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Mark Hinchliffe·
NewsMotorbike news
··5 Comments·2 min read

Aussie 2-stroke invention may fail

2 stroke CITS engine events fail flywheel investor
Aussie-designed two-stroke CITS engine

A brilliant Australian-designed two-stroke engine that meets tough emissions requirements and eliminates total-loss lubrication may fail for a lack of investment.

The Crankcase Independent Two-Stroke (CITS) was invented by former South African motorsport engineer Basil van Rooyen, Director of CITS Engineering, St Ives, who says it would be ideal for motorcycles.

Tough pollution laws have forced two-stroke motorcycles out of the market in recent years in favour of four-strokes.

However, Basil says their CIT engine has 10 advantages over four-stroke including being more powerful, lighter, smaller, cheaper, more economical as well as lower emissions.

Click here for more technical details.

2 stroke CITS engine fail
2 stroke CITS engine

Doomed to fail?

“Despite the appraisals and irrefutable 10 achievements with CITS, an investor for our capital raising has not emerged,” Basil says.

“We no longer have funding for the patents fees in 40 countries, so must pull the plug shortly before they lapse in four months’ time.”

Basil says he is looking for a wealthy individual investor, group of investors or a major manufacturer to take a stake in his company or buy the intellectual property and prototype.

Click here to contact Basil.

Our article about the CIT engine was the third most popular of 2017.

Two-stroke future

Despite the Aussie two-stroke setback, several companies are forging ahead wth modern variants.

Last year, KTM has released a raft of new direct-injection two-strokers and Honda recently registered patents for direct-injection two-stroke engines, so they look like making a comeback.

There are also several small manufacturers making exotic and expensive track-only two-stroke motorcycles such as Ronax and Suter.

Vins Motor stroker

The latest is Italian company Vins Motors with their ultralight Vins Duecinquanta (250) which weighs just 95kg.

It uses a lot of carbon fibre and billet aluminium, so it costs €40,000 ($A 62,000, $US47,780), including Value Added Tax.

CEO Vincenzo Mattia says they plan to distribute the motorcycle in USA, UK and Australia from June 2018.

“We are actually selecting the dealers for each country (and consequently the final price to the customer),” he told us.

“The price depends on what the customers want about customization.”

There is no detailed technical information about emissions or lubrication of the electronically injected 90-degree V-twin engine.

Vins Duecinquanta 2-stroke road motorcycle fail
Vins Duecinquanta

However, they say it meets Euro 4 emissions standards and will have a top speed of 200km/h.

Vins Motors have also built a track-only 85kg Duecinquanta Competizione version with a 288cc, 60kW engine, and a top speed of 240km/h.

It will cost €50,000 ($A77,000, $US59,720) .

Vins Duecinquanta Competizione 2-stroke track motorcycle fail
Vins Duecinquanta Competizione
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Mark Hinchliffe
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5 Comments

  1. Good luck with that in Australia. I still remember when Ralph Sarich won “Inventor of the Year” on the ABC in 1972 for his revolutionary orbital 2-stroke engine. No-one was interested in investing at the time; the Australian government offered some money, but nowhere near what was required. Sarich had to float his company in the USA to raise money and get anything happening. Mercury Outboards has been using the fuel-injection technique he developed for the engine for some time now and helped made Sarich quite wealthy, along with some other companies using components of his engine.

  3. Salutations to the CITS Team!
    It is tragic such great inventions don’t get snatched up by investors
    and don’t get mass produced for their engineering prowess over the current day offerings.
    Instead, they vanish, sometimes mysteriously, like the great pioneers of automotive engineering, the predecessors of today’s Tesla, over the last century, or longer …
    Like poor old Stanley Meyer, who invented the water fuel-cell, allowing engines to run on water – murdered by the US government of the day… Or Rudolf Diesel, who’s high compression motor was initially meant to run on peanut oil (!) – not fossil-fuel! – also killed by the “Establishment’, after which, to this day it “has to” run on diesel fuel, as we know today… Same as the great electrification network of public transport system in Los Angeles, by Pacific Electric – wiped out by the fat conglomerate of oil and car makers.
    Not a pretty picture, if you are open minded enough to accept the facts of history and that some things never change. Or do they?
    (Information reference/acknowledgement;
    Tim Keen, Motorofficial/Motormag.com.au Jan.’2018)
    https://www.tomzed.com.au

    1. Adding to the list, with a similar story of Tom Ogle,
      who invented the vapour fuel system, in 1977, capable of 100 m.p.g.

      Murdered by the “same people” of the day two years later,
      with his invention scrapped…

  4. The Orbital engine may not have survived, but the Orbital injection company still does and they would be the first ones I would go to if you want some support or help in getting this up and running.
    We also need to remember that the EU has set a date for the end of motors that run on gas to be used in cars and so this may limit the long term viability of any new gas motor.

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