Abstract

Purpose : Ensuring vehicle safety during engineering design is essential, particularly for widely used automatic transmission motorcycles. Failures in suspension systems—especially shock absorbers—are strongly associated with excessive vibration. Based on previous findings by Jadhav et al., vibration can accelerate frame structural failure in motorcycles. This study aims to analyze the free vibration behavior of the rear suspension of a Honda Beat motorcycle and evaluate the damping coefficient in relation to the critical damping constant.. Design/methodology/approach: The methodology includes literature review, acquisition of vibration damping characteristics, and modification of the AUG-WID-R01 test device into AUG-WID-R02 to enable damping measurement. The system is modeled as a Single Degree of Freedom (SDOF) vibration model and tested under static laboratory conditions. Assumptions include: constant spring stiffness, no angular offset, and loading equivalent to one rider (60 kg). Experimental data were compared with MATLAB simulations and analytical calculation based on equilibrium principles. Findings : esults indicate that the suspension system operates in an overdamped state with a damping ratio of ζ = 2.17, meaning no oscillation occurs during displacement recovery. MATLAB simulation yielded a critical damping value of Cc = 2711.088342 Ns/m, matching manual calculation values (rounded to Cc = 2711.09 Ns/m), demonstrating consistency between experiment and computational modeling. Originality/value : This study contributes a validated low-cost experimental approach using a modified vibration measurement tool for rapid assessment of motorcycle suspension damping. The method can support early detection of improper damping conditions that may lead to mechanical fatigue or safety degradation in two-wheel vehicles.

Keywords

  • critical damping
  • motorcycle safety engineering
  • vibration analysis
  • MATLAB simulation
  • SDOF system

References

  1. Rao, S. S. (2017). Mechanical vibrations (6th ed.). Pearson Education.
  2. Thomson, W. T., & Dahleh, M. D. (2008). Theory of vibration with applications (5th ed.). Prentice-Hall.
  3. Inman, D. J. (2014). Engineering vibration (4th ed.). Pearson.
  4. Singh, R., & Johal, N. R. (2020). Vibration characteristics of motorcycle chassis systems: A review. International Journal of Vehicle Structures and Systems, 12(2), 145–152.
  5. Bansal, R. K. (2016). Theory of machines (4th ed.). Laxmi Publications.
  6. Norton, R. L. (2019). Design of machinery (5th ed.). McGraw-Hill.
  7. Jadhav, A. R., Pol, G. J., & Desai, S. (2021). Study of vibration-induced fatigue in two-wheeler chassis. International Journal of Engineering Research and Technology, 9(4), 112–118.
  8. Udwadia, F. E., & Kalaba, R. E. (2018). Analytical dynamics. Cambridge University Press.
  9. Williams, J. A., & Rahnejat, H. (2020). Motorcycle suspension deterioration and vibration signature Analysis. Wear, 460–461, 113–122.
  10. Gupta, A., & Kumar, V. (2022). Dynamic analysis of two-wheeler suspension using MATLAB-Simulink. Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Automotive Research, 7(3), 89–95.
  11. Smith, J., & Allen, P. (2020). Effects of damping deviation in vehicle suspension systems. SAE Technical Paper 2020-01-0158. SAE International.
  12. Sharma, A., & Patel, R. (2019). Finite element study of motorcycle shock absorber vibration performance. Procedia Engineering, 216, 232–239.
  13. He, B., & Luo, X. (2021). Experimental validation of damped SDOF vibration systems using MATLAB modelling. Journal of Applied Mechanics and Physics, 15(2), 55–63.
  14. Tokunaga, M. (2022). Failure modes in motorcycle suspension components under cyclic vibration loads. Mechanical Failure Prevention, 58(1), 77–85.
  15. Fujita, Y., Okabe, K., & Harada, T. (2020). Effect of load mass on damping performance of motorcycle rear suspension. Japanese Society of Automotive Engineers, 12(3), 110–118.
  16. International Organization for Standardization. (2017). ISO 5344: Mechanical vibration — Testing of machine suspensions.
  17. MathWorks. (2024). MATLAB vibration analysis toolbox documentation. https://www.mathworks.com
  18. Cheremisinoff, N. P. (2020). Handbook of vibration analysis and applications. Gulf Professional Publishing.
  19. Kumar, S., & Verma, R. (2023). Comparison of critical damping in automotive suspension models. International Journal of Engineering Trends and Applications, 11(5), 145–151.
  20. Chaudhari, R. (2022). Design optimization of motorcycle suspension damping using experimental modal analysis. Engineering and Applied Science Journal, 9, 210–218.
  21. ISO. (2017). ISO 5344: Mechanical vibration — Testing of machine suspensions.
  22. Popp, K., & Schiehlen, W. (2010). Ground vehicle dynamics. Springer.
  23. Sharp, R. S., Evangelou, S., & Limebeer, D. J. N. (2004). Advances in the modelling of motorcycle dynamics. Multibody System Dynamics, 12, 251–283.
  24. Jadhav, A. R., Pol, G. J., & Desai, S. (2021). Study of vibration-induced fatigue in two-wheeler chassis. International Journal of Engineering Research and Technology, 9(4), 112–118.
  25. Wong, J. Y. (2008). Theory of ground vehicles (4th ed.). Wiley.
  26. Gillespie, T. D. (1992). Fundamentals of vehicle dynamics. SAE International.