BMW Files Two Patents For W3 Motorcycle Engines

Cameron Aubernon
by Cameron Aubernon

BMW riders may soon find a W3 in place of a four-cylinder on their cruiser bikes.

Autoblog reports the automaker has two separate patents filed for its W3 motorcycle engines, both meant to fill the same space as a traditional V-twin mill.

Speaking of V-twins, one of the W3s is a modification of said unit, where two cylinders share a crankpin while the third has one all to itself. The other W3 uses a fan design with pushrods controlling the valves.

As to where these engines might go if produced, a possible cruiser bike that could throwdown against the Ducati Diavel and similar cruisers would likely be the host for the W3s.




Cameron Aubernon
Cameron Aubernon

Seattle-based writer, blogger, and photographer for many a publication. Born in Louisville. Raised in Kansas. Where I lay my head is home.

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  • Lou_BC Lou_BC on Mar 13, 2015

    Interesting way to stand out in the cruiser crowd.

  • JimC2 JimC2 on Mar 13, 2015

    Maybe somebody could put one of these on an airplane and fly across the English Channel.

  • Haze3 The main advantages of this scheme would seem to be low/isolated pollution (single source NG) and high uptime. Electric is definitely better for net particulate at worker level and may also be preferred for long term maintenance.This said, the CA grid runs a little under 40% fossil fuel (pretty much all NG), so charging these trucks directly from the grid would have lower emissions than generating directly from 100% NG. It would also be more power efficient. However, it's likely that supply reliability and cost would be worse (this cuts out the power co). This is a LOT of charging.Overall efficiency should be equal to or a little worse than direct NG fueling, depending on NG generation process type. Should run 30-40% vs. 40% for direct NG fueling.
  • Canam23 When I moved to France a little over two years ago, one of the first things I noticed is the French buy French... everything. Seven out of ten cars you see on the road are French. When you go to the Home Depot equivalent, almost all the products are French or European Union, even the food in the grocery stores is labeled as being produced in France. This probably isn't surprising from a country that makes its own airliners, fighter jets and submarines but coming from the US where so much is imported from outside and especially from China, this was a revelation. Does France have protective tariffs? Yes, but nothing over the top. The French are proud of their products and they enjoy their employment and the benefits they receive. They do sell a Chinese brand here, MG, and you get a bit more for your money, but not much.If Americans had the same attitudes as the French, there might be a lot more manufacturing jobs in the US.
  • Fred Remember when "made in Japan" was cut? Face it people bought 10 year old Fiats made behind the iron curtain. People will always shop price, the rest be damned.
  • FreedMike Wow, and here I was thinking the EV haters were raring to go out and buy one, and then this. Tragic.
  • Jkross22 "Even with that positive survey response, potential buyers are still worried about privacy." - LOL, that's hilarious. I wonder if the survey takers stopped the survey to take a few selfies and upload them to the cloud (aka someone else's computer).
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