Abstract
The increased number of vehicles and poor road conditions in many countries result in slow moving traffic. At low-speeds, riding a motorcycle requires continuous input from a rider to achieve stability, which causes fatigue to the rider. Therefore, in this research, the low-speed stability of a motorcycle is studied using a theoretical and experimental approach to identify the parameters that can reduce the rider’s effort. Initially, a linear mathematical model of the motorcycle and rider system is presented; wherein, the equation of motion for the stability of the system in roll direction is derived. The open-loop and closed-loop poles from the equation are calculated to determine the regions for the low-speed stability. Subsequently, experiments are conducted on the motorcycle instrumented with the required sensors, on a straight path at speeds below 10 km/h. The input and output parameters from the experimental data are analyzed using a statistical method. Steering angle and steering torque are the input parameters; roll and yaw angles and their corresponding velocities are the output parameters selected for the analysis. Correlation and lead time between the input and output parameters are compared to identify the parameters useful for the rider to attain the low-speed stability. The results obtained from the experimental analysis validate the mathematical model. In addition, these findings also validate that the input parameters required to control the motorcycle to achieve low-speed stability can be estimated using the identified output parameters.
Highlights
Motorcycles are a preferred mode of daily transportation in many countries because of congested traffic conditions, and they are the most economically viable option
Results obtained from the experiments validated the theoretical model and confirm that the identified input parameter required to balance the motorcycle at low speeds can be estimated accurately using the identified output parameters
Experiments are conducted on a straight path with professional riders at speeds 3, 5 and 10 km/h
Summary
Motorcycles are a preferred mode of daily transportation in many countries because of congested traffic conditions, and they are the most economically viable option. In research studies [11,12], the low-speed stability of a bicycle is proposed using a theoretical approach In such cases, frequencies of input to the bicycle are different from that provided by the riders. The steering input required to improve the low-speed stability can be reduced by adding an extra degree of freedom to a motorcycle using a mechanism [13]. The balancing of the bicycle or the motorcycle is attained without assessing the inputs from an actual rider. There are limited studies on low-speeds stability of motorcycle by evaluating the rider inputs [25,26], which is the scope of the present research.
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