An Analysis of Motorcycle Disc Brake Dynamics and the Development of a Variable Characteristic Motorcycle Brake System

The physical performance of motorcycle braking systems has been the subject of both scientific study and government regulation in recent years. The task of applying the brakes on a motorcycle during an emergency stop is quite demanding, requiring as it does the independent modulation of front and rear braking effort so as to avoid wheel lock-up and consequent loss of directional control. However, very little information is available in the literature as to how the difficulty, or otherwise, of the braking task is related to the brake system characteristics. The motorcycle accident literature shows that riders typically do not make full use of the braking capacity of their machines, the front brake being especially underutilized. In view of this, and the relatively high frequency and severity of motorcycle accidents, the relationship between brake system feel properties and rider/cycle braking performance is a topic requiring urgent experimental investigation. To enable such experimentation to be preformed efficiently, a variable brake control gradient (VBCG) motorcycle has been developed and is described in this paper.