Yamaha has filed patents for a new series of motorcycle-size turbodiesel engines in both inline-four and twin-cylinder configurations. Previously, established brands have not even so much as expressed an interest in diesel engines.
Yamaha would have to contend with packaging issues in placing a diesel engine in a motorcycle chassis as well as the physical size of an engine that’s made to withstand the high pressures and torque inherent in a compression ignition engine. Yamaha’s patents seek to set an arrangement of components particularly the intercooler, which is placed atop the engine under a “dummy tank” with the actual fuel tank moved below the bike’s saddle.
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