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When I originally posted this question I had no idea there would be so much information coming from it. For all the info coming from people describing themselves as "backyard bumpkins" the backyard they are referring to must be of M.I.T. This is great info from a lot of very informed people. I have always considered myself mechanically intelligent but wow, the people on this forum are way out of my league. Thank you all for giving me the opportunity to read and learn. Knowing how engines work is one thing and explaining them is another, thank you Jimbonnie and the rest of you for making it interesting and understandable.
This little question has tought me so much about engines that I had not thought about. It also explains a lot of what I see going on in the motorcycle world. If I am extrapolating correctly from the info I am reading I would gather that companies making oversquare V twins are focusing on torque more than Hp. This would mean these engines could run out of breath sooner than their displacements would normally dictate. This means the companies would make larger and larger v twins to allow them to run easier at highway speeds. This would also mean that the frame of the bike would have to be longer to accomodate the engine. Engines that have a similar displacement but use more cylinders would have shorter strokes and would breathe easier at higher revs (larger bore and larger valves) and would create more horsepower. This would explain why v twin manufacturers are in a displacement race and why smaller multiple cylinder engines often have a lot more power than larger two cylinder engines. Hopefully that actually made sense. It seems to fit in my brain but whether I have stated it clearly is another matter. That is my simplified extrapolation of what I have been learning. Hopefully I am getting the info correct in my head.
Anyway once again I want to thank everyone for all your help in explaining this question to me.
Dave
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Dave
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