Electronic Throttle Control for Motorcycles 2007-32-0044

Gasoline engines use throttle valves to control the intake air flow and thereby power and torque output. Throttle valves in today's motorcycles are mechanical; they are linked to the accelerator hand grip by a throttle cable. In cars, this type of system has mostly been replaced by electronic throttle control (ETC). An electronic throttle device is controlled by an electronic control unit (ECU) based on the input from a sensor in the accelerator pedal.

In the motorcycle market, the first ETC systems that have appeared on the market have been intermediate solutions with remaining mechanical links. Detailing benefits of an ETC system without these mechanics, the paper proposes a full ETC system without mechanical links for motorcycles. Components required for the realization of an ETC system are an electronic throttle device or a throttle actuator, an accelerator hand grip sensor and an ECU.

A study has been conducted on a mass production on-road sport motorcycle in order to prove feasibility of an ETC system. Exemplary evaluation results show improvements in emission technology (catalyst heating) and driveability.

The paper points out that a task remaining is the definition of an industry wide motorcycle ETC safety concept for detection of malfunction and proper failure reaction.