Why is this topic important to quad riders??? Because new technology first shows up in the MX dirt bikes, then works its way down to the cross-country bikes and ATV's.....

The Yamaha YZ450F has lots of new technology: backward tilted engine, excentric crank (!), air intake in the front and exhaust out the back, fuel injection, airbox way up front and fuel under the seat, totally new frame, etc. Yamaha says that this will be the pattern for all their bikes in the future!!!!

2010 Yamaha YZ450F Innovation

2010 Yamaha YZ450F Preview - Motorcycle.com

Rather than tilt the engine backward, Husaberg (owned by KTM) lays it down:

2009 Husaberg Fe450 Fe570 Engine Photo

The Honda 450 got reworked last year, and the 250 gets the same workover this year: ultralight engine, fuel injection, etc.

2010 CRF450R - Honda Powersports

2010 CRF250R - Honda Powersports

 

Good stuff.......The MX bikes are in constant evolution, and now with so much money going into guys like James Stewart and Ryan Villopoto these factories are hands on with the satellite teams.....

I heard Suzuki is going to dump a boat load of money from their car sales into MX racing, which is almost unheard of.

 

Husaberg is doing the same thing that the less popular chinese manufacturers of "hewit" (sp?) motors have been doing for years now. Look at all those cheap chinese gokarts and dirtbikes, their cylinders are virtually horizontal with the gear box beneath it or behind it- is it really "NEWS"?

 

Creative design is useless, unless it is accompanied by high quality manufacturing and and a culture of a high level of quality control....which sorry, none of the off-brands ever achieves. So, who would be familiar with these brands that are best avoided, when time and time again they prove to be a waste of money.

 

The Polaris XP's have tilted their motors and redesigned their frames, it may be a small step but the concept may be getting down to the ATV's already!

 

The Chinese barely copy form...

Function?? Not even close...

I like the way Yamaha has followed Cannondale's lead ....fuel going in the front of the cylinder and exhaust going out the back....Yamaha got around the too short of head pipe by making the "tornado" style exhaust..Very cool and much more involved than changing the cylinder angle...

 

the more they add, the more the price goes up! A atv is now almost just as expensive as a entry level Kia. ROFL.

 

My point was not about quality- it was about configuration- laying a cylinder horizontal... with the gear box behind or beneath it.
Showcasing the configuration of a horizontal cylinder is hardly news, showcasing the quality and engineering of a horizontal cylinder is a whole different story.

As for chinese engines and poor quality, I couldn't agree more- they are junk.