Improving the safety of two-wheeler pillion rider by modified footrest joint

Abstract

Two-wheeler with higher cc engine (180 or above) or even lower cc bikes which has aerodynamic elevation for pillion section has many problems regarding safety as well vehicle’s balance at high speed with pillion riders. Sudden braking, sudden acceleration or jumping of vehicle due to road variation can be dangerous for the pillion rider. Two-wheeler especially motorbikes and scooters have extra safety hook design extension for pillion rider to hold for safety. Sudden braking causes the bike to decelerate. the upper and the lower body of the rider riding the bike will also decelerate. For the pillion rider his/her upper body will not experience the same forces as experienced by the rider. Pillion rider lower body will decelerate with the bike as its contact with the foot of the pillion rider at footrest. To properly balance his/her upper body, the pillion rider has to hold the hook extension provided, or by holding a bike structure or by holding the bike rider. Similarly, in case of acceleration, pillion rider’s upper body tends to lean backward. To balance the force again the pillion rider has to hold the hook extension or bike rider or any other bike structure for support. In this work decided to rectify this by introducing a retrofitted joint to ensure extra safety with proper seating angle for pillion rider either during acceleration or deceleration. The modification will help to reduce the drag and lift force experienced by the pillion rider. To do this have considered "TVS Apache rtr 180" beast model to carry out our simulation to find out suitable characteristics for retrofitted joint. To carry out part designing using SOLIDWORKS software. To find out suitable characteristics for retrofitted point by simulation using MATLAB software.