MOTORCYCLE TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM SEMINAR REPORT ‘16

1. INTRODUCTION

Traction Control is the latest must-have on performance motorcycles, helping manage

unprecedentedly huge horsepower numbers and adding safety in poor conditions. But how
does motorcycle traction control work? Here’s a detailed explanation that anyone can
understand.

Traction control was brought about in an attempt to curtail vehicles from exceeding
their available traction. As with many technologies such as fuel-injection and antilock brakes,
traction control is finally coming under the umbrella of tech to expect with a new motorcycle
purchase. At present we’re seeing the technology follow the same trickledown effect from
top race classes and race replicas down to the smallest budget oriented models. It’s a boon for
motorcyclists of any distinction. But how does it actually work?

Our motorcycles have just a few square inches of contact to the road surface via our
tires. Road surfaces can be wet, dry, sandy, hot, cold, freshly paved, cracked, uneven,
slippery, or covered in leaves, fluids, or foreign materials that change the amount of traction
our tires can utilize. Our tires can be old or new (with traces of slippery mold release agents),
improperly inflated, or have uneven wear. Traction control helps to mitigate loss of traction
from all of these factors, as well as excessive application of throttle or other input errors on
the part of the rider. No matter what the circumstances, the common denominator among all
of these factors is a difference between rear wheel speed and front wheel speed

So how do we get an accurate sense of wheel speeds? We repurpose the ABS sensors
that are already monitoring them. We’re specifically concerned with the rear wheel speed in
relation to the front. When the rear wheel is unable to maintain traction through its contact
patch, it slides, and the rotation of the rear wheel no longer matches the rotation of the front
wheel. The sensors relate this information to the bike’s ECU (Electronic Control Unit). Since

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MOTORCYCLE TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM SEMINAR REPORT ‘16
the ECU controls fueling and engine speed, it already knows the amount of power the bike is
delivering to the rear wheel.

In some cases, it also registers throttle position, gear position and even lean angle.
With the combination of wheel speed sensor data and engine speed data, the ECU can make a
determination on available traction, and trigger one or more responses (which varies between
motorcycle manufacturers).

At least one of three things will happen as the ECU attempts to prevent rear wheel
slip : 1) retard the ignition timing, 2) skip fuel injection on a single cylinder, thereby
intentionally creating a misfire, or 3) electronically adjust the throttle (assuming the bike is
fitted with an electronic throttle). All of these events culminate in the same result, wherein
engine output is modulated carefully so that traction is regained with smoothness and a
maximum amount of efficiency. All the manufacturers choose the way the ECU intervenes
differently. Aprilia and BMW TC retards ignition timing and electronically adjusts the
throttle. Ducati TC retards ignition timing and uses cylinder misfires. Kawasaki TC only uses
cylinder misfires. Yamaha TC uses all three, by retarding ignition timing, using cylinder
misfires and adjust the throttle as needed.

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MOTORCYCLE TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM SEMINAR REPORT ‘16

2. LITERATURE SURVEY

[2.1] “Evolutionary Optimization Of A Motorcycle Traction Control System Based On

Fuzzy Logic” - Cabrera J.A., Castillo J.J., Carabias E. and Ortiz A.

Braking and traction control systems are fundamental vehicle safety equipments. The
first ones prevent the wheels from locking, maintaining, when possible, the handling of the
vehicle under emergency braking. While the second ones control wheel slip when excessive
torque is applied on driving wheels. The aim of this work is to develop and implement a new
control model of a traction control system to be installed on a motorcycle, regulating the slip
in traction and improving dynamic behavior of two-wheeled vehicles. This paper presents a
novel traction control algorithm which makes use of a fuzzy logic control block. Two
strategies to create the control block have been carried out. In the first one, the parameters
that define the fuzzy logic controller have been tuned according to experience. In the second
one, the parameters have been obtained by means of an Evolutionary Algorithm (EA) in
order to design an augmented traction controller. It has been proved that the use of EA can
improve the fuzzy logic based control algorithm, obtaining better results than those produced
with the control tuned only by experience.

The appearance of anti-lock braking systems (ABS) and traction control systems
(TCS) have been some of the most major developments in vehicle safety. These systems
have been evolving since their origin, always keeping the same objective, but using
increasingly sophisticated algorithms and complex brake and torque control architectures. It
has also become gradually common to find systems that work in conjunction with other
safety features. These systems began to be installed in four-wheeled vehicles, being much
more complex to develop them for two- wheeled vehicles. However, tere is a strong interest
in the development and implementation of these systems in motorcycles, especially to
improve active safety in these vehicles as recognized. Although anti-lock braking systems are

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MOTORCYCLE TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM SEMINAR REPORT ‘16
extensively used in two-wheeled vehicles, few attempts have been developed in traction
control systems for motorcycles.

For example,a traction control system for a ride-by-wire sport motorcycle is

proposed. A second-order sliding mode control is suggested. The controller uses the position
of the electronic throttle as the control variable. In [3], a low-cost traction control for
motocross and supermotard motorcycles is described. Control is performed using the
difference in speed between front and rear wheels and the torque is controlled introducing
cuts in the ignition spark. Similarly, a traction control system using fuzzy sliding mode
control is proposed in [4] for an electric scooter with a directdriven wheel motor. Another
work discusses the motorcycle engine-to-slip dynamics to be used in traction control
designs,. Finally, a complete scheme of relationships between elements and parameters
involved in traction control systems is shown in.

On the other hand, several studies on braking control systems for two-wheeled
vehicles have been developed. In, a linear parameter-varying slip control for two-wheeled
vehicles equipped with electromechanical front wheel brakes is studied. An antilock brake
system for lightweight motorcycles using a single channel actuator was developed in [8].
Finally, a premature work on ABS systems for motorcycles was carried out in.

An essential part of TCS and ABS systems is the control algorithm. The study of new
algorithms is of great interest to research groups in vehicle dynamics, existing a big number
of papers focused on this topic. Due to the absolute secrecy of commercial equipment
manufacturers, control algorithms behave, from the user’s point of view, as a "black box",
which takes the angular velocity of each wheel and other measures as inputs for the stability
and traction control, having the necessary action as output. At present, control model
developments are mainly based on techniques that allow an adaptable control in the different
conditions in which the motorbike rider has to perform braking or accelerating maneuvers.
The main problem of these systems is to determine the slip and friction coefficient, which
occur in the wheels to operate within the optimal tire-road friction curve (Fig. 1) and thus

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MOTORCYCLE TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM SEMINAR REPORT ‘16
obtain the appropriate behavior in the braking and traction process and cornering stability of
a motorcycle. The curves that relate the friction coefficient and the slip in traction or braking
processes are similar, (Fig. 2.1).

The purpose of TCS and ABS systems is to maintain the slip ratio within the optimal
control zone as much as possible, which is characterized by the maximum allowable friction
coefficient as we can see in Fig. 2.1. When the slip ratio exceeds the slip that produces the
maximum friction coefficient, the longitudinal and lateral tire forces decrease drastically. One
of the obstacles in the development of robust TCS and ABS systems has traditionally been
the real-time estimation of the wheel-slip versus adhesion-coefficient characteristics for
different tire types and road surface conditions

[2.2] “Traction Control System For Motorcycles Article In Eurasip Journal On

Embedded Systems” · JANUARY 2009 DOI: 10.1155/2009/161373 · Source: DOAJ

` Traction control is a widely used control system in automotive applications to

increase stability and safety of vehicles. Well-known vehicle control systems such as antilock
brake system (ABS), antiSlip regulation (ASR), and electronic stability program (ESP) are
used in internal combustion engine vehicles (ICVs).

Traction control prevents the vehicle from swerving when accelerating on a loose
surface, reduces engine output until the vehicle can move without the wheels skidding, and
produces maximum stability when cornering especially in wet or icy roads. A conventional
differential does not usefully distribute the torque to the wheels when a wheel is skidding. All
the power is applied to the skidding wheel and not to the wheel that has more traction. An
electronic traction control system prevents a wheel from skidding by applying a brake to that
wheel, enabling the differential to apply power to the other wheel.

The control scheme is composed by a device that estimates the road surface condition
and a traction controller that regulates the wheel slip at desired values. Several control

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MOTORCYCLE TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM SEMINAR REPORT ‘16
strategies have been proposed in the literature mainly based on sliding mode controllers,
fuzzy logic, and adaptive schemes to control four wheels vehicles moving in sliding surface
Such control schemes aremotivated by the fact that the system is nonlinear and uncertain.

Recently, a lot of work in the definition of traction control algorithms for electric
vehicles (EV) has been developed. In EV, the torque generation is very quick and accurate,
both for accelerating and decelerating. The torque control of each wheel is ensured by the
inverter, and it does not require a mechanical differential gear. The electronic control of the
torque and of the speed of each one of the four independent wheels allows the EV to
operatemore efficiently avoiding slippage. Furthermore, an efficient control of the torque
allows an increment of the energy efficiency of the vehicle.

The application of traction control to motorcycles is not so widely used as to four

wheel vehicles, probably because of the high cost of the control system. BMW and
Kawasaky were the first companies that applied ABS to motorcycles. BMW is the unique
company that is using an automatic stability control (ASC) system in top high-torque BMW
K1200R commercial model from 2007. BMW ASC prevents the rear wheel from skidding
uncontrolled when accelerating, and thus it avoids any loss of side forces and stability.

Additional sensors have been inserted to the BMW K1200R motorcycle in order to
determine the speed at which each wheel is turning, as shown in Figure 2.1.

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MOTORCYCLE TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM SEMINAR REPORT ‘16

Figure 2.1: Particular of BWM K1200R

A high number of pick-up points for the wheel speed sensor give a high resolution to
the data, enabling a traction control system to react faster. The BMW K1200R uses about 100
pick-up points in the wheel, the holes evidenced by the arrow in the particular of Figure 1, in
order to have an accurate precision in the speed estimation required for the ABS, and the
same information is used by the ASC system.

Registering any sudden change in the difference in speed front-to-rear, the electronic
control unit is able to detect any risk of the rear wheel skidding, engine management
responding immediately by intervening in the ignition angle to take back engine power.
Traction control systems are used in motoGP (e.g., Yamaha and Ducati), to improve the
ability in driving the motorcycle during competitions. In Ducati motoGP, the wheel speed is
measured using hall effect gear tooth sensors, see Figure 2.2, in a way similar to the one used
in this work.

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MOTORCYCLE TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM SEMINAR REPORT ‘16

Figure 2.2: Hall sensor and bolts in the MotoGP Ducati racing.

The Ducati motoGP uses 8 pick-up points (the bolts). The motoGP Yamaha M1 has
sensors on each side of the wheel, for redundancy. The solid disc used, as shown in Figure
2.3, is a magnetic ring element, into which a strip of small magnets is embedded for more
data points and accuracy than a toothed ring.

Figure 2.3: Hall sensor and bolts in the MotoGP Yamaha M1.

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MOTORCYCLE TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM SEMINAR REPORT ‘16

The details on the traction control systems used in motoGP and by BMW, in our
knowledge, are not available. Traction control systems are not used in other commercial
motorcycles or in supermotard or motocross motorcycles. Figure 3: Hall sensor and bolts in
the MotoGP Yamaha M1. This paper presents a new algorithm and its hardware
implementation on low-cost real-time embedded system implementing traction control for
supermotard or motocross motorcycles. A key innovative feature, proposed in this work, is
that the control of the torque is obtained introducing a cut in the ignition spark using a switch
in parallel to the switch used to turn off the engine. Therefore, the torque control is obtained
without modifying the ignition controller and it can be applied to every existing commercial
motorcycle.

Furthermore, supermotard or motocross motorcycles do not move always on asphalt,

and the condition of the ground can change very rapidly. Therefore, the driver must tune the
traction control on the fly. Therefore, the driver must tune the traction control on the fly. This
is allowed by the algorithm and architecture proposed in this work.

[2.3] Numerical Investigation Of Engine-To-Slip Dynamics For Motorcycle Traction

Control Applications Article In Vehicle System Dynamics · March 2011

This work discusses the motorcycle Engine-to-Slip dynamics which are strictly
related to traction control design. A street motorcycle is analyzed by means of an advanced
mathematical model which also includes the tyre flexibility and the transmission compliance.
The effects of the following parameters on Engine-to-Slip dynamics are investigated: vehicle
speed, engaged gear ratio, sprocket absorber flexibility and road properties. Guidelines for
increasing the maximum achievable closed-loop bandwidth are given.

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MOTORCYCLE TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM SEMINAR REPORT ‘16
Nowadays Traction Control (TC) is one of the most debated and controversial issue
among motorcycle engineers. The reason is probably twofold: first, this control device has
been introduced only recently in two-wheeled vehicles; second, motorcycle dynamics are
very complex and this makes a scientific and theoretical approach onerous. Despite this lack
of knowledge, a deeper understanding is definitely necessary since this device may increase
not only the vehicle performance but also its safety.

TC aims at regulating the slip of the rear tyre using the throttle opening and/or the
engine spark-advance, which set the engine torque that is transferred to the rear wheel
through the transmission. Therefore the Engine-To-Slip Transfer Function (ETSTF) plays a
key role when it comes to controller design. At this point two different approaches are
possible: the experimental identification of the ETSTF or its numerical computation. The
experimental approach works directly on the real system, thus including all the plant
characteristics without any simplification or modelling assumptions, however it is onerous,
since many identifications are necessary when parametric studies are carried out. Moreover
the measurement of the tyre slip is not trivial as other authors highlighted. On the contrary
the numerical approach is efficient, it is more suitable for parametric investigation and also
makes it possible to study physical variables which cannot be measured experimentally,
however it requires a proper model set-up and validation.

Additionally, the numerical approach may uncover general system behaviour, e.g.
suggesting a particulr structure of the transfer functions to be used when identifying the real
plant. Therefore it is likely that the best choice is to use both approaches together. Even if
many works on motorcycle dynamics have been written in the past years, the literature on TC
control is poor and many TC systems today are designed empirically with little or no
knowledge of the I/O characteristics of the controller plant, i.e. ETSTF. In a recent work the
ETSTF of a sport motorcycle has been experimentally identified: a protocol for deriving a
dynamic model suited for the design of TC is presented and the identified plant
characteristics are discussed. The focus of our paper is the investigation of the ETSTF of a

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MOTORCYCLE TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM SEMINAR REPORT ‘16
street motorcycle by means of an advanced mathematical model for different combinations of
speed, engaged gear ratio, transmission characteristics and road-tyre friction. Results
regarding the TC feasibility as related to the shape of the ETSTF are addressed, thus tackling
the problem from a theoretical rather than an empirical point of view. The effect of the most
important design parameters and motion conditions on the ETSTF are discussed and
guidelines for promoting TC performance are given. Moreover the presented approach holds
valid regardless of the specific control law chosen for the regulator, thus making the analysis
more effective.

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MOTORCYCLE TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM SEMINAR REPORT ‘16

3. TRACTION CONTROL

A deck of cards; the palm of your hand; your smartphone; the contact patch of the
rear tire of your liter-class sportbike. All these are about the same size, roughly 10 square
inches of projected area that is adhering oil-based rubber to oil-based asphalt. That’s all
you’ve got to transmit more than 160 horsepower, or about 650 lbs of force at the
rubber/asphalt interface.

If you, by opening the throttle too far, make a torque request that overwhelms the
ability of this contact patch to transmit force, the contact patch of the tire will begin to slide
relative to the pavement. Not necessarily the end of the world, as you’ve still got some
leeway and the contact patch is still capable of propelling the motorcycle. But you shouldn’t
get too greedy. When the tire’s contact patch is moving at roughly 115% of the speed of the
bike, the slip-vs-force curve of the typical tire reaches its peak and turns negative. Any higher
slip results in less force. Less force to propel the motorcycle is okay, but less force to react to
the side load induced by cornering is definitely not okay.

Figure 3.1. Unless you can do this reliably and repeatedly, you probably need traction
control.

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MOTORCYCLE TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM SEMINAR REPORT ‘16
As the tire fails to push back against the cornering load, the motorcycle begins to
rotate on its yaw axis. Here you’ve got three options. You can request the same amount of

torque and the motorcycle will continue its rotation, terminating in a low-side crash. You can
abruptly chop the throttle and as the contact patch force returns, the yaw rotation will convert
to an abrupt roll rotation and a resulting high-side crash. Or you can modulate a delicate and
nuanced intermediate throttle position that allows the tire to climb gradually and controllably
back to the slip peak.

`Do you have the skill to ride this slip peak? Is your name Kenny or Freddie, Nicky or
Val? Yeah, we didn’t think so. As a result, at least six motorcycle manufacturers
(Kawasaki, Yamaha, Ducati,Aprilia, BMW and MV Agusta) have now introduced
motorcycles with factory traction-control algorithms that, when necessary, preempt your
imprudent torque request and attempt to keep your tire, not your leathers, in contact with the
pavement. Although similar in many ways, these five traction control systems are all
implemented differently; different algorithms, different sensors, different torque-modulation
mechanisms. We’ve attempted to decipher those differences and explain how the various
OEM implement their proprietary TC systems.

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MOTORCYCLE TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM SEMINAR REPORT ‘16

Figure 3.2. The change in a tire’s contact patch at various lean angles.

It’s difficult to pin these manufacturers down on the exact details of their TC systems.
This is partially deliberate (they are understandably concerned for the secrecy of their
proprietary technology) and partially consequential (through the institutional inertia of the
corporate structure, we don’t get access to the engineers who designed and tuned the system,
we get the marketing guys who sell the thing). So inferring the technical details of the
systems can be a bit of a guessing game.

But we’re not completely in the dark here. Ask five guys to design a nail-driving tool,
and you’ll get five hammers. They’ll have different head shapes, or different handle
materials, or different lengths, but they’ll all be a heavy mass on the end of a lever. Similarly,
all of these traction-control systems do the same job they’ll differ in code organization, in
the number of tuning parameters exposed to the user, in the number of lights and buttons on
the dash, in the number of sensors. But they all have a common goal: limit rear tire slip.
Since the goal is the same, the solutions will be similar. The manufacturers undoubtedly have
proprietary algorithms, but they’re all driving the same nail.

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MOTORCYCLE TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM SEMINAR REPORT ‘16

Figure 3.3. Kawasaki was the first Japanese manufacturer to equip its flagship literbike with
the benefits of traction control.

Five manufacturers with TC systems on consumer sportbikes (Aprilia, BMW, Ducati,

Kawasaki, Yamaha) use high-resolution wheelspeed sensors on both the front and the rear
wheels. These sensors were originally intended for use on the ABS systems, with around 50
pulses per wheel rotation. Repurposing these existing sensors makes pragmatic sense.
Fundamentally, braking control and traction control are identical mathematical problems

in both cases excess tire thrust force exceeds the tire adhesion limit and results in a
wheelspeed change. Riders, reasonably, tend to view accelerating and braking as two
completely dissimilar events, but Newton and his Laws of Motion aren’t as picky. A change
in velocity is a change in velocity. A sensor adequate to detect a decrease in speed is also
suited to detect an increase in speed.

The dark horse in this race is MV Agusta and its F4. Unlike the others mentioned
above who use wheelspeed sensors to detect wheel slip, MV instead monitors engine speed
exclusively for spikes in rpm. A jump in engine speed that exceeds an acceptable limit
dictated by the ECU's preset algorithms is viewed as wheel slip. Speaking in generalities, this
is similar to how many aftermarket TC systems operate as well.

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MOTORCYCLE TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM SEMINAR REPORT ‘16

Figure 3.4. Yamaha’s R1 offers six levels of traction control and the ability to turn the system
off, signified in the upper right area of digital readout above the power mode indicator.

You can make a traction control system work with only wheelspeed or engine
speed information, but you’re left with a purely reactive strategy you deal with the wheelslip
after it’s already happened. This will work in many cases, but in high excess-torque
situations (low gear, high throttle, for example), you’d have a better chance of pulling the
rider back from the highside brink if you can predict, even crudely, when the rear tire thrust
force might exceed the tire adhesion limit. To do this, you’ll need information about the
torque of the engine. Conveniently, because these bikes are fuel injected, this torque
information is readily available.

All five manufacturers use their existing engine-control sensors engine speed, throttle
angle, and gear position to infer engine torque and, from that, rear wheel thrust force. You
could stop here, if you wanted to take a minimal approach. You’ve got torque information to
help predict the onset of wheelslip and you’ve got wheelspeed sensors to detect when it
happens. In fact, this is the approach of both Kawasaki and Yamaha aside from sensors for
engine-control and wheelspeed, Kawasaki and Yamaha have added no additional TC-specific
sensors.

Ducati engineers have gone slightly further than the two Japanese manufacturers in
their thrust-force pursuit they’ve added a single accelerometer, measuring the longitudinal
acceleration of the bike. (Using the terminology of the discipline, there are, in total, six

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MOTORCYCLE TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM SEMINAR REPORT ‘16
degrees of inertial freedom: acceleration along three axes, and rotation about each of these
three axes. The Ducati system measures only one of them.) Rather than converting engine
torque to thrust force with calculations using driveline gear-ratio, tire radius, and rider mass,
all of which might change, Ducati just bypasses the whole chain of assumptions and uses the
accelerometer to measure acceleration directly.

Figure 3.5. The power mode selections on Ducati’s new Panigale include pre-programmed
amounts of traction control. A rider can also manually set TC to any level or, if you're brave,
switch it completely off.

But knowing the rear tire thrust force really only answers one half of the crucial
question: When will thrust force exceed the tire’s adhesion limit. A complete answer requires
that you also have some idea of the adhesion limit of the tire. Even with consistent pavement
conditions, this limit isn’t constant the tire’s ability to propel the motorcycle forward under
thrust loading (acceleration) is reduced as the tire carries more lateral loading (cornering).
Riders know this, either intuitively or from hard-learned experience: you must gingerly apply
the throttle when the bike is leaned over. You can’t simultaneously turn and accelerate fully
because lateral loading on the tire reduces its thrust adhesion limit.

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MOTORCYCLE TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM SEMINAR REPORT ‘16

Figure 3.6. Wheel-speed sensors supply info for the ABS and traction control on BMW’s
S1000RR, while a gyro mounted under the seat provides additional data to the bike's ECU to
influence throttle response and TC intervention.

BMW and Aprilia go a bit further than Ducati and include sensors to measure four
degrees of freedom: dual accelerometers (longitudinal and lateral acceleration) and dual
gyroscopes (roll and yaw rotation). We know that both BMW and Aprilia use the roll gyro
data to inform their traction control algorithms. But what is not clear is just how they might
use the data from the other two inertial sensors lateral acceleration and yaw rotation. Both of
these could be used to infer tire side-loading as well. There are challenges with this approach,
though.

Because a motorcycle, unlike a car, rolls into a corner, you would need to correct for
the roll angle to get valid results. It can be tricky, and computationally more expensive. Is it
worth the effort? Maybe, but from our vantage point, we can’t be sure.

Ultimately, it’s not sufficient for a traction-control system to predict or detect

wheelspin – it must also reduce the wheelspin back to a safe level, it must do it quickly, and
it must do it controllably. The computer reduces the slip of the driven wheel by limiting the

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MOTORCYCLE TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM SEMINAR REPORT ‘16
torque of the engine. There are three mechanisms to do this: drop a cylinder, retard the
ignition timing, or close the throttles, each having advantages and disadvantages.
 Dropping a cylinder is an intentional misfire, created by skipping the fuel injection
event on one or more cylinders (you can achieve the same effect by skipping the
spark event, but this puts unburned fuel into the exhaust and increases emissions). A
cylinder drop has an immediate torque response (less than 180 crankshaft degrees on
an even-firing 4-cylinder), broad authority (0 to 100% torque drop), but coarse
modulation (for a 4-cylinder engine, torque steps of only 25% are available in one
engine cycle).
 Ignition retard has an immediate response as well, and is capable of fine modulation,
but it has limited authority (typically no more than approximately 20% torque drop
without causing a misfire).
 Closing the throttle (if an electronic throttle is available on the bike) offers fine
modulation, a wide range of authority (0 to 100% torque drop), but typically has slow
response

Kawasaki reduces torque solely by dropping cylinder events (immediate torque

response, coarse modulation). Ducati retards the ignition timing (fine modulation, limited
range of authority, immediate response) and also drops cylinders. The impressive new
Panigale adds throttle modulation to the mix. Aprilia and BMW both close the electronic
throttle (fine modulation, wide range of authority, slow response) and also retard the ignition
timing. Yamaha, alone of the five manufacturers, chooses to use all three torque-reduction

mechanisms, dropping cylinder events, retarding the ignition timing, and also closing the
throttle.
Manufacture Torque-Modulation
Traction Control Sensors
r Mechanism
Kawasaki Front and rear wheelspeed Drop cylinders
Drop cylinders, retard
Yamaha Front and rear wheelspeed
ignition, close throttle

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MOTORCYCLE TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM SEMINAR REPORT ‘16
Front and rear wheelspeed, longitudinal Drop cylinders, retard
Ducati
acceleration ignition
Front and rear wheelspeed, longitudinal
Retard ignition, close
Aprilia acceleration, lateral acceleration, roll angle,
throttle
yaw angle
Front and rear wheelspeed, longitudinal
Rretard ignition, close
BMW acceleration, lateral acceleration, roll angle,
throttle
yaw angle

Table 1 – Sensors and their modulation mechanism

Figure 3.7. Aprilia’s APRC package uses an automotive inertial platform with two
accelerometers in addition to front and rear wheel-speed sensors

All the manufacturers include a wheelie-control option in their traction control

system. A wheelie is a vehicle rotation about the pitch axis and it would be logical for a
wheelie detection algorithm to rely on data from a pitch gyro. But surprisingly, none of the
manufacturers include a pitch gyro in their sensor package. Instead, they detect a wheelie by
comparing the two wheelspeeds. If the front wheel is slowing while the rear wheel is
accelerating, the computer infers that the front wheel has lost contact with the ground and it
commands a torque reduction. Wheelie intervention is dependent on TC settings or, in the
case of Aprilia Wheelie Control, its setting.

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MOTORCYCLE TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM SEMINAR REPORT ‘16

The five systems discussed here, evaluated solely on the number of sensors and
actuators, can be arranged in a continuum of complexity. Kawasaki is the simplest of all the
systems. Yamaha is slightly more complex than Kawasaki, with a similar sensor package, but
adding an electronically-controlled throttle. Ducati’s sensor package includes a single inertial
sensor but without an electronic throttle (pre-Panigale). Aprilia and BMW deliver the most
complexity, each with electronic throttles and four inertial sensors. We should be careful to
point out, though, that complexity can only be justified in any system if its costs (more time
to develop, more software to support, more parts to purchase, and more failures to tolerate)
are offset by increased capability.

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MOTORCYCLE TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM SEMINAR REPORT ‘16

4. WORKING OF MOTORCYCLE TRACTION

Traction Control Systems, generally referred to as TCS, have begun to be a part of

our everyday riding lives and are becoming increasingly common in new motorcycles. From
sport to adventure bikes, more and more manufacturers are including traction control in the
standard equipment levels of their machines. While some, more purist, riders are speaking
against traction control systems, it’s definitely a good idea explaining how TCS works and
letting you be the judge.

4.1. BASIC CONSIDERATIONS

Traction or grip is one of the key factors to riding a motorcycle, and once it’s gone, so
are the bike and rider. Bikes already rely on tiny patches of rubber for ground contact, and
the few square inches which link the tires and the road are the only thing that keeps the
motorcycles rolling.

Figure 4.1. Motorcycle drifting looks cool but is very dangerous

` However, traction is affected by a lot of factors, and say that there are more such
factors reducing traction than those favoring it. While heat and the quality of the tires can
improve the contact between the ground and the bike, grip can be reduced by lower

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MOTORCYCLE TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM SEMINAR REPORT ‘16
temperatures, improper tire composition or excessive wear, a jerky/ heavy hand on the
throttle, all sorts of debris that can be found on the road, including dead leaves, sand, gravel,

oil patches, or water – which is the most common “enemy” of the rider. Still, not limited to
the aforementioned aspects, riding a motorcycle safely can be hampered by other countless
factors. Problem is, how do we deal with all this?

Figrure 4.2. MV Agusta's proprietary MVICS-integrated dash

Figure 4.3. Alvaro Bautista wheeling, but all is under control here

The only way to avoid dangerous wheel slipping or less dramatic skidding but that
could theoretically lead to accidents is to make sure that speed and throttle, leaning angle,
and rider position are modified in real time, to compensate for the loss of traction. While
highly-experienced riders can actually sense when a bike’s rear wheel is about to lose grip,
such skills demand a lot of training and exercising across vast amounts of time. And even so,

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the human body is unable to react in a matter of milliseconds – the critical time needed to
make such amends to riding.

Traction issues could be synthetized in the difference between the rotational speed of
the rear wheel in relation to that of the front wheel. When these speeds are too different, we
are already in the loss-of-traction-territory. The bad thing about all this is that lost traction
can result in accidents leading to severe injuries or death. While the low-side crashes are
somewhat less dangerous, the high-side ones caused by the loss and sudden regain of traction
through a turn are often left with very bad consequences. Since preventing traction loss is
way more effective than taking actions after the grip drifts towards zero, motorcycle
engineers have found ways to determine whether a wheel is about to slip even before the
event takes place. Using onboard electronics also helps reducing the reaction times,
eliminating rider intervention in the process.

4.2. UNDERSTANDING WHEEL SLIP

Due to a motorcycle’s constructive particularities, the rear wheel is the most likely to
lose traction in certain scenarios. All the power generated by the engine must be converted
into forward motion by turning the rear wheel and negotiating with all the forces that keep
the whole system in balance. However, these forces are sometimes too complex to
understand, especially as they influence each other and riding a bike through a turn is in fact
the result of multiple forces acting and counter-acting. What may seem natural to a rider can
be explained with very complicated physics and the human mind is too weak to operate with
such an amount of data in real time. And here’s where electronics come into the game.

When riding through a curve, the centrifugal force is trying to literally throw the bike
towards an outer, wider trajectory, and this is why we lean. Leaning shifts the center of
gravity outside the bike, while the forces which act upon the machine and its load are spread
in a different way and kept in balance. Even though some of the moves are imperceptible, the

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bike is never riding ideally smooth: it drifts constantly when turning, and this is because the
two wheels rotate in different directions.

If you think this is preposterous, take your time to assess the fact that, when going
around a corner, the front wheel is turned, while the rear one is in fact riding in a straight
line. Add in what you knew on countersteering and things should already be a tad clearer.
Problems appear when the forces that tend to push the bike towards the outside of a turn are
no longer meeting enough opposition. This can happen because of the riding surface no
longer making good contact with the rubber, or simply because of a rider error. While rear
wheel slipping can be kept under control by certain riders and used to their advantage (see
supermoto or motocross ones), skidding is usually bad for health.

Figure 4.4. Supermoto involves excellent drifting and manual traction control

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Figure 4.5. Highside crashes are often left without serious injuries

Too much speed, and the bike will usually under-steer and run wide, or it could drop
into a low-side. Reducing the throttle is a good idea, but a sudden drop in the power
transmitted to the rear wheel, which should in theory restore traction, is usually followed by a
violent transformation of the yaw force into roll force, which causes the bike to buck into a
low-side. Some will ask who’s to blame if doing the right thing reducing the power causes a
crash.

4.3. ECUS, SENSORS, AND THEIR MAGIC

As mentioned earlier, measuring and relating these forces to each other is a tricky
thing and the human brain simply cannot detect the subtle changes in them, let alone
acknowledge and interpret them. Even more, a rider’s muscular reactions are way too coarse
for the extremely fine adjustments needed to prevent rear wheel slip. And if you want one
more blow… some of the measures a traction control system takes are inaccessible to the
rider.

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There-there, do not despair, for there is many a thing electronics can help us with.
Basically, the traction control affair leaves us with two options: we either ride in such a way
so that the rear wheel slip does not occur, or we must rely on electronics to make up for our
riding errors… and yes, most of the times we’re dealing with human error. Once you got a
decent idea on what traction loss means and how this happens, things are way simpler,
because engineers and test riders have done all the work to help you keep the rubber side
down. The Electronic Control Unit, or ECU, of the bike takes over your machine and is ready
to make amends to your riding style.

First of all, the ECU needs information and it will gather such data from various
locations. Since we already know that the speed difference between the two wheels is the key
to detecting traction loss at an early stage, a bike’s ECU will use the ABS sensors to know
how fast the wheels spin.

Even more, some manufacturers rely on separate ECUs for the job and use
accelerometers and gyroscopes to gather more data on the bike’s behavior and position, being
able to make better, more accurate estimations in various scenarios.

Since the ECU already administers fuel delivery and ignition retard, it already knows
a lot of things, including engine rpm, power delivery, throttle position, gear, and more, so it
has plenty of information to calculate whether everything is running smoothly. And it can, of
course, tell whether you’re about to slip. It may be only milliseconds before this actually
happens, but this is still thousandfold faster than you’d be able to tell

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.
Figure 4.5.Generic ECU of a Suzuki Morotcycle

Figure 4.6.Generic electronic throttle body

Figure 4.7.ABS ring used by sensors for determining wheel speed

And what’s more important, it can react infinitely faster and more precisely, while all
the sensors are being monitored hundreds of times each second, the scenarios are being
constantly re-evaluated, and minute changes in the working of the bike can be made almost
in real-time.

4.4. HOW THE BIKE REGAINS TRACTION

We’re already set on the fact that traction can be regained by reducing the amount of
power sent to the rear wheel. Ask yourselves how you would do so, and I can bet that almost

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all of you thought about rolling off the throttle. This is indeed one of the solutions, but it’s
not THE solution.

In order to cut off power, ECUs have three methods: retarding the ignition,
intentionally misfiring one cylinder, and adjusting the throttle, effective with ride-by-wire
bikes. Which of these are used and in which order is up to each manufacturer, and details on
the technology are usually a well-kept secret. Kawasaki’s traction control system cuts the
fuel injection and creates a misfire in one or more cylinders, and this is most likely the
simplest system of them all.

Aprilia and BMW use retarding the ignition and adjusting the throttle, while Yamaha
uses all three methods. So far, specialists seem to be unable to pinpoint which of these three
courses of action is the best, but common sense tells us that a combination is more likely to
be a winning solution.
 Misfiring offers a rather coarse adjustment to the torque and power deployment to the
rear wheel, but it is very fast and effective. The ECU simply cuts the fuel supply to
one or more cylinders or skips a spark event. Needless to say that the energy loss is
enough to make a difference, but in certain cases a 25% torque drop (in a 4-cylinder
engine) might be rather violent. The effect is almost immediate.
 Ignition retard. Just like misfiring, ignition retard adjustments are exceedingly
quick, but they offer a very fine modulation range. The ignition can be slowed with
up to 20 percent before the engine misfires, and the fine adjustments make the power

reduction over a brief period of time feel very smooth. Given its limited “authority,”
ignition retard obviously cannot be used all alone in TCS.
 Throttle adjustments. Throttle adjustments can be made by the ECU in bikes that
are equipped with an electronic throttle, often referred to as ride-by-wire. The throttle
body is not actuated by means of a cable pulled and pushed by the hand grip; instead,
electronic impulses are being used. More or less, it’s like turning the volume of your
speakers up or down using a remote or wired control.

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Since the ECU has both info and control over the throttle body or bodies, it will be
easy for it to make the needed adjustments with high precision. Still, as this involves moving
parts inside the bike, it is slow. The good part is that the effect can be modulated between 0
and 100 percent.

Traction Control System is also used in configuring other similar safety-related

technologies, such as the Launch Control or Wheelie control. In conjunction with gyroscopes
and speed sensors, more complex behaviors can be analyzed and more intricate solutions can
be offered to compensate for the temporary loss of grip.

These systems also work closely with the riding modes and injection mappings
selected by the rider, and some of them offer enhanced customization in the shape of multiple
steps determining how “intrusive” traction control is, or custom settings such as rev or torque
limiters. Which manufacturer provides the best TCS is a problem that won’t find an answer
anytime soon.

However, if you’re buying a new bike equipped with such systems and are not sure
whether you will enjoy it, it’s better to choose one that can also disengage it, or take the bike
for a test ride. Or go for a non-TCS bike and learn how to stay out of trouble. The main idea
is to enjoy it and be safe.

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5. ADVANTAGES OF TRACTION CONTROL

Owners of vehicles with traction control systems can benefit from some specific
advantages of this kind of system.

 Easy installation: Traction control systems often use the same infrastructure as anti-
lock brakes, making factory direct installation of traction control easier for
manufacturers

 Safety for weather conditions: Traction control systems present effective automatic
control for hydroplaning in snow and rain conditions

 Insurance discounts: Auto insurance customers can often receive a discount for
traction control and similar systems, since these top-rated safety features have proven
safety values to insurers
 Traction control helps in avoiding accidents, sudden twists and turns, slippage of the
wheels
 It reduces stopping distances
 Traction control is also most gripping.

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6. DISADVANTAGES OF TRACTION CONTROL

 Cost of purchase: The high-functioning gear that's involved in traction control make
it an increasingly expensive purchase. Those looking to save money on a vehicle may
be looking for older models that were cheaper to make.
 Cost of maintenance: A vast range of things can damage traction control carrying a
hefty price tag, the cost of repairs can easily spin out of control. Those with past
experience paying for a damaged anti-lock brake system may have a big aversion to
getting even more in additional safety features loaded into a vehicle.
 Limited use: Traction control systems are not ideal for all kinds of situations.
 Traction control increases wear on brake components.
 Traction control does not allow performance driving.
 Traction control causes 10% wheel slip.

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7. CONCLUSION

In this work, a novel motorcycle traction control has been described. The new system
improves safety and facilitates handling since it can prevent the rear wheel from slipping and
the lack of control associated with it. TCS have hardly been applied to street or racing
motorcycles. When strong accelerations or adherence reduction occurs, the-lack of traction
problem appears and the dynamics of the motorcycle is strongly affected. One of the
principal consequences is that the slip in the rear wheel increases, causing a reduction in
acceleration capacity of the motorbike or reducing vehicle stability. This fact makes it
convenient to develop a system to enhance vehicle control under such circumstances, that is,
when the slip takes values above the optimum.

Prime College of Engineering 33 Dept of CSE