Who First Lit the 2-Stroke Match?
It all began puffing along in 1880 when an English engineer Dugald Clerk banged together a 2-stroke engine design. But then it took about another 25 years before another Brit, one Alfred Scott, secured the first patent for a 2-stroke, in this case a V-Twin. To further enshrine his name into the history books, a few years later in 1912 he came up the rotary valve engine. Scott was also the innovative thinker that gave the world the Scott Flying Squirrel motorcycle, and yes the bike ridden to the Extravaganza by Jay Leno.
The two-stroke design philosophy centers around efficiency and an economy of components, fewer than the number required by four-stroke engines that utilize camshafts and valves. Fewer parts also meant they are lighter pound for pound and produce more power than a four-stroke. But four-strokes get higher scores in the long run as they are less polluting, less subject to heat problems, for the most part more durable and reliable and offer a wider powerband. Two-strokes however, at least for a while, literally left the 4-stroke competition in the dust, rather the smoke.
To read the full article on the event by Paul Garson click here.
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