Design and Analysis of New Electric Motorcycle: Analysis of Bending Moment Stiffness

Abstract

When an electric motorcycle is being driven, its frame structure needs to bear not only the loads of the motorcycle components and the driver, but also the load from the road surface. If the road condition is poor, the frame will transmit the rebound force from the road through the front and rear wheels and suspension system, which is the main cause of the deformation of the frame structure. Therefore, the frame structure must have sufficient rigidity to withstand these external loads, so that the permanent deformation of the frame structure can be avoided, which would affect the fixation of the other components in the motorcycle. These are serious problems because they reduce the vehicle handling performance and threaten the safety of drivers. In this study, we analyzed the upper and lower bending moment stiffnesses, left and right bending moment stiffnesses, and front and rear bending moment stiffnesses of a newly designed electric motorcycle. We mainly used ANSYS as the finite element method (FEM) software to simulate and analyze the motorcycle. After a model for the motorcycle was constructed, FEM was used to predict and analyze the force mode of the proposed prototype structure; the simulations and analyses of force modes included the frame rigidity and the frame structure strength. FEM technology was also used to explore the force applied to the frame under different load conditions. In the case of deformation, the simulation technology found a part of the newly designed electric motorcycle's structure that needed to be strengthened and the optimal size of the prototype frame structure.