A model validating technique for the kinematic study of two-wheeled vehicles

In this work, the details of the kinematic of two-wheeled vehicles are studied with an emphasis on the steering mechanism of a bicycle system. This is done by formulating the function relating the pitch angle of the rear frame with the generalized coordinates as well as the local and global coordinates of the wheel contact points with the horizontal plane. To this end, a technique for validating kinematic models for two-wheeled vehicles is proposed and analyzed by means of numerical experiments. The technique proposed for validating kinematic models of two-wheeled vehicles consists in the study of the kinematics of the frontal contact point and the steering point, the latter being the point in the road plane created by the projection of the steering axle. For this purpose, the two-wheeled vehicle is modeled as a rigid multibody system composed of four rigid bodies, namely the rear wheel, the rear frame, the frontal fork with handlebars, and the frontal wheel. The numerical results found are compared with those obtained using the modeling approaches devised by other independent researchers.