The Internal Combustion Engine, a key invention that has guided the world's progress for the past century, is expected to maintain its influence in the future. Within the transportation sector, bikes and scooters have proven to be one of the most impactful applications of this technology. The term ‘Cubic Capacity’ (CC) quantifies the power of a bike’s engine, directly influencing its utility. In the context of bikes, CC full-form in bike signifies the engine’s Cubic Capacity, which denotes the engine’s size and power. A higher CC indicates a more powerful bike.
Meaning of Cubic Capacity (CC) in bikes
As someone who may be unfamiliar with automotive engineering jargon, we can start by looking at the CC meaning in the bike. An internal combustion engine in a modern bike burns fuel within a cylinder, releasing energy that propels the motorcycle and operates its various functions. An engine cylinder’s capacity to take in and burn a mix of fuel and air by volume determines its cubic capacity. The larger the volume of air and fuel mix the cylinder can take in, the higher its cubic capacity. Most commuter bikes have a single-cylinder engine, though high-performance bikes have multiple-cylinder engines. Today, most commuter bikes have at least a 100 cc engine, whereas the Suzuki GSX 1300 RR Hayabusa, the fastest production road-legal bike in the world, has a 1,340 cc engine.
What Is the Importance of CC in a Bike?
Now that we have gained a fair idea of what is CC in the bike, let’s delve into its significance and its role in the bike.
- The higher the CC, the faster the bike can go: This is the most essential factor you should know. CC is directly proportional to the top speed of your bike and how fast your bike will accelerate to reach that top speed. A high top speed and the ability to accelerate quickly require a powerful engine.
- The higher the CC, the smoother the engine performance: Smooth and reliable engine performance has been the unending quest of all automakers and bike companies; this has been more so because of the very nature of bike design. By their very nature, low CC engines perform badly because they have to put in more effort to achieve the performance that a bike with high CC can achieve without utilising all its potential.
- The higher the CC, the more challenging terrain becomes accessible by your bike: Bikes are versatile and capable of traversing various terrains by their inherent design. Nevertheless, if you intend to venture off-road or navigate challenging terrain, you will require increased engine power, hence the need for a higher CC engine in your bike.
How Do You Calculate the CC of Your Bike?
Ideally, we can easily find the bike CC in the marketing material or owner’s bike manual. The bike registration certificate issued by the RTO also carries its CC. To calculate what is CC in the bike, first find out.
- How many cylinders are there in the engine of the bike? Most bikes have one, though performance bikes can have two or more cylinders.
- What is the bore or diameter of the hole of each of the cylinders in the engine? All cylinders in one engine will have the same bore length. This figure should be in millimetres.
- What is the piston stroke length in the bike engine’s cylinders? Please provide this measurement in millimetres. In the case of a multi-cylinder engine, the measurement will be consistent for all cylinders.
Multiply the bore, the diameter with itself and then the stroke length. Divide the result by the number of cylinders, then by 1000. Rounding off will give you the CC of the bike.