328 Int. J. Vehicle Design, Vol. 46, No.

3, 2008

How a rear steering system may improve motorcycle

dynamics

Fabiano Maggio and Vittore Cossalter*

Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Padova,
Via Venezia 1, 35131 Padova, Italy
E-mail: Vittore.Cossalter@unipd.it
E-mail: fabiano.maggio@gmail.com
*Corresponding author

Abstract: This research investigates how motorcycle dynamics may be

improved by applying a steering system on the rear wheel. The study is carried
out using a widely validated multi-body model of motorcycle and rider.
Two types of rear steering systems are compared: a self-steering wheel coupled
with a spring-damper assembly and a controlled steering wheel, whose steering
angle is governed accordingly to a first-order relationship between front and
rear steering angle. In general, any rear steering system transfers energy from
weave mode to wobble mode. Thus, both solutions stabilise high-speed weave,
but increase instability when braking. The passive system shows unexpected
reactions when accelerating in cornering condition, whereas the active system
is almost neutral.

Keywords: motorcycle stability; weave; wobble; 2WS motorcycle; steering

system.

Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Maggio, F. and

Cossalter, V. (2008) ‘How a rear steering system may improve motorcycle
dynamics’, Int. J. Vehicle Design, Vol. 46, No. 3, pp.328–346.

Biographical notes: Fabiano Maggio received his MS Degree in Mechanical

Engineering from the University of Padova, Italy, in 2001 and his PhD Degree
in Motorcycle Engineering from the University of Padova, Italy, in 2005.
Currently, he is working for a CAE company. His research interests include
dynamics of motorcycle, with particular emphasis on stability-related problems.

Vittore Cossalter received his MS Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the

University of Padova, Italy, in 1971. He has been a Full Professor of Applied
Mechanics since 1986. The design of mechanisms for automatic machines,
mechanical vibrations, simulation of mechanical systems, and dynamics of
motorcycle have been among his areas of research. He has written three books
and more than 100 papers on motorcycle dynamics.

1 Introduction

The idea of using rear steering wheels to improve control and stability comes from the
automotive world. The first known example dates back to 1938, when Mercedes built the
cross-country military vehicle 170VL having a counter steering rear axle. In 1962,

Copyright © 2008 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

 How a rear steering system may improve motorcycle dynamics 329

two engineers from Mazda investigate stabilising effects of self-steering wheels mounted
on the rear axle. In 1983, Mazda presents a car prototype (MX-02) equipped with
controlled rear steering wheels, where the rear steering angle is a function of driving
parameters such as speed and front steering angle. In 1985, Nissan releases the first
production 4WS (four wheels steering) road car with rear self-steering wheels.
Much more sophisticated is the 1986 Honda Prelude, equipped with a pure mechanical
system that produces a variable steering ratio between front and rear wheels. Western car
companies never showed interest in 4WS technologies until the end of 1990s.
Only recently, several US manufacturers have equipped their trucks, vans, and
sport-utility vehicles, with steering wheels on the rear axle, using electric actuators and
computerised controls developed by Delphi.
From the automotive studies it is possible to extract important guidelines that
characterises the 4WS technology. At low speed the control of the rear steering system
has to provide a counter-steering action in order to reduce the cornering radius and make
any slow manoeuvre easier. On the contrary, at high speed, rear and front wheels have to
steer in phase, in order to reduce yaw rate and to achieve a better stability.
In the motorcycle world, the possibility of making the rear wheel of steering type
has already been considered as demonstrated by many documents available in the
world patent database. Nevertheless, a very few relevant papers can be found in the
scientific literature, meaning that poor efforts have been spent for this research topic.
The 2WS (two wheels steering) technology can potentially improve the motorcycle
dynamics, but manufacturers have always preferred simpler, safer and cheaper solutions.
It is worth to point out that motorcycles, if compared to cars, are intrinsically much more
sensitive to the effects of a rear steering system, because of their smaller yaw inertia and
shorter wheelbase. This makes the development of a reliable 2WS technology more
complex.
The first work has been carried out at University of Tokyo by Fujioka and
Matsui (1993). Their motorcycle model is based on a simple 4 DOF model (Sharp, 1971),
to which they add the rear steering capability by imposing a constant ratio between rear
and front steering angle. The paper includes stability analysis, impulse response analysis,
and transfer function analysis in straight running at constant speed. Calculations are
repeated for several values of the steering ratio and rear caster angle. Results show that
assigning a positive steering ratio the weave stability increases, whereas the wobble
stability decreases. The rear steering axis should be inclined as the front one, but
variations of the rear caster angle have moderate effects on the stability.
Later, two researchers from Honda (Hikichi and Tezuka, 1995) proposed a work
about the stabilising effects of a self-steering rear wheel. The system described in the
paper is designed to damp weave mode in straight running and cornering. The authors
assume that weave oscillations are sustained by the sideslip force on the rear tyre, and
therefore better stability can be achieved reducing the sideslip angle. This principle is
applied to stabilise a 400 cc road sport motorcycle, whose rear wheel is mounted on an
inclined rear steering head in order to generate a positive trail. With this geometry, the
lateral tyre force has an aligning effect that tends to reduce the sideslip. Steering motion
is controlled and limited using a spring-damper assembly. The paper presents both
simulations and experimental results, meaning that Honda has already built a 2WS
prototype. Results show a noticeable improvement of the weave stability, but it must be
remarked that the testers did not appreciate the large behavioural changes due to the
additional steering system.
330 F. Maggio and V. Cossalter

A 2WS system has also been studied at University of Padova (Cesari, 2000), in
combination with an optimal riding control. In this work, a multi-body model of a sport
motorcycle is equipped with an active rear steering system. The rear steering angle is
assumed to be a function of the front steering angle, through a first order differential
equation. This active system has good stabilising effects on the weave mode, but has
also the potential to improve motorcycle performances. Several race simulations are
carried out using an optimal riding control (da Lio, 1997; Cossalter et al., 1998, 1999a).
It is found that the 2WS motorcycle completes the lap in less time than the corresponding
conventional vehicle.
This work presents a detailed study on the dynamics of motorcycles equipped
with rear steering devices. One passive system and one active system are analysed
and compared in terms of stabilising action and handling effects. An original criteria,
based on the roll kinetic energy, is proposed to calculate a stability index. This makes
possible an objective comparison of system performances independently from the modes
(Cossalter et al., 2002a; 2004; Maggio, 2001) that are excited when oscillations occur.
Handling properties are then analysed by performing typical manoeuvres, in order to
better understand how different is the 2WS motorcycle behaviour with respect to a
conventional vehicle.
The research is carried out using multi-body technology (DADS). A detailed model
of motorcycle and rider is created accordingly to the state-of-art guidelines (Sharp and
Limebeer, 2001; Cossalter and Lot, 2002; Sharp et al., 2003; Cossalter et al., 2004) and
enriched with proper controls to allow rider displacements with respect to the chassis.
Particular attention is spent for the tyre section, because tyres strongly affect the vehicle
dynamics (Takahashi et al., 1984; Cossalter et al., 2002b). The tyre model implemented
for this research is a simplified version of the deformable tyre developed at University of
Padova (Lot, 2004). A dedicated block of the control system is written to govern the rear
steering system in both passive and active configuration.
The virtual model of the conventional motorcycle (i.e., without any rear steering
device) has been deeply validated using experimental data of typical manoeuvres, such as
lane change, steady cornering, and slalom. On the contrary, the model of the 2WS
motorcycle could not be validated because there were not resources to build and test a
prototype with two steering wheels. The reliability of this work is based on the
assumption that the agreement between virtual model and real motorcycle is the same
without and with rear steering system. Beyond doubt, a pure virtual analysis can not be
considered exhaustive, but results could be use as directions to design a prototype.
Existent analyses of 2WS systems (Fujioka and Matsui, 1993; Hikichi and
Tezuka, 1995; Cesari, 2000) show the benefits of the 2WS technology on light
motorcycles, having short wheelbase, stiff chassis, and a few inertia. This paper analyses
the effects of the rear steering system on large, heavy weight motorcycle, which has, on
the whole, opposite characteristics. Moreover, using a different approach to analyse
stability, this work becomes a review of existing material.
Section 2 provides a brief description of the motorcycle and rider models, including
the riding control equations. Section 3 deals with the validation of the baseline model.
Section 4 presents the 2WS technology and describes, in particular, the active system.
Section 5 deals with the stability analysis of the 2WS motorcycles, providing a detailed
description of the rating criteria. In Section 6, active and passive system are analysed in
terms of handling response, whereas the Section 7 draws the conclusions.
 How a rear steering system may improve motorcycle dynamics 331

2 The multi-body model

2.1 The motorcycle model

The motorcycle multi-body model used in this research is developed following the
guidelines given by Cossalter and Lot (2002, 2003b). It consists of seven rigid bodies
connected each other in order to reproduce the natural degrees of freedom of a real
motorcycle. The main body is the rear frame, which includes chassis, engine, tank, saddle
and bags. The second body, in order of importance, is the front frame, which includes
handlebars, fork brackets, windshield, lights, and the upper part of the telescopic forks.
The swinging arm and the rear unsprung masses form together the third body, whereas
the lower section of the forks and the attached unsprung masses form together the fourth
one. Engine rotating parts are taken into account through an equivalent flywheel body.
The last two bodies of the model are, of course, the wheels. Figure 1 shows that this
multi-body system has twelve degrees of freedom.

Figure 1 Degrees of freedom of the motorcycle model

The influence of structural flexibilities on the dynamical properties of the vehicle is not
negligible (Sharp, 1974; Kane, 1978; Verma et al., 1980; Sharp and Alstead, 1980;
Spierings, 1981), except for those motorcycle having high-stiff chassis (Cossalter et al.,
2002a). Since the research is carried out for a heavy, low-stiff motorcycle, the virtual
model has been enriched with features that reproduce the main body compliances.
A lumped-stiffness approach has been followed to simplify the modelling process.
As shown in Figure 2, the main bodies are split in sub-bodies that are then connected
using rotational spring-damper elements. The scheme is the same for forks and swinging
arm and consists of one rotational spring to reproduce the torsional compliance and two
rotational springs to describe the lateral flexibility. By choosing opportune values of the
stiffness, the model reproduces correctly the lateral displacements and the rotation of the
extreme sections to which the wheels are attached. One more rotational spring-damper
332 F. Maggio and V. Cossalter

element, not included in Figure 2, is inserted between the swingarm pivot and the steering
column to describe the torsional compliance of the chassis.

Figure 2 Structural flexibilities

The transmission of the engine power to the rear wheel is obtained through a chain drive.
The engine rotating bodies are condensed in a single equivalent flywheel whose angular
rate is a function of both the engaged gear and running speed. The model also takes into
account the aerodynamic effects such as drag, lift and lateral forces.
Since dynamics of motorcycles strongly depends on tyres (Takahashi et al., 1984;
Cossalter et al., 2002b; de Vries and Pacejka, 1998), an advanced tyre model (Lot, 2004;
Pacejka and Bakker, 1991; de Vries and Pacejka, 1997; Berritta et al., 2002) has been
implemented in DADS. It takes into account the geometry of the carcass cross section to
predict the position of the contact point and the variability of the relaxation length with
the camber angle to adjust the tyre response. Detailed measurements of sideslip and
camber forces (Cossalter et al., 2003a) have been taken to fit the model with reliable data.

2.2 The rider model

The rider model completes the multi-body system. It consists of 15 rigid bodies, having
the inertial properties of the human body parts (NASA, 1978; Silva et al., 1997).
As shown in Figure 3, not all of the rider DOF are included in the model, because a too
sophisticated control would be needed to correctly reproduce the rider mobility. The arms
are fixed to the thorax in the position they normally have in straight running
configuration (elbow and wrist rotations are inhibited). As consequence the upper part of
the rider behaves as a single rigid body with appropriate inertial properties. Two revolute
joints are inserted respectively between head and thorax (neck) and between thorax and
pelvis (waist), in order to allow relative pitch motions. The legs are attached to the pelvis
using spherical joint (hips), whereas the knees are reproduced using revolute joints.
Finally the feet are attached to the legs using spherical joints (ankles).
 How a rear steering system may improve motorcycle dynamics 333

Figure 3 Rider model

All of the joints, except the waist, are coupled with spring-damper elements that allow
limited relative rotations, with the aim of reproducing the relaxed behaviour of the human
body. The waist joint is coupled with a controlled motor; it can be used as normal
spring-damper (i.e., in straight running) or it can apply a desired torque between pelvis
and thorax (i.e., when leaning).
The rider interfaces with the motorcycle in three points. The two feet are rigidly fixed
to the footrests, whereas the saddle contact is modelled using a translational joint.
In normal running condition a spring-damper assembly limits the lateral displacement of
the rider with respect the saddle. For specific manoeuvres the spring-damper is disabled
and two forces are applied from the footrests and the hips. These forces reproduce the
action of the legs when the rider moves with respect to the motorcycle. Hands are not
attached to the handlebars, since the steering torque is applied through a rotational motor
mounted on the steering column.

2.3 The control system

The motorcycle model is governed using a roll-based PID control system, which
calculates the steering torque, the leg forces, and the waist torque. The steering torque
comes from the following expression:
t
TST (t ) = K P [ϕ d (t + τ ) − ϕ (t )] + K D ϕ (t ) + K I ³ [ϕd (t ) − ϕ (t )] dt (1)
0

where KP, KD and KI are respectively the proportional, the derivative and the integral
gain, ϕd is the desired roll angle, ϕ is the actual roll angle, and τ is a time constant that
represents the response delay of the motorcycle. In the same way the leg force and the
waist torque are calculated:
F (t ) = K P 2 [c2 ϕ d (t + τ ) − y (t )] + K D 2 y (t ) (2)

TW (t ) = K P 3 [c3 ϕd (t + τ ) − θ (t )] + K D 3 θ(t ) (3)

334 F. Maggio and V. Cossalter

where y is the rider’s pelvis lateral displacement and θ is the rider’s torso leaning angle.
The remaining coefficients c2 and c3 are additional gains used to switch the actuators
from active to passive type. Indeed, if c2(c3) is null, the corresponding expression returns
the force (torque) generated by a linear (rotational) spring-damper assembly.

3 Experimental tests and model validation

A production model of a large motorcycle has been equipped with dynamical and
kinematical sensors to collect data for the validation tasks. The chassis orientation is
measured using an inertial platform with three orthogonal gyrometers (max bias error
equal to 0.02 deg/s, and max linearity error equal to 0.4 deg/s). The suspension travels are
measured using linear potentiometers, and the angular speed of the rear wheel is acquired
using a frequency sensor. The steering torque meter is designed and built following the
guidelines given by Bortoluzzi et al. (2000).
The instrumented motorcycle has been tested by three different riders, performing
typical manoeuvres such as lane change, slalom and steady cornering. The riders were
asked to behave as more neutral as they could, in order to reduce the influence of the
rider’s body motion on the motorcycle dynamics.
The roll angle and the speed coming from the experimental tests are used as input
signals for the control system of the multi-body model. A few preliminary simulations are
necessary to tune the control gains, which mainly depends on the forward speed.
The validation is then carried out by comparing steering torque, yaw rate, suspension
travels, and front steering angle of the multi-body model with the same quantities
previously measured. In general, a very good agreement is found. Figures 4 and 5
show the steering torque comparison for two of the performed manoeuvres.
The superimposition of the roll angle curves proves the efficiency of the control system,
whereas the small difference between experimental and calculated steering torque curves
proves the dynamical reliability of the model. For these manoeuvres the rider is kept in
central position over the saddle and no leaning angle is imposed to the torso. A good
validation is also obtained for the steady-cornering manoeuvre, which is the most
sensitive test because of the small values of the steering torque (Bortoluzzi et al., 2001;
Cossalter et al., 1999b). For the steady-cornering simulations the rider is slightly moved
towards the external side of the curve, after having observed a similar trend during the
experimental tests.

Figure 4 Lane change to right (width = 5 m, length = 20 m, speed = 14 m/s)

 How a rear steering system may improve motorcycle dynamics 335

Figure 5 Slalom (cone distance = 21 m, speed = 16 m/s)

4 The 2WS motorcycle

The validated motorcycle-rider model is modified by mounting a rear steering head to

which the rear wheel is then attached to (see Figure 6). The power and the braking
torques are transmitted to the wheel using a constant velocity joint, whereas a controlled
motor is coupled with the revolute (steering) joint to govern the steering angle.
The inclination of the rear steering head with respect to the swinging arm is fixed and the
value is chosen in order to produce a rear caster angle almost equal to the front one
ε = 25 deg in static condition. With this assumption, the rear trail becomes tr = 0.15 .
Obviously, caster angle and trail slightly change as the suspension deflects and the
swingarm rotates.

Figure 6 Rear steering head geometry

4.1 Passive system

With this solution, the rear wheel can steer either to left or right, depending on
how the resultant of the tyre forces is oriented. It has been demonstrated (Hikichi and
Tezuka, 1995) that, assuming a positive trail, the rear wheel automatically steers to the
direction that reduces the sideslip angle. The steering joint, which is of revolute type, is
coupled with a rotational spring-damper element that has the function of limiting the
steering angle and preventing unstable oscillations. The passive system works as an
auto-adjusting sideslip control. In this research we investigate how the characteristics of
both the spring and the damper (preload MPS, stiffness KPS, and damping coefficient CPS)
336 F. Maggio and V. Cossalter

affect the dynamic behaviour of the motorcycle. At the same time we want to identify the
coefficient set that leads to the maximum stability in any running condition.

4.2 Active system

With the active system, the rear wheel is no longer free to steer under the action of
external forces. Indeed, an actuator imposes the rear steering angle accordingly to a
chosen function. The active system is implemented in DADS using a rotational driver and
the necessary torque (the rear steering torque) is automatically calculated by the solver.
The goal is to identify a controlling function that improves both stability and handling
capabilities of the motorcycle.
An original control, which is somehow inspired by the principles of the 4WS systems
used in the automotive world, is presented here. It is based on a first-order differential
equation that makes the rear steering angle dependant on the front steering angle only:
dδ r dδ f
τ + δ r = τ ki + kr δ f
dt dt
(4)
δ (iω ) kr + iω τ ki
TF (iω ) = r =
δ f (iω ) 1 + iω τ

where δr is the rear steering angle, δf is the front steering angle, τ is a time constant,
ki and kr are chosen ratios. In particular, kr is the ratio of rear to front steering angle in
steady-state condition, whereas ki represents the ratio of rear to front steering rate when a
perturbation starts from straight running conditions. The differential equation can be
better understood if analysed in frequency domain. The module of the transfer function
represents the ratio of rear to front steering angle, whereas the phase returns information
about the delay of the response. Figure 7 shows that playing with the coefficients it is
possible to obtain very different behaviours of the rear steering system.

Figure 7 Transfer functions for the active system control

 How a rear steering system may improve motorcycle dynamics 337

By assuming ki = 0 the transfer function works as low pass filter. This means that
only slow variation of the front steering angle are transmitted to the rear steering driver.
The time constant τ determines the cut frequency, whereas the coefficient kr governs both
the module and the phase of the function at low frequency. By choosing kr negative, we
obtain a counter-steering behaviour that may become useful to perform parking
manoeuvres and very slow severe cornering.
With kr = 0 the transfer function works as high pass filter. This means that only
perturbations above the cut frequency are transmitted to the rear steering system.
The coefficient ki governs the module and the phase of the function at high frequency.
By choosing ki positive and less than one, we force the rear steering system to copy the
front steering angle with reduced amplitude. This may become useful to increase the
weave stability.
Finally, we may use the transfer function with kr negative and ki positive, obtaining
a frequency-dependant behaviour. For low-frequency the rear wheel steers toward
the opposite side of the front wheel (counter-steering behaviour), whereas, for
high-frequency inputs, the rear wheel steers to the same direction of the front wheel
(same-steering behaviour). The time constant τ determines the frequency at which the
behaviour switches from one to the other type, whereas the coefficients kr and ki
determines the transfer function module respectively at low and high frequency.
This control makes it possible to merge the advantages of both low-pass and high-pass
configurations: the counter-steering behaviour may have potential good effects on vehicle
handling capabilities, whereas the same-steering behaviour may be useful for stabilising
purposes.
In this research we are going to explore the domain of the coefficients ki, kr, and
τ, looking for the set that returns maximum performances.

5 Stability analysis

The easiest way to study the stability of a motorcycle is to perform the eigenvalue
analysis starting from the linearised equations of motion (Fujioka and Matsui, 1993;
Sharp, 1971; Cossalter et al., 2004). If the equations are not available, information about
vehicle stability can be extracted by performing a perturbation analysis. The first step
consists in exciting the multi-body motorcycle model which is in steady-state condition.
A sudden braking input or a rider lateral motion are good perturbations for this kind of
test. By post-processing the response of the system, frequencies and damping coefficients
of the excited modes can be extracted (Hikichi and Tezuka, 1995).
In order to directly compare different configurations of the active and passive rear
steering systems, we need to define an index that summarises the stability performances
of the 2WS motorcycle. The knowledge of all mode properties would not be suitable to
select the most stabilising device, especially if a trade-off relationship between different
modes occur (Fujioka and Matsui, 1993). Moreover, the response data contains so many
harmonics that using a time domain fitting to extract mode properties becomes
impossible. After these remarks, we define as stability index the integral of the power
spectrum of the roll rate:
338 F. Maggio and V. Cossalter

1 ωN tf
E= ³ ϕ (ω ) 2 dω = ³ ϕ (t ) 2 dt (5)
2π 0 0

where ϕ is the Discrete Fourier Transform of the roll rate, ωN is the highest calculated
pulsation, ϕ is the roll rate, and tf is the integration time. This quantity represents the
energy of the roll rate signal, which is related to the kinetic energy of the system
associated to the roll motion:
1
T= I X ϕ (t ) 2 (6)
2
where IX is the overall system roll inertia (motorcycle and rider), measured with respect
to the centre of mass. If the system is stable, the amplitude of the oscillations decreases
exponentially and the system energy E is finite. On the contrary, if the response
is diverging, the energy becomes infinite. By using this property of the index E it is
possible to reject the configurations of the rear steering system that make the motorcycle
unstable. For stable configurations, we assume as more stable – and so better – those with
minimum energy. Indeed, high stability does not allow persisting and evident oscillations.
If the energy is calculated on the power spectrum, the proposed criteria could fail in
presence of high-narrow peaks, which lead to low energy even if there is evident low
stability. As consequence the criteria must be used carefully and always together with a
qualitative spectrum analysis. The spectrum can also be used to identify the dominant
mode in the response.
Three different perturbation analyses are performed in order to trace a complete
scenario of the rear steering system stabilising capabilities: lateral rider displacement in
straight running, lateral rider displacement in steady cornering, and braking from straight
running. The first two tests are typically performed to investigate how the rear steering
system damps the weave mode, whereas the latter is necessary to verify how the device
interacts with the load transfer that normally reduces wobble stability (Bandinu, 2003).

5.1 Passive system

For the passive system, we will study the energy function E in the domain of preload MPS,
stiffness KPS, and damping coefficient CPS. A Design of Experiment is carried out for
each of the proposed manoeuvres, after preliminary simulations have shown which range
to adopt for each parameter.
The results are represented using greyscale maps, where the lighter the grey, the
lower the oscillation energy. Since the evaluation method returns the oscillation energy
except for a constant of proportionality, numerical values are not significant and the scale
is not included in Figure 8. Moreover, having calibrated the intensity of the applied
perturbation on the specific running condition, results (maps) of different tests can not be
compared.
The maps of Figure 8 are drawn in the KPS – CPS plane after having observed that the
spring preload has the lowest influence on the oscillation energy.
 How a rear steering system may improve motorcycle dynamics 339

Figure 8 Energy maps for the passive system with 8 Nm preload (dark grey = high energy)

In straight running the influence of the stiffness on the energy distribution is low and the
stabilising capability of the passive system is mainly a function of the damping
coefficient. On the contrary, the response to the cornering weave test equally depends on
both parameters, probably because the spring is stressed by the steering torque due to the
vertical load on the rear wheel. The braking test returns an energy map that is similar to
the one we obtained for the weave test in straight running. This confirms that, without
camber angle, the response of the 2WS motorcycle is mainly governed by the damping
coefficient.
The dashed ellipses shows where the minimum energies are obtained, that is for
which parameter sets the passive system assures better stability. Since these areas are not
superimposable, it is not possible to select a single optimal configuration. As acceptable
compromise we choose KPS = 1000 Nm/rad and CPS = 200 Nms/rad.
To test the effectiveness of the selected device, we compare the response of the
2WS motorcycle with the response of the conventional motorcycle in the same conditions
(weave test in straight running). The rider’s head lateral acceleration is assumed as
reference quantity, because it is somehow related to the rider’s feeling. Figure 9 shows
that the 2WS motorcycle equipped with the passive system does not start weaving after
the impulse and the acceleration peak is strongly reduced.
340 F. Maggio and V. Cossalter

Figure 9 Comparison between the conventional motorcycle and the 2WS motorcycle equipped
with the selected passive system: response to weave test in straight running

The selected passive system also improves stability when the braking manoeuvre is
performed, but the benefits are in this case limited.

5.2 Active system

To identify the optimal control gains for the active system we search the minimum of the
system energy E in the domain of the coefficients ki, kr, and τ. First, several preliminary
simulations are used to find the right range for each control parameter, and then a full
factorial DOE is performed for three different running conditions: weave test in straight
running, weave test when cornering, braking from straight running.
Let us consider all of the results of the weave test both in straight running and
cornering. The response mainly depends on the ki coefficient, that governs the rear
steering angle in dynamical conditions. As general result, the vehicle becomes unstable
with ki < 0, independently from the values of the other coefficients. This can be explained
by observing that a negative value of the ratio ki determine a counter-steering behaviour
of the rear wheel for relatively high frequency inputs. We know from the passive system
analysis and also from automotive applications that the weave (or yaw) stability can be
improved if the rear wheel steers to the same direction of the front one.
The influence of the ratio kr is generally negligible, except for small values of the
time constant τ; the combination of τ < 0.2s and kr < 0 makes the 2WS motorcycle
unstable.
The effect of the time constant τ on the system energy is visible only if kr < 0,
whereas it is negligible with kr ≥ 0. This can be explained by observing that having
kr < 0 and ki > 0 the time constant τ defines the frequency at which the rear steering
system switches from counter-steering behaviour to same-steering behaviour.
If kr ≥ 0 and ki > 0 we have anyway the rear wheel steering to the same direction of the
front one, and the time constant has much less importance.
Let us consider now the braking tests. If a positive ki improves the stability of the
response for weave tests, it has been found that ki has to be slightly negative to improve
the response when braking. Regarding the other coefficients, neither the time constant
τ nor the ratio kr affect significantly braking stability.
Figure 10 shows the system energy maps calculated by varying ki and kr with the time
constant fixed τ = 0.2 s. The oblique dashed line connects the configurations with ki = kr.
These particular coefficient sets transform the differential equation of the control system
in a pure algebraic equation to which correspond a direct connection between front and
 How a rear steering system may improve motorcycle dynamics 341

rear steer angle with ratio ki = kr. The small white circle within each map shows the
configuration ki = kr = 0, which corresponds to the conventional motorcycle. This makes
any comparison straightforward.

Figure 10 Energy maps for the passive system with 0.2 s time constant (dark grey = high energy)

The first two maps of Figure 10 show that the weave stability can be strongly improved
using the active rear steering system. Indeed, the conventional motorcycle always returns
a higher energy than the configurations located within the dashed ellipses. The two
ellipses can not be superimposed, but assuming ki = kr = 0.10 (coefficient set represented
with a star) the 2WS motorcycle shows a very improved behaviour, both in straight
running and cornering.
Going on the braking results, it is easy to see that the selected system must be
avoided, because it would make the motorcycle really unstable. To improve the braking
stability it is necessary to adopt a negative value of ki, which is detrimental in normal
running. This trade-off relationship, force to design a control with the capability of
changing the rear steering behaviour as the brake is activated. A good solution could be
to switch the control coefficient from ki = 0.10; kr = 0.10 to ki = –0.05; kr = 0.00.
Alternatively, it is possible to restore the original braking dynamics by inhibiting the rear
steering system. Without any adjustment, the reduction of stability showed by the rear
steering device in braking condition is dangerous.
342 F. Maggio and V. Cossalter

In order to understand how the rear steering system changes the modal properties of
the vehicle, it is necessary to study how the power spectrum of the response changes as
the control coefficients change. This is done in Figure 11 where the weave test spectrums
obtained for several configurations with ki = kr (dashed line in the first map of Figure 10)
are compared.

Figure 11 Power spectrum of the response to the weave test in straight running for several
configurations

The response of the motorcycle without rear steering system has a high peak around
3.5 Hz, which clearly proves that the weave mode is dominant. As the steering
ratio increases, the weave peak lowers and the wobble component (peak around 5.8 Hz)
starts growing. This transformation of the spectrum is accompanied by a reduction of the
integral area, which is the system energy: the minimum is reached for ki = kr = 0.15.
By further increasing the steering ratio, the energy starts increasing again because the
wobble peak becomes very high.
The results obtained by analysing the configurations with ki = kr are general.
The active rear steering system improves the weave stability by transferring energy to the
wobble mode. The steering ratio defines the amount of energy that is transferred, making
it possible to calibrate the control on the vehicle characteristics. The energy transfer also
explains why, in braking conditions, a positive ratio has negative effects: it transfer
energy to the wobble that is already low stable. The maximum stability is reached when
the oscillation energy is equally distributed between weave and wobble modes, that is
when the power spectrum is smooth and balanced. Another effect of the active system is
the slight reduction of the weave frequency as the rear steering ratio increases: this may
help the rider in controlling the vehicle when it starts weaving.

6 Handling analysis

The handling analysis included in this paper is not conceived to investigate if the rear
steering system improves the vehicle performances, but is designed to verify that it does
not alter the normal riding. Indeed, we expect that an average rider could not react
correctly if an usual vehicle behaviour (caused by the rear steering device) occurs.
An exhaustive analysis of the handling properties of the modified motorcycle would
require a lot of simulations, each for any possible running condition. For time reasons we
have carried out a limited number of tests, focusing the attention on specific situations
where the rear steering system is highly stressed. Two different manoeuvres such as
 How a rear steering system may improve motorcycle dynamics 343

accelerating and braking from steady cornering conditions are suitable for our purposes.
The braking torque has been distributed between front and rear brakes accordingly to the
ratio 30/70. Despite it is quite unusual to use the rear brake so strongly, we do this to
subject the rear steering system to critical conditions.
Figure 12 contains the comparison between the conventional motorcycle behaviour
and the 2WS (passive) motorcycle behaviour; the lateral acceleration of the rider’s head
is used as reference quantity. Let us consider first the accelerating case
(left plots). The conventional motorcycle performs the manoeuvre in a smooth way, and
minimum lateral displacements are perceived by the rider. On the contrary, two
discontinuities in the speed of the 2WS motorcycle occur and high peaks in the lateral
acceleration are simultaneously obtained. These unexpected reactions are due to the
external torque generated by the longitudinal thrust force: the higher is the camber angle,
the stronger will be the arm of the force. Therefore, the 2WS passive motorcycle does not
behave as the conventional vehicle, and the rider may be experiencing a bad feeling.

Figure 12 Comparison between original motorcycle and 2WS motorcycle (passive system with
damping coefficient 200 Nms/rad, spring stiffness 1000 Nm/rad, and preload 8 Nm)

In braking condition (right plots) the passive system is even more detrimental. Indeed, as
the rear brake is activated, the 2WS motorcycle starts oscillating at wobble frequency.
The same happens for the original motorcycle, but stability is higher and oscillations
reduce their amplitude as the brake is released.
Figure 13 contains the comparison between the 2WS motorcycle featuring the active
device and the conventional motorcycle. In acceleration phase (left plot) the two vehicles
behave in the same manner: no evident peaks occur in the lateral acceleration. This
means that the active solution does not alter negatively the rider feeling when opening the
throttle. As expected, the 2WS motorcycle becomes unstable when the brake is activated
(right plot).
344 F. Maggio and V. Cossalter

Figure 13 Comparison between original motorcycle and 2WS motorcycle (active system with
ki = kr = 0.15)

7 Conclusion

In this research the effects of a rear steering system for motorcycles have been
investigated. Both a passive and an active system have been tested to determine which
configuration assures the best stability without compromising the rider’s feeling. In order
to rank each solution, a method based on the oscillation (kinetic) energy has been
proposed and validated. The research has been carried out using a multi-body model of
the motorcycle, featuring an advanced motorcycle tyre model and specific control
routines.
It has been found that the passive system has good effects on the stability, causing a
strong reduction in the weave oscillations that occur after the motorcycle is excited with a
lateral impulse. On the contrary, there are not stabilising effects on the wobble mode, that
becomes unstable in braking conditions. A configuration with preload MPS = 8 Nm,
damping coefficient CPS = 200 Nms/rad, and stiffness KPS = 1000 Nm/rad has been
selected as best compromise, but the steering system should be anyway inhibited when
the brake is activated. Handling simulations have demonstrated that the 2WS motorcycle
with the passive system returns unexpected oscillations when the throttle is opened,
altering in negative way the rider’s feeling.
An original active control for the rear steering system has been proposed. It is based
on a 1st order relationship between front and rear steering angles. It has been found that
this system may have stabilising effects on both the weave and the wobble modes, but
different coefficient sets are required for the two purposes. Assuming as most important
target the weave stability, the configuration having ki = kr = 0.15 has been selected.
It is worth to remark that also the active system makes the vehicle dangerously unstable
in braking conditions and opportune actions (such as inhibiting the rear steering or
switching to a different coefficient set) are needed when the brake lever is activated.
The handling tests have shown that the active system makes the motorcycle neutral when
the throttle is opened, so that the rider feels as it would be riding the conventional
motorcycle.
By analysing the power spectrum of the weave test response, we found that the
stabilising action of the active system is in general due to an energy transfer from weave
mode to wobble mode.
 How a rear steering system may improve motorcycle dynamics 345

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank LMS for having provided the software DADS. They also thank
professor R. Lot for his suggestions in building the multi-body model.

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