Multi-body modelling and analysis into the non-linear behaviour of modern motorcycles

Abstract

The stationary and periodic motion of a motorcycle under typical and extreme running conditions on a straight road and during cornering is investigated. The motorcycle model consists of six rigid bodies: a rear frame, a steering head with handlebar and the suspended part of the front fork, the unsuspended part of the front fork, a rear swing arm, and two wheels. The tyre force model deals effectively with large camber angles and combined longitudinal and lateral slips plus normal spin rate. The equations of motion are generated in a symbolic form by the multi-body dynamics program AutoSim. For analysing solutions of the equations of motion, the numerical continuation program AUTO 97 is employed.

Bifurcation diagrams for a motorcycle running straight ahead or in a circle are presented and discussed. The motorcycle can have three basic modes of instability: capsize, wobble, and weave mode. The results indicate that aerodynamic drag has a tendency to make the wobble mode more damped and the weave mode less damped. The emerging bifurcating periodic solutions are mostly of the subcritical kind for the weave and of the supercritical kind for the wobble.

Keywords

bifurcations continuation of solutions motorcycle dynamics multi-body dynamics tyre modelling motorcycle suspensions

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