John,
Here is a question for you and your metalhead group.
Q: Say you had a 2 CYCLE motorcycle and you wanted to push start it. Suppose that you got on it and turned on the ignition but didn't hit the start button. Instead you depressed the clutch lever and put it in 1st gear. Then four of your not so bright friends, two on each side, pushed you and the bike BACKWARDS!! Remember there are two each side so they should be able to keep you from falling over. After the bike gains some momentum you pop the clutch. Now, the question is: WILL THE BIKE START WITH THE ENGINE RUNNINGBACKWARDS??!? If not, why not? The reason that it comes up is that I read about a new class of ULCCs (UltraLargeCrudeCarriers -- Way big mutha oil tankers) that have 2 cycle diesel engines with NO transmission, clutch or reduction gears of any sort. The drive shaft comes out the back of the engine and goes out the back of the hull and the propeller is bolted directly to the end of it No gears, no clutch, no nothing. The way that they reverse it is by shutting of the engine and then restarting it BACKWARDS!!?! It is designed to do this, I'm wondering if all 2 cycle engines will run backwards or not? Inquiring minds want to know.
Bill
From Engineman