Study on Improving the Motorcycle High Speed Stability Using a Rear Wheel Self-Steering System

Under high speed straight line motorcycle operations at speeds in excess of about 180 km/h, the rider may experience an oscillation of combined roll and yaw of the motorcycle at a low natural frequency, which is known as the weave mode, due to external disturbances. Aiming at finding a way to dampen this weave mode, a study was made to control the slip angle of the rear tire by incorporating a rear wheel self-steering system. While the study found that the rear wheel self-steering system has a potential to improve the motorcycle stability under high speed straight line operations, it was also found that it adversely affected the motorcycle stability in turn maneuvers.