Stability Analysis of Tandem Riding on Motorcycles

This paper presents a stability analysis of tandem riding on a motorcycle, focusing especially on the effects of the passenger's positional behaviors. Firstly we experimentally investigate the motorcycle and rider control behavior after a posture change by the passenger. This is done by measuring the motorcycle's responses to posture changes by the passenger during straight running at low speed. The results reveal some characteristic behaviors. Second, we construct a multi-body model for a human-motorcycle system for tandem riding. By comparing experimental and simulated results, we have confirmed the validity of the model. Finally, we conduct simulations on some situations in which passenger properties are varied, and obtain the effects of these passenger characteristics.