Design of a Human-Powered Roll Stabilization Attachment for Utilitarian Two-Wheeled Vehicles

Abstract

Copyright © 2019 ASME. This paper describes the motivation and development of a human-powered roll stabilization attachment for utilitarian two-wheeled vehicles. The proposed design has been built and tested by the authors in both on- and off-road conditions. It provides balance by providing a rolling platform underneath the two-wheeled vehicle (motorcycle) for the user to push against with their feet. This platform is placed under the driver’s sitting position and is towed from a three degree-of-freedom joint behind the front axle (i.e. one of the implementations uses a ball hitch joint). Fifty eight percent of the world’s motorcycles are in Asia Pacific, and Southern and Eastern Asia. In most of those countries, motorcycles greatly outnumber cars and many of these motorcycles function as utility vehicles. The uses of motorcycles include transportation of goods on the bike frame, transportation of goods on a trailer, and even pulling agricultural implements in farms. If no modifications are made to the motorcycle, at slow speeds operators of motorcycles must drag their feet on the ground and lightly push upwards as needed to retain balance. Attaching conventional outrigger wheels, similar to a motorcycle side-car, can negate some of the advantages of motorcycles that users value by: (A) preventing leaning into turns when rigid outriggers arms are used, (B) significantly increasing complexity and mass when outrigger arms mounted on suspension systems are used, and (C) increasing the vehicle’s width such that it can no longer travel between car lanes or between rows of growing crop. An additional design consideration for balancing motorcycles is the user’s need for quick conversion between a statically balanced vehicle and a vehicle can lean dynamically in turns, for example for someone who wishes to operate a motorcycle on farms but also travel quickly between agricultural fields. This conversion convenience is affected not only by the ease of attaching and detaching the balancing system but also by the ability to comfortably carry on the balancing system on the motorcycle even when it is not being used, such that it can be deployed when it is needed. This paper describes a design for a human-powered roll stabilization attachment that address these concerns and other identified user needs. It also provides with general equations to design similar human-powered roll stabilization systems for motorcycles.