Development of Handling Test Procedures for Motorcycles

Preliminary results of a study to develop lateral-directional handling test procedures for motorcycles are presented. One is a steady-state turn, accomplished with a range of forward speeds and turn radii. The other is a single lane change maneuver, using various degrees of severity and forward speeds. Several example motorcycles were studied analytically and via full scale tests. Data from onboard instrumentation show the effects of vehicle and operational differences on selected response and performance measures. This paper comprises a progress report, and the work is continuing.