Technical Paper
Shape Optimization of a High Performance Motorbike Single Sided Swingarm
2005-04-11
2005-01-0887
This work presents the design process of the Ducati Monster S4R single sided swing arm. The casting body and the bushing were joined by a trellis structure: the welding of the pipes produces a suggestive appearance reinforcing the naked style of the motorbike chassis. This shape would also have given the advantage of fast wheel access but would have brought less stiffness than the fork one. Adopting a numerical-experimental approach, very effective structural actions were undertaken in order to reach the functionality (straight and curve stability, handling) and reliability target on a component with tight technological and aesthetic constraints. Many virtual simulations were made, changing the truss layout, while at the same time evaluating the contribution of the single pipe to the overall behaviour of the component: the coupled bending-twist stiffness was increased by progressively modifying the swing arm shape.