How do motorcycle engines work?

Question

I can’t wrap my head around how such a small engine can produce the same amount of speed that a car can, especially when a larger engine in a smaller car can still be really slow.

In: Engineering

Answer 1

Motorcycle engines usually run the same way that car engines do, 4-stroke gasoline combustion engines. These engines are of course less powerful than a standard car engine, but bikes are much lighter and experience less friction since they only have two rather small wheels. Bikes also have less pollution control mechanisms that can reduce power, such as catalytic converters. This also means that motorcycles pollute more than cars.