Two- or four-stroke: which engine is the right one?

Before purchasing a scooter, it is important to get an overview of the different power levels of the engines. Scooters differ here in the number of cylinders and displacement. Also between two- and four-stroke engines. To help you decide which motor is the right one for you, here is a brief explanation of the type of motor.

The two-stroke engine:

The two-stroke engine is initially much simpler than a four-stroke engine. It consists of fewer parts and has no camshaft or valves. The lubrication takes place with the fuel in which the lubricating oil was previously mixed directly. Today this is in an extra tank and has an automatic mixing device. The maintenance effort is a little lower because there is no need to change the oil. The co-combustion of the lubricating oil or its poor combustion causes high particle emissions. It is even higher than the emissions of a passenger car with a diesel engine. Both unregulated and regulated oxidation catalysts are used to reduce these pollutants. The resulting exhaust gas odor is also considerably higher than with a four-stroke engine.

The advantage of the two-stroke engine is the high performance that the scooter can achieve despite the low speed. The scooter accelerates faster, but it also makes it louder. In addition, it has a generally broader usable speed range, a lower weight and less vibration. These vehicles are serviced less frequently and repairs are easier than with a four-stroke engine. Such vehicles are particularly suitable for hobbyists and tuners.

The four-stroke engine:

From a displacement of 125ccm today, four-stroke engines are used almost exclusively. These hardly differ from a car engine. They are built in a correspondingly complex manner.

In the meantime, more and more four-stroke engines are being built into 50cc scooters. Particularly powerful models even have two cylinders with a top speed of up to 175 km / h and an acceleration to 100 km / h in 6.5 to 8 seconds.

An oil pan is used for lubrication, so regular oil changes, similar to a car, are necessary. The four-stroke engine also looks a lot like a car when it comes to driving. The vehicle drives more quietly and, due to the longer acceleration, a little more clumsy, but much quieter. Another advantage of the four-stroke engine is the low pollutant emissions. However, due to the complexity of the four-stroke engine, repairs and maintenance are more time-consuming and therefore less suitable for hobbyists and tuners.

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