Yamaha Just Patented A Fake Engine

Patent link: https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/WO2025191637 Autopian article with sound clip: https://www.theautopian.com/yamaha-patented-a-piston-engine-for-electric-motorcycles-that-rumbles-and-vibrates-but-actually-reduces-horsepower/ Old Tesla review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBUnJdnVVV4 Support the channel by shopping through this link: https://amzn.to/4fatbMb Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/d4a Become a member: https://www.youtube.com/@d4a/join Over the years I have covered many different patents on this channel. But the one that I will talk about today outscores all of them by a million points….in one category. And that category is nonsense as a result of the rampant superficiality currently present in our society. ​ When I first read about this patent just a few days ago I thought it was some sort of joke, especially since we’re talking about a large, serious, successful OEM like Yamaha. But it’s definitely not a joke, Yamaha did patent a fake engine, someone actually spent company resources to get it done, so let’s go through it together let me explain what it really is, how it works, let me take you through all the levels of ridicule and then after you’ve been fully informed about it I would really really like to hear your opinion about it. Ok, so the whole reason behind the patent is that Yamaha apparently believes that buyers don’t want electric motorcycles because they don’t make the right noises and they don’t vibrate. And how does Yamaha plan to fulfill the wishes of future straddle-type vehicle riders? With something they call “a vehicle driving motor having an appearance similar to that of a conventional reciprocating engine”. Which is patent speak for fake engine. The fake engine is part of the motorcycle and as you can see it is composed of an actual piston, an actual connecting rod an actual crankshaft, an actual cylinder and an actual cylinder head with actual valves in it and to top it all of it has some sort of variable valve lift mechanism. Ok, if this engine doesn’t burn fuel it obviously doesn’t produce energy…how does it run then? It is in fact driven by the electric motor of a battery electric motorcycle. So in order to produce engine like noises this engine has to compress the air and in order to produce engine like vibrations it must reciprocate the piston and spin the crankshaft..all of which of course takes some energy away from the output of the electric motor. But do not worry, Yamaha has a solution for this. Actually two solutions. The first is an alternative operating mode within which the intake valve opens more on the frist stroke and the exhaust valve remains constantly barely open which allows more of the air to escape which reduces compression and thus energy losses. it also reduces sound from the engine. The second solution is a clutch which makes it possible to completely decouple the engine from the electric motor which completely eliminates the energy losses and engine sound. Ok, so it’s fake a engine, big deal. It’s not like OEMs haven’t made fake stuff before. Fake exhausts. Fake air intakes. Fake calipers. Triumph did fake carburetors ages ago. The Hyundai Ioniq 5 N has fake gear shifting. ​ Yes, but those are realistically just gimmicks. There’s no real penalty for them. This is different, this is the next level of fakeness. Yamaha’s fake engine actually takes up precious space on the motorcycle, space that could be otherwise occupied by batteries or other important components. Since it contains most of the moving parts of an actual engine it also obviously adds significant weight to the motorcycle. In order to create engine-like noises this engine must spin at the same rpm as regular engines and this creates significant forces on the rotating assembly which means that these parts have to be strong, and as such they inevitably must posses relatively significant mass. And finally in order to produce engine-like noises this engine must sap the energy of the electric motor which means that when it’s “running” it’s actually reducing the power and the range of the motorcycle. Everyone else decided to just fake noise using speakers, but yamaha decided to fake engine noise and vibration with an actual engine. If you think about it, it’s the most purist way of faking something… That being said, my personal subjective opinion is that this is stupid, unneccesary and it’s not the way forward. And I’m saying this as someone who owned and still owns yamaha products. Someone who thinks that the t7 is still the best adventure bike money can buy. Someone who has rebuilt engines with yamaha designed cylinderheads and someone who really likes all kinds of engines. A special thank you to my patrons: Daniel Zwoa Meda Beda valqk Toma Marini Cole Philips Allan Mackay RePeteAndMe Sam Lutfi Cakeskull #d4a #yamaha