Why the 270 Degree “Crossplane Twin” is Suddenly So Popular

“But super twins pose a problem of their own. See, twins are lovable when they’re little, but grow ‘em up and they always turn out weird. And the same is true of engines.” Damn that's good.

These videos are some of the best motorcycle consumer journalism available. And they just happen to be videos. I say that as a lifelong journo and rubbish youtuber. Respect to the whole team behind them.

Hey Ryan, Driving 4 Answers just uploaded a counter argument to your 285 degree statements. Very respectfully done, and I don't think I am alone in hoping to see a discussion between you guys. If for no other reason, just to get two smart dudes chatting.

My brother and I modified a Yamaha XS650 about ten years ago. Changed it from the stock 360 deg configuration to a 277 deg by indexing the crank, cutting the cam in half and welding it back together with one side advanced to match the crank. Worked out to be a 277 deg firing order due to the odd number of splines on the crank; and while it's not a perfect balance it did reduce the engine vibration to the point that I could ride for hours without my arms going numb. The power delivery was smoother, and IMO it sounds much better than it did stock.

Ryan makes me feel like my engineering degree is actually worth something

Gotta be that guy and point out Yamaha had a 270 degree crank way back in the 90's with the TRX850. I've owned three of them over the years and they are just a delightful machine.

Having owned (and destroyed) one, I would argue the reason for Yamaha applying the cross plane crankshaft so liberally now was their experience with the TRX (and TDM) 850 already back in the 90s. Both had a 270 degree crankshaft and I have to say it was a really nice engine, even though plagued by the mass market carburetors, like you explained. With expensive aftermarket components it became much smoother on the throttle! Phenomenal video, Ryan and F9 crew!

I repinned the crank on my 1977 Ducati Parallel twin DM 500S to 78' back in 1992. It was a crap engine to start with and i had spent way too much on it, being a highly tuned and modified ex race bike. After much fettling with points cam and valve timing to get it to fire and run, the improvement was insane. A heavy lump of an engine was finally producing respectable horsepower. The thinking behind the mod was using the two pistons as one, albiet with a very long ignition stroke. One fired, and then the next just after the first had passed 78' and still completing fuel burn. The riding sensation was like a gallop, and with a little more fine tuning of carbutrttor and intake manifold length, she was like a big single with a double tap thump and gobs of torque. The DM 500 had a balancer originally, which came in handy, but it was still "unique" to ride on long runs.

06:56 - don't underestimate the power of sheds. The entire British defence industry was created in a shed. The Sten gun? A shed. The Avro Vulcan? A big shed. A big shed that was designed in a smaller shed.

>reads title >i have no idea what this means >reads channel name >go on then

I love the mix of physics and history in all of these videos. Keep up the great work.

Very interesting and informative as usual. I can’t help but point out that Triumph twins started offering 270 degree cranks in the mid 2000’s in the Speedmaster and Scrambler models.

Ian McCollum (of Forgotten Weapons) once pointed out that the history of firearms was not a story of firearms technology, but instead is a story of production technology. The same is true for most products, including motorcycles.

I have never owned a motorcycle and I still find myself on his channel every time there is a upload

It was not a Holden based engine in the Repco Brabham V8 that Phil Irving designed in the 60s. The F1 championship winning engine he designed was based on a Buick alloy 215 V8 block, the same engine that Rover bought the rights to and then built the Rover V8 which then got built forever. For those that didn't know Irving was Australian which led to his involvement with Repco to develop the engine.

I'm constantly amazed at the quality of video that FortNine puts out. I literally never froth over any other content creator but the work that goes into these videos, the comedy, the interesting topics.... it's something else. Well done.

Brilliant how Ryan makes the effort to get the specific facts correct, and from first principles to boot. Insight that for the majority of us, would normally just fly over our heads.

This channel is what Cycle Magazine would be today, if it were still around. Enjoyable writing and content that you look forward to with each issue.

Once again I find myself enthralled in another of Ryans’ science videos that help to explain all things motorcycle. I own a T7 and love the bike…in fact bought it because of your video on this very bike and its engine and frame geometry. Always look forward to your videos…keep up the great work!!

Yamaha had the TDM 850 MK2 (1996) and TDM 900 since 2001. Maybe you didn't get them in NA but the TDMs are super popular in Europe. Great bikes. Both 270 parallel twins.