Development and Validation of a Parametric Motorcycle Dynamics Model

The increasing complexity of modern motorcycle control systems has led to a growingneedfor virtual development and calibration environments capable of reducing development time, costs, and experimental testing activities. This thesis presents the development of a fully parametric motorcycle dynamics model implemented in the MATLAB/Simulink/Simscape environment. The model is designed to support industrial pre-calibration activities of vehicle dynamics controllers, reducing the amount of track testing required. It can be automatically adapted to different motorcycles through the direct integration of company database parameters. The vehicle is represented through dedicated subsystems reproducing the powertrain, suspensions, wheels, rider inputs, braking system, and aerodynamic effects. Particular attention is devoted to the validation of the model through compari son with experimental data, demonstrating its capability to reproduce the qualitative behavior of the real motorcycle during representative maneuvers. Thework also investigates the integration of control systems through both software based and Hardware-in-the-Loop(HIL)approaches, enablingreal-timeinteractionwith production electronic control units through CAN communication. Moreover, a com parison between multibody and reduced-order Lagrangian formulations is presented, highlighting the advantages and limitations of the two methodologies. Finally, it is pre sented the extension towards a complete six-degree-of-freedom motorcycle simulator