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Many motion based simulators have been developed in the last thirty years for many different types of vehicles [1] [2]. In order to make a simulation more realistic, linear accelerations and angular rates are exerted on the pilot by moving the platform on which the mock-up vehicle is located.
The purpose of this article is to present a 7 DOFs (vertical, lateral and longitudinal displacements, roll, pitch and yaw angles and steer) motorcycle simulator which has been realized in Pisa, Italy, in the framework of the Esprit project by a consortium composed by industrial partners (Piaggio and Humanware from Italy and HEAD acoustics from Germany) and by academic partners (Scuola Superiore S. Anna from Italy, Halmstad University from Sweden and University of Bochum from Germany).
Such project started in 1995 with the aim of developing a two-wheeled motorcycle simulator conceived as a tool for the designer to acquire data on motorcycle handling and stability at the design stage as well as to collect data about rider control behavior implications in motorcycle performances.