What we have called “motorcycles” should actually be called “enginecycles”. Also, the engine on enginecycles is a four-cycle engine.

  • MyTurtleSwimsUpsideDown@fedia.io
    22·
    6 hours ago

    Upvote for the main thought, but

    1. A gasoline engine is a type of motor. You are making a distinction without a difference. A motor is just something that produces mechanical motion. Motor. Motion. Motivate. All come from the same root as “move”
    2. An “engine” can be the whole apparatus that does the work, not merely the thing that provides the power, and could be powered by a water, beast, or even manually such as the cotton [en]gin[e]. A lot of that usage comes from pre WW2, but it survives in things like “train engine” (the vehicle that pushes or pulls a train) and “game engine” (the program architecture that manages the processing power provided by the computer to convert user interactions, game assets, etc. into something that we recognize as a game).
    3. It’s not a four-cycle engine. It is a four-stroke engine: each piston makes four strokes each complete engine cycle.
    • Admetus@sopuli.xyz
      1·
      1 hour ago

      I didn’t know what to say but you nabbed it.

      Also reminds me of the motor effect: electromagnetism causing motion. Perhaps that’s why the name ‘electric motor’ became so dominant…

    • Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafeEnglish
      22·
      6 hours ago

      To your point, “engine” at one time referred specifically to an electrically driven device, and “motor” referred to something combustion driven.

      Etymologically, engine means “mechanical device” and motor originates in Latin meaning “mover”.

      I do agree with OP that a 2 wheel contrivance with any kind of motor/engine is a motorcycle (motorized cycle) from a regulatory perspective, though I’d never call one a motorcycle.