83 Suzuki 450E on the list

Its also what drives the CB's need for 2 coils, right?.....2 sets of points, or 2 PVL pickups.

360 crank only has 1 coil, 1 points, right?

If yes, I believe the 180 would have an advantage there.....unless of course you need to troubleshoot.

The one set for the 360 also plays into the "Cost" thoughts.

If you set cost aside, and look at potential performance, I see the 180 crank with an advantage over the 360.....which leads me to the question again....

Why was the 180 not at least as prevalent as a 360?...why did the 360 crank win out?

It has to be cost, and simplicity which leads back to cost I guess.

 

Nice link, I'll read shortly.

 

The CB350 needs two sets of points and coils because of its UNeven firing order. (180+540=720) where as 360 degree crank engines can easily run on one set of points since they fire at even intervals (360+360=720)
My Yamaha 650 had two set of points and coils just like a CB350. It CAN be made to run with one set of points and a dual output coil by replacing the points cam with an aftermarket item that has dual lobes. That makes it a wasted spark design then.
Currently my 650 has a magneto ignition made up of Chinese parts from some sort of Honda 50 clone. It now has a wasted spark and does seem to run crisper than it did with dual points, total loss battery ignition.

So if there is an advantage to one or the other crank config it is not because one has wasted spark and one doesn't. Both can be set up with numerous ignition configurations.

 

Another thing - the 360 balances like a big single, no rocking coupling as Brad previously mentioned.

 

Anybody ever heard of a "twingle"? Both cyls share the same power stroke. I think they used 'em for pullin' stumps and flat track.

 

Of course the Puch comes to mind, shared combustion chamber even. Supposed to be a 2-stroke with 4-stroke grunt.

 

Either of you guys have a pic or sketch of this "rocking Coupling"?

I googled it. I've had dozens of the Honda 180 cranks in my hands and don't recall anything similar to what I'm seeing on my google results.

My cranks just look like connecting rods on journals....there is no third leg that I recall seeing.

 

It's not a physical coupling but a dynamic tendency to rock from side to side while running from the pistons firing opposite one another.

 

OK, reading more, I guess this could be part of the reason the 360 crank "Won".....but this doesn't really read as more positive for the 360.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secondary_balance#Secondary_balance

Interesting topic for sure.

I really wish I could find something conclusive, like "The 360 crankshaft configuration became the predominant configuration over the 180 configuration because........"

Even if it was several pages of answer, I'd be interested.

 

Food for thought. Honda's newest parallel twin offering, the NC700X has a 270 degree crank that starts life as a 360 degree forging and is then TWISTED to 270 degrees while hot.