Modeling and stabilization of motorcycle shimmy

It is known that in some conditions, shimmy phenomenon occurs on motorcycles. In this article, shimmy analysis is conducted by the model based on the tire model that delivers the force with lateral deformation. The analysis shows that the motorcycle with excessively heavy load becomes unstable. Then, the model is used to design a stabilizing controller for motorcycle shimmy. The stabilization is verified by the experiment with the unmanned motorcycle produced for the tests without a rider influence. The results show the control based on the model is effective to stabilize motorcycle shimmy.