Increased 2-Wheeler Development Efficiency by Using a New Dedicated Test System Solution

Fuel consumption is the most important contributor to the total cost of ownership for mass produced motorcycles. Therefore, best fuel economy is one main influencing criteria for a decision to purchase motorcycles. Furthermore, increasingly stringent emission legislations limit and additional OBD requirements must be fulfilled. A new combined test approach has been developed that minimizes accuracy losses in the development process which compensates for the variability of driving behavior in the chassis dyno environment. An engine testbed combined with a belt drive transmission enables operation in single engine or in Powerpack (i.e. internal combustion engine including transmission) configuration as well as under steady state or dynamic operating mode. Since the belt drive transmission is integrated in the test rig, realistic inertia situation for the single engine operating test configuration is ensured. Furthermore, a vehicle- and continuous variable transmission (CVT) model, which is implemented in the testbed automation system, enables the simulation of real hardware components. This means that vehicle measurements usually only taken on the chassis dyno can be shifted to the engine testbed in early stages of development. Tests can be carried out even before first vehicle prototypes are available, as long as simulation models can be characterized and parametrized sufficiently. In addition, as a key advantage, measurements done on the engine testbed including the transmission and vehicle simulation are fully repeatable. It has also been observed that development target verification is more accurate compared to the previous procedure. All in all, the new solution incorporating latest testing tools, methodologies and technology, increases the development efficiency tremendously.