high pressure and torque. Packaging the intercooler and the turbocharger within the confines of a motorcycle chassis poses further challenges.

Yamaha’s patent seeks to address all these problem by using innovative technological solutions and hence establishes an acceptable arrangement of components. The intercooler for instance is located above the engine concealed in the frame under a dummy tank while the actual fuel tank is moved below the rider’s saddle. The turbocharger is mounted adjacent to the cylinder head which makes for better packaging and a more compact design.

Source: hellforleathermagazine

Jump over to read the entire patent application which shares some delightful ideas.