Anti-Lock Braking System

for Motorcycles

Karthikeyan Manga Loganathan

Summer Semester 2013, Matriculation #: 334707
Dept. of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science (Micro & Nano Systems)
Technische Universitt Chemnitz
Chemnitz, Germany
karthikeyan.manga@s2013.tu-chemnitz.de

AbstractThis paper elucidates the employment of Anti-lock

Braking System (ABS) in motorcycles as an important safety
utility from both technology and application points of view. It
also briefly explains the challenges faced when designing such a
specific system. The current state of the art models from BMW
and Honda are compared and their features are also briefly
studied.

KeywordsABS; motorcycle dynamics; RLP; rear lift-off;

Honda CBS; slip ratio; lean angle

I. MOTIVATION
Although motorcycles are regarded as machines for
recreational transport and circuit racing in most countries of
North America, Europe and Oceania, they largely contribute to
one of the primary and practical modes of daily transport in
several countries of Asia, Africa and South America. In 2005,
Asia accounted for 80% of the worlds motorcycle fleet of 290
million units and 90% of the world motorcycle sales [8]. With
such widespread use of motorcycles in these countries, the
figures associated with motorcycle accidents are also
proportionally high. Incorporating the technology of Anti-lock
Braking System (ABS) in motorcycles has been sought to save
the accidents arising due to: (1) panic or hard braking, (2) wet
riding conditions and (3) human incompetence in efficient
braking.

II. INTRODUCTION: ABS FOR MOTORCYCLES Fig. 1. Definition of lean angle.

The principle and deployment of ABS in motorcycles,
though identical in its core working with the technology used
in cars, should consider a few unique factors owing to the
inherent dynamics of a motorcycle and the riding style of a
common motorcyclist. These factors are described as follows:
A. Lean Angle
One of the primary differences between a car and a
motorcycle is the existence of lean angle which is typically the
angle between the longitudinal axis of the motorcycle and the
normal through the contact patch on the road. The effect of
lean angle is more pronounced as the lateral acceleration and
the radius of the corner increases.
As illustrated in Fig. 1, is the lean angle and it is
mathematically described as:
2
= arctan(v / R g) (1)
with the velocity v, cornering radius R and acceleration due to
gravity g [2]. It is evident that the grip available to the tyre is
inversely proportional to the development of lean angle which
becomes critical at high speeds and due to sudden lateral
acceleration. Any rapid disturbance, both external and internal,
during the equilibrium driving state with lean angle would
result in a crash.
B. Gyroscopic Effect
Motorcycles are highly sensitive to the Gyroscopic effect.
Like a gyroscope, the tyres of the motorcycle also experience a
gyroscopic moment or couple along the axis perpendicular to
the plane of rotation.
Fig. 2 describes the stabilizing effect on the motorcycle
from the gyroscopic moment as the tyre rolls along the road.
 Fig. 4. Typical scheme of ABS.
Fig. 2. Stabilizing effect due to gyroscopic moment.

Under hard braking this stabilizing effect is lost as the angular
momentum responsible for setting up the gyroscopic moment
is suddenly reduced.
C. Rear Lift-off
Braking under panic could make the rider apply excessive
braking force to the front tyre when compared to the rear tyre.
Exceeding a critical limit of this uneven braking force would
eventually result in the shifting of centre of gravity towards
the front suspension and hence cause the rear wheel to lift off
the ground. Extreme cases can cause the rider to be thrown off
from the motorcycle that could either prove injurious or fatal.
Thus most ABS mechanism in motorcycle should be designed
to mitigate such an adverse scenario. Fig. 3 shows an instance
of such a risky situation [5].
2. Brake pump. Essentially an reservoir of brake fluid
and generates amplifies brake fluid pressure from the
lever pressure.
3. Anti-lock modulator. An electro-hydraulic control unit
consisting of relays, servo motor and valves that acts
as governor of fluid pressure at calipers during both
manual and assisted braking.
4. Brake calipers. Abrasive liners attached to the rotor
on the wheel, causing actual braking by friction.
5. Controller. Electronic control unit that senses wheel
speeds using wheel speed sensors and brake fluid
pressure at calipers using pressure sensors, and sends
modulation signals to the anti-lock modulator. It can
be powered by the storage battery in the vehicle [1]
[3].

IV. SENSORS IN ABS

Various sensors act as peripheral components in ABS
aiding in detecting various parameters that are essential for
its operation. These sensors are listed as follows:

A. Wheel Speed Sensor:

These sensors are either based on Induction or Hall Effect.
They are harnessed to a toner or toothed ring that is freely
allowed to rotate along with the disc rotor attached to the
wheel. The frequency of the pulses is used to gather data on
the speed of the wheels [3].
Fig. 3. Biker experiencing rear lift-off.

B. Pressure Sensor:
III. TYPICAL ABS MODEL They are used to sense pressure of brake fluid and rider
A typical scheme of ABS in motorcycles is shown in Fig. 4. input pressure at the brake lever. The commonly used type
Its parts are briefly described as follows: is a strain gauge type with a bending stainless steel
1. Brake handle. A press lever mechanism that serves as diaphragm connected in a Wheatstone bridge.
the human input for mechanical braking of the
motorcycle.
C. Lean Angle Sensor:
They are a cluster of inertial sensors and accelerometers
measuring the various dynamic attributes of the vehicle like
[5]:
roll rate (X)
yaw rate (Z)
longitudinal acceleration (aX)
transverse acceleration (aY)
vertical acceleration (aZ)
pitch angle
bank/lean angle ()
V. PRINCIPLE
Threshold braking or limit braking is the prime objective of
any ABS. Threshold braking refers to the slowing down of the
vehicle at an optimum rate without locking up the wheels.
Earlier, this technique was left completely to the skill of the
rider by applying precise and pulsating pressure on the brake
levers. With the advent of ABS, the motorcycle is always
maintained in the safe zone of braking while slowing down
with help of electronically controlled hydraulic actuating units.
This safe zone of braking is quantized in the form of a Braking
Force Chart for various road surfaces as depicted in Fig, 5 [3].
Another way of achieving threshold braking is by
minimizing wheel hysteresis. The dimensionless quantity Slip
Ratio is used to quantify wheel hysteresis. Slip ratio is defined
as:
s = ((vv vw) / vv) * 100 (2)
where s refers to the slip ratio , vv and vw are vehicle speed and
wheel speed respectively. 100% slip ratio indicates a
completely wheel-locked condition resulting in skidding. It
has been experimentally observed that a slip ratio of 10 30%
is regarded as safe braking zone [3].
Fig. 5. Braking Force Chart (X axis Slip Ratio).
VI. OPERATION
The crude operation of ABS in a motorcycle in
effecting safe braking without wheel lock up is sequentially
listed as follows:
ABS is powered upon turning on the ignition key
switch and remains in calibration stage till the
motorcycle achieves a certain threshold speed.
The electronic control unit (ECU) constantly senses the
wheel speeds by monitoring the electric signals from
the wheel speed sensors.
This data is processed by the ECU to get data about Slip
ratio.
During braking, the condition of Slip ratio to be within
the safe zone is checked by the ECU for criticality.
o If the slip ratio exceeds the safe limit, ECU
commands the modulator unit to take over
control from rider input and subsequently
regulates the brake fluid pressure at the
caliper by sending corresponding step
signals to it so that the slip ratio is brought
within the safe limit
o If the slip ratio is maintained within the safe
limit, the ECU maintains the parameters of
the step signal to the modulator. This
maintains the braking force at the calipers.
o If the slip ratio is well below the safe limit,
the control is restored to the rider input,
bypassing regulation from the ECU [9].
Fig. 6. Sequential operation of ABS
This operation is summarised as a flowchart depicted in Fig. 6. The schematic of Honda CBS is illustrated in Fig. 8.

VII. STATE OF THE ART

Of all the commercial ABS models available for

motorcycles as a standard option from the manufacturer,
popular variants include those from the pioneers BMW and
Honda.
A. BMW ABS I & II
In 1988, BMW became the first motorcycle
manufacturer to equip their K-100s with ABS. BMW's
system employs a plunger to regulate hydraulic pressure
on the brake calipers and a ball valve to provide isolation
between the brake lever and the system, thereby nullifying
the transfer of vibration from the brake to the lever. The
first generation system weighed about 11 kg.

However the second generation of BMW's ABS, Fig. 8. Honda C-ABS.

introduced in 1993, weighed just over half the weight of
that of the first generation system. It enhanced the
reliability of the ABS, and an upgraded control system
more efficiently regulated the travel of the hydraulic
plunger. This new approach allowed the system to apply
appropriate braking force sooner upon the activation of the
brake, resulting in smoother stops.
VIII. REALIZATION
The advantages of ABS are realized under the following:
A. Braking Distance
Apart from significantly reducing the distance and time
taken by the motorcycle to arrive to a complete halt, ABS
has proved highly beneficial and complementing to the
riders skill in safe braking especially during wet and
emergency conditions.

The Honda C-ABS minimizes the irregularities in the

braking distances among riders having different braking
habits owing to the linked braking control between tyres.
This is illustrated in Fig. 9.

Fig. 7. ABS Setup in BWM R1200

Both ABS I & II controlled the braking of the front and

rear tyres independently. A layout of all the ABS
components in BMW R1200 is shown in Fig. 7 [4].

B. Honda Combined ABS

Hondas C-ABS offered linked control over braking
between the front and rear tyres which provided the rider
the freedom to apply excessive braking force on any one
tyre. The excess braking force would be automatically
distributed to the other tyre to ensure smooth and jerk-free Fig. 9. Reduction in difference in Braking distance.
braking [6].
B. Rear Lift-off Protection (RLP)
In order to mitigate the condition of rear lift-off, the
ECU employs Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD)
when front braking pressure exceeds critical value. This
ensures the transfer of braking force to the rear wheel
whenever the ECU detects a rear lift-off condition. The
inputs that aid the ECU to detect such a condition are:
Brake fluid pressure at calipers
Data from Lean Angle Sensor
The fluid pressure distribution that takes place as a
part of RLP is seen from Fig. 10.
Fig. 9. Brakeforce Distribution during RLP.
IX. LIMITATIONS
Although ABS is inherently designed as a robust and
fail-safe system, its reliability and performance is subject to
the condition or performance of several other factors that
are listed below:
Road surface
Weather conditions
Condition of Brake Lining
Braking habits of the rider
Threading and quality of tyres (Grip)
Lean angle
Brake fluid level & quality
Battery
X. FIGURES OF MERIT
ABS is a proven safety utility with the following
figures of merit to support its cause:
A. Shorter Stopping Distance:
Motorcycle braking tests in Austria conducted with
134 experienced riders (average of 10 years experience)
using their own motorcycles found that the experienced
riders could only achieve an average deceleration rate of
6.6 m/s in the same conditions (flat, dry, clean roadway).
Using a motorcycle fitted with ABS the same riders
achieved significantly better braking, decelerating at 7.8
m/s. Tests with 47 novice riders found an even greater
improvement in braking when using an ABS motorcycle.
In achieving a sudden halt from 60 km/h, a stopping
distance of 17.8 m was recorded for an ABS motorcycle
against 21 m for a non-ABS motorcycle [11].
B. Fewer crashes and fatalities
A recent study of motorcycles fitted with ABS found that
they had a fatal crash involvement rate 37 per cent lower
than for the non-ABS versions [10].
XI. CONCLUSION: THE FUTURE OF ABS
With ABS proving to be an added benefit to the
safety of the motorcyclists, more and more motorcycle
manufacturers have begun incorporating ABS as a standard
feature in their models. From 2011, BMW has been
providing their integral ABS as a factory fitted feature in all
their motorcycles. Also several OEM component
manufacturers such as Bosch and Continental have been
active in producing lighter and efficient ABS units that can
also be custom fitted as after-market parts.
In the EU, legislations have already been passed to
make ABS as a mandatory option in motorcycles with cubic
capacity above 125 cm3 from 2016.
The future would see technologies blending ABS
with Electronic Stability Control for a much better as well
as safer riding experience.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Firstly, the author would like to thank Prof. Dr.-Ing. Olfa
Kanoun, Chair for Measurement and Sensor Technology, TU
Chemnitz for providing the course Automotive Sensor
Systems as a platform to initiate and perform an extensive
study on ABS for motorcycles. The author would also extend
his gratitude to fellow faculties including Dr. Christian Mller,
Mr. Abdulkadir Sanli, Mr. Abderahman Benchirouf and Mr.
Ammar Al-Hamry for their valuable guidance and feedback
during the seminar sessions of the course module.
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