Tyres are the primary contact between the vehicle and the road. It serves as the medium of communication between the road and the rider, which it does in terms of road loads and displacements. Therefore, measurement of dynamic wheel forces experienced by a two-wheeler is crucial for tuning the ride and handling characteristics of the vehicle. Currently, there are standard wheel force transducers available in the market, which are extensively used in cars. However, mass of such a system is relatively high to be used on two-wheelers. Special wheels and adaptors increase the unsprung mass considerably, which changes the dynamics of the vehicle. Moreover, cost of such systems is exorbitantly high to be used for two-wheelers.
This paper describes the development of an innovative and a highly versatile and low-cost alternative method for real-time measurement of dynamic wheel loads and moments of a two-wheeler when compared with the currently available systems in the market. The measurement system has a relatively simple architecture, which comprises of standard tri-axial load transducers fitted between the front fork and wheel assembly of the motorcycle. The simple architecture of the system makes it highly cost effective when compared to systems available in the market. The transducers were integrated with a standard data acquisition system to measure wheel forces and moments on a vehicle operating at different road conditions and the findings are presented. Possible future applications of the system have been identified and presented.