Motorcycle having a system for combustion diagnostics

A method of determining whether a no-combustion event occurred in a two-cylinder engine of a motorcycle, the method comprising the acts of:

• providing a motorcycle including
• a frame,
• front and rear wheels coupled to the frame for rotation with respect to the frame,
• an engine mounted to the frame, the engine including a housing, a crankshaft mounted for rotation within the housing, first and second cylinders having first and second combustion chambers, respectively, and first and second pistons reciprocating in the first and second cylinders, respectively, and
• a spark generating circuit including a spark plug having a spark gap exposed to the first chamber;
• applying a spark-inducing signal to the spark generating circuit;
• obtaining an ion signal indicative of an ion current across the first spark plug gap;
• and
• analyzing the ion signal of determine if no combustion resulted when applying the spark-inducing signal to the spark generating circuit.

A method of determining whether a spark generating circuit of a motorcycle has an intermittent connection, the method comprising:

• providing a motorcycle having a frame, an engine mounted to the frame, and a spark generating circuit mounted to the frame, the engine including a cylinder having a combustion chamber and a piston reciprocating in the first cylinder, and the spark generating circuit including a spark plug having a spark plug gap exposed to the first combustion chamber;
• generating a spark in the combustion chamber with the first spark plug;
• obtaining an ion signal indicative of an ion current across the spark plug gap;
• and
• analyzing the ion signal to determine if the spark generating circuit has an intermittent connection.

A motorcycle comprising:

• a frame;
• at least two wheels coupled to the frame for rotation with respect to the frame;
• an engine including a housing, a first cylinder having a first combustion chamber and a first piston reciprocating in the first chamber;
• a spark generating circuit including the spark plug and being operable to generate an ion signal indicative of an ion current generated across the spark gap;
• an ion sensing circuit including a spark plug and being operable to generate an ion signal indicative of an ion current generated across the spark gap;
• and
• an analysis module coupled to the ion sensing circuit to receive the ion signal and to analyze the ion signal to determine if the spark generating circuit has an intermittent connection.