Most inline-three engines fall below 1.2 litres. Smart currently produces a diminutive 799 cubic centimetres (48.8 cu in) inline-three diesel engine. The 1967 Suzuki Fronte featured a 256 cubic centimetres (15.6 cu in) two-stroke I3 engine. The smallest inline-three, four-stroke automobile engine was the 543 cubic centimetres (33.1 cu in) Suzuki F5A, which was first used in the 1979 Suzuki Alto/Fronte. Firing intervals are 180-270-270 crank degrees. Triumph claim this configuration improves engine character and sound, as well as off-road feel and 'rider connection to the rear wheel'. This design has crank throws at 90° intervals, such that the throws for cylinders 1 and 3 are separated by 180° - the three throws together forming a 'T' shape when viewed from the end. Triumph's 2020 Tiger 900 has been developed with a so-called 'T-Plane' big-bang firing order engine. After 1982, this engine had the regular 120° crank angle. This unusual crank angle came to be due to lack of proper tooling at the factory, which also made vertical twin engines that utilized a 180° crankshaft.

There is no power stroke on the final 180° of rotation. In these engines, cylinder number one fires, then 180° later cylinder number two fires, and then 180° later cylinder number three fires. The inner cylinder is offset 180° from the outer cylinders. In these engines, the outer pistons rise and fall together like a 360° straight-two engine. The use of a balance shaft reduces this undesirable effect.Īn inline three-cylinder engine with 180° crankshaft can be found in early examples of the Laverda Jota motorcycle made by Italian manufacturer Laverda. This gives perfect first and second order balance on reciprocating mass, but an end-to-end rocking motion is induced because there is no symmetry in the piston velocities about the middle piston. Straight-three engines generally employ a crank angle of 120°. Four stroke Straight-three engine with firing order 1-3-2.

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