Motorcycle Sport & Leisure

Making hot air

Internal combustion engines make power by using fuel to heat air in a sealed volume, raising its pressure. That pressure drives rising-and-falling pistons which in turn spin a crankshaft.

But if the heat that becomes power is allowed to accumulate in engine parts, their temperature rises until lubricants break down or boil away, and metals soften. Preventing such dire results is the purpose of engine cooling.

I learned something interesting from our Kawasaki road race

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