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Written by Dan Carney
While electronic stability control has become mandatoryequipment for cars sold in the U.S. because of the huge reduction in crashes itprovides, motorcycles are a category of vehicles that can benefit even morethan four-wheeled vehicles because of their propensity to fall over when ridersmake mistakes or encounter problems. As happened in cars, electronic safety technology formotorcycles is tracing a course starting with anti-lock brakes, continuingthrough traction control, and arriving eventually at full electronic stabilitycontrol. Anti-lock brakes have been available for decades on premiummotorcycles, and very high-powered race-replica sportbikes have in recent yearsintroduced traction control. Now, finally, comes true motorcycle stabilitycontrol (MSC). Bosch has introduced an add-on MSC module for its existing ninth-generationmotorcycle ABS system that carries accelerometers that measure yaw and pitchand the necessary programming to modulate engine power accordingly. ABS alone is good for a 37% reduced likelihood ofinvolvement in a fatal crash, according to the Insurance Institute for HighwaySafety. It also reduces the incidence of insurance claims by 22%, they said. Relatively few bikes have ABS and, until the new Ducati1299 Panigale and Multistrada 1200 and the KTM 1190 Adventure reach showrooms,none has MSC. As a result, while automotive traffic fatalities havebeen steadily falling, motorcycle fatalities are rising. "It is a troubling trend," said Anne McCartt, Senior Vice President for Research at IIHS. "As the number of new riders continues toincrease, though, it"s becoming more important than ever to lower the crashrisk." Enter Bosch"s new MSC system. While ABS can apply fullbraking at lean angles of no more than 20 , helping avoid mostlystraight-line crashes, the added intelligence of the MSC system supportsautomatic threshold braking at lean angles as steep as 45 . And becauseit can automatically brake both wheels at maximum, the MSC system reduces thetendency of hard front-wheel braking to stand the bike upright in the turn andpush it off course. "The Boschinertial platform makes the 1299 Panigale better because it allows the bike"selectronics to more accurately and comprehensively adjust its performance,"noted Paul Ventura, 1299 Project Manager for Ducati. "Electronics are a crucialpart of modern motorcycles," he said. "Without question, they make the bikesfaster, safer, and more rider-friendly." Bosch says that 24% of motorcycle crashes occur incurves, which gives the MSC system the ability to assist in situations when ABScan"t. While ABS is able to prevent about 35% of crashes involvingcasualties, MSC adds another 6% to that, for protection in 41% ofsuch crashes, said Frank Sgambati, Director of Marketing and Product Innovationfor Robert Bosch LLC"s chassis control systems division in North America. Bosch"s MSC system includes the ABS module, with itshydraulic pump, electric motor for the pump and electronic control unit to runthe system, plus the wheel speed sensors that identify lockup or wheel spin. "By taking the next step, we"ve added yaw and pitch sensorsthat allow a bit more information," Sgambati said. "If you are in a panicsituation in a bend or curve and grab a handful of brake, it is able todetermine the lean angle of the motorcycle. Using sensory input, it willdetermine if the bike is tending to try to go off the road and using brakemodulation it will try to slow it down, and work with the ECU to slow enginetorque so the bike remains stable." "Using anInertial Measurement Unit, the Bosch system determines the bike"s dynamicposition at all times, for example precisely calculating its angle of lean,"said Ventura. "This allows the use of cornering ABS, which dramaticallyincreases safety by allowing the rider to brake without crashing even whiledeeply leaning." Similarly, the system is able to intervene in case the riderbreaks traction by applying too much throttle rather than too much brake. "Thesystem does allow it to reduce engine torque," Sgambati said. "It also allows wheelie control, which mitigates front-wheel lift for maximum forwardacceleration while staying under control," Ventura reported. "And on the Sversion, the IMU interfaces with the Ohlins suspension to continually adjustits settings for the best possible performance." The ninth-generation ABS module that is thefoundation of the MSC system is Bosch"s first that was designed from the outsetexclusively for motorcycle use, rather than being derived from an automotivemodule, according to Sgambati. As a motorcycle-specific product, this ABS module is smallerand cheaper than previous editions. If future versions additionally incorporatethe MSC features into the ABS module so there are no external add-ons, thatcould help reduce the system"s hardware cost further, he said. Software is another matter. The algorithms overseeingkeeping the rubber in contact with the road is specific for each model, sothere is always a software development cost associated with adding MSC to a newmodel, Sgambati reported. "Therecommendation is that [software development] should be part of the bike"sdevelopment process," he said. "You are using algorithms developed specificallyfor the bike and the tires it uses." A key aspect of the system is that it must not interfere withriders" enjoyment of their motorcycles. "The draw for motorcycle ridingis the excitement," Sgambati noted. "We don"t want to interfere or change thatexperience. We only want to appear in panic situations." However,with mistake-prone beginners commonly starting out on more affordableentry-level machines, it seems as though the riders who could most benefit fromMSC are the least likely to have motorcycles equipped with it. This issomething Bosch hopes will change. "As wego forward with scalability, we have pretty good confidence that more low-endbikes will see ABS and MSC," he said. The question is how soon that can happen."What we hope is soon," Sgambati said. ThoughDucati specializes in premium bikes, Ventura said he also thinks stabilitycontrol will reach more affordable models. "An electronic improvement like the Bosch system should absolutelytrickle down to other models, especially as its cost decreases," he said. "Fornow, it"s been introduced on Ducati"s highest-performance, highest-technologymotorcycles like the 1299 Panigale and new Multistrada 1200, but just like ABSbecame in the past and traction control is becoming now, inertial electronicswill become ubiquitous in the future."
Date: 05-Jun-2015 11:17 EDT
More of this article on the SAE International website
ID: 1322
While electronic stability control has become mandatoryequipment for cars sold in the U.S. because of the huge reduction in crashes itprovides, motorcycles are a category of vehicles that can benefit even morethan four-wheeled vehicles because of their propensity to fall over when ridersmake mistakes or encounter problems. As happened in cars, electronic safety technology formotorcycles is tracing a course starting with anti-lock brakes, continuingthrough traction control, and arriving eventually at full electronic stabilitycontrol. Anti-lock brakes have been available for decades on premiummotorcycles, and very high-powered race-replica sportbikes have in recent yearsintroduced traction control. Now, finally, comes true motorcycle stabilitycontrol (MSC). Bosch has introduced an add-on MSC module for its existing ninth-generationmotorcycle ABS system that carries accelerometers that measure yaw and pitchand the necessary programming to modulate engine power accordingly. ABS alone is good for a 37% reduced likelihood ofinvolvement in a fatal crash, according to the Insurance Institute for HighwaySafety. It also reduces the incidence of insurance claims by 22%, they said. Relatively few bikes have ABS and, until the new Ducati1299 Panigale and Multistrada 1200 and the KTM 1190 Adventure reach showrooms,none has MSC. As a result, while automotive traffic fatalities havebeen steadily falling, motorcycle fatalities are rising. "It is a troubling trend," said Anne McCartt, Senior Vice President for Research at IIHS. "As the number of new riders continues toincrease, though, it"s becoming more important than ever to lower the crashrisk." Enter Bosch"s new MSC system. While ABS can apply fullbraking at lean angles of no more than 20 , helping avoid mostlystraight-line crashes, the added intelligence of the MSC system supportsautomatic threshold braking at lean angles as steep as 45 . And becauseit can automatically brake both wheels at maximum, the MSC system reduces thetendency of hard front-wheel braking to stand the bike upright in the turn andpush it off course. "The Boschinertial platform makes the 1299 Panigale better because it allows the bike"selectronics to more accurately and comprehensively adjust its performance,"noted Paul Ventura, 1299 Project Manager for Ducati. "Electronics are a crucialpart of modern motorcycles," he said. "Without question, they make the bikesfaster, safer, and more rider-friendly." Bosch says that 24% of motorcycle crashes occur incurves, which gives the MSC system the ability to assist in situations when ABScan"t. While ABS is able to prevent about 35% of crashes involvingcasualties, MSC adds another 6% to that, for protection in 41% ofsuch crashes, said Frank Sgambati, Director of Marketing and Product Innovationfor Robert Bosch LLC"s chassis control systems division in North America. Bosch"s MSC system includes the ABS module, with itshydraulic pump, electric motor for the pump and electronic control unit to runthe system, plus the wheel speed sensors that identify lockup or wheel spin. "By taking the next step, we"ve added yaw and pitch sensorsthat allow a bit more information," Sgambati said. "If you are in a panicsituation in a bend or curve and grab a handful of brake, it is able todetermine the lean angle of the motorcycle. Using sensory input, it willdetermine if the bike is tending to try to go off the road and using brakemodulation it will try to slow it down, and work with the ECU to slow enginetorque so the bike remains stable." "Using anInertial Measurement Unit, the Bosch system determines the bike"s dynamicposition at all times, for example precisely calculating its angle of lean,"said Ventura. "This allows the use of cornering ABS, which dramaticallyincreases safety by allowing the rider to brake without crashing even whiledeeply leaning." Similarly, the system is able to intervene in case the riderbreaks traction by applying too much throttle rather than too much brake. "Thesystem does allow it to reduce engine torque," Sgambati said. "It also allows wheelie control, which mitigates front-wheel lift for maximum forwardacceleration while staying under control," Ventura reported. "And on the Sversion, the IMU interfaces with the Ohlins suspension to continually adjustits settings for the best possible performance." The ninth-generation ABS module that is thefoundation of the MSC system is Bosch"s first that was designed from the outsetexclusively for motorcycle use, rather than being derived from an automotivemodule, according to Sgambati. As a motorcycle-specific product, this ABS module is smallerand cheaper than previous editions. If future versions additionally incorporatethe MSC features into the ABS module so there are no external add-ons, thatcould help reduce the system"s hardware cost further, he said. Software is another matter. The algorithms overseeingkeeping the rubber in contact with the road is specific for each model, sothere is always a software development cost associated with adding MSC to a newmodel, Sgambati reported. "Therecommendation is that [software development] should be part of the bike"sdevelopment process," he said. "You are using algorithms developed specificallyfor the bike and the tires it uses." A key aspect of the system is that it must not interfere withriders" enjoyment of their motorcycles. "The draw for motorcycle ridingis the excitement," Sgambati noted. "We don"t want to interfere or change thatexperience. We only want to appear in panic situations." However,with mistake-prone beginners commonly starting out on more affordableentry-level machines, it seems as though the riders who could most benefit fromMSC are the least likely to have motorcycles equipped with it. This issomething Bosch hopes will change. "As wego forward with scalability, we have pretty good confidence that more low-endbikes will see ABS and MSC," he said. The question is how soon that can happen."What we hope is soon," Sgambati said. ThoughDucati specializes in premium bikes, Ventura said he also thinks stabilitycontrol will reach more affordable models. "An electronic improvement like the Bosch system should absolutelytrickle down to other models, especially as its cost decreases," he said. "Fornow, it"s been introduced on Ducati"s highest-performance, highest-technologymotorcycles like the 1299 Panigale and new Multistrada 1200, but just like ABSbecame in the past and traction control is becoming now, inertial electronicswill become ubiquitous in the future."
Date: 05-Jun-2015 11:17 EDT
More of this article on the SAE International website
ID: 1322
