Patented System and Method to Stabilize Motorcycles

ANN ARBOR, Mich., October 30, 2019 Mechanical Simulation Corporation engineers Dr. Yukio Watanabe and Dr. Michael Sayers received a patent issued by the U.S. Patent Office on October 8, 2019 (patent No.: US 10,435,016 B2) for a new method to stabilize motorcycles.

Motorcycles can become unstable when operating at high speeds and at high cornering levels. In some situations, they exhibit an oscillation known technically as “weave” and known as the “widow-maker vibration” among riders. The weave motion of motorcycles was theoretically identified in the early 1970s, and manufacturers have tried to eliminate weave motion by avoiding excessive weight on the rear wheel, tuning spring and dampers, and other adjustments. However, no one has tried to remove (or reduce) the weave motion by computer application of brakes, throttle and steering.

The invented method utilizes high-fidelity computer simulation model of a 2-wheel or 3-wheel motorcycle to predict operating states such as yaw rate, lateral acceleration and roll angle for a stable motorcycle at a given speed and steer angle. The operating state of a physical motorcycle is measured and compared to that of the computational model to determine if there is a pending loss of stability. The nature of that difference is used to intervene with the brakes, modulating the engine torque, and applying steering torque independently of the human rider.  

Generally, applying the brakes on motorcycles during oscillatory motion at high speed is very dangerous. However, the application of brakes with coordination to the oscillation at a certain timing (this is a part of the claimed invention) can effectively reduce the speed and reduce the weave oscillation to stabilize the motorcycle. The brakes are applied precisely with rapid coordination of the oscillatory frequency of motorcycle motion faster than would be possible by a human rider.

The issue of high-speed stability is becoming more significant as many high-end motorcycles provide more power, and tandem riding becomes legal on highways in some Asian countries. Dr. Watanabe notes, “the invented system method can be considered as next-generation of stability control which can be prepared for unexpected oscillatory behavior of motorcycles and Personal Mobility Vehicles during high-speed cruising.”

About Mechanical Simulation Corporation

Mechanical Simulation Corporation is a technology leader in the development and distribution of advanced software used to simulate vehicle performance under a wide variety of conditions. The Ann Arbor, Michigan based company was established in 1996 and provides car, truck and motorcycle simulation packages, training and ongoing support to more than 90 OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers, and over 160 universities and government research groups worldwide. For more information, please visit www.carsim.com.

Three-wheeled motorcycles with and without stability control at 145 km/h speed on a constant radius of curve and road friction of 0.5.

 

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