Performance estimation

Description

Estimation of acceleration and top speed performance is often considered a simple matter. Multiply engine torque by the gear ratios and add aerodynamic drag and weight into the calculation mix and “hey presto” you have all the answers.
Reality is of course somewhat different. There are many more factors to take into account if you want to get as accurate a picture as possible. For example; CG height affects load transfer to the driven wheel as well as determining the tendency toward terminal wheelies. The height of the frontal aerodynamic centre of pressure also has a similar influence. Load transfer affects tyre slip which in turn affects the relationship between RPM and road speed, which in turn determines the power available at any particular road speed. Then there is the influence of the dead time between gear changes when no power is being transmitted.
This software takes all those factors, and more, into account and raises the bar of performance estimation to a new level for enthusiasts and racers of all levels. It is an invaluable tool to help with the proper evaluation of gearing strategies and gear change points.

Tony Foale says: “If readily available tools existed then I wouldn’t have spent the time to write this software, but I could not find anything else that fulfilled my needs.  As with all our software it was developed firstly as a tool for use with our own work not just as another product to sell.”

What will the software do?
Simply put, it will produce calculated estimates of the straight performance of a motorcycle. However, there is really a lot more to it than that and there are a lot of contributing factors to ultimate performance. When fed with the appropriate data this software uses most of these factors in the calculations.
The user can enter the power / torque curves of the engine. This information is much more readily available these days than it used to be and many people interested in performance will have theie machines dyno tested.
Gear ratios, weight, drag, tyre properties, wheelbase and CG height are the other main factors which affect performance and the software accepts values for these parameters. Although of lessor importance, the values for wheel and crankshaft inertia can also be entered when known to further refine the results.
Outside of the motorcycle, performance is also affected by wind and the slope of the road surface, both of these values can be included. The web sites of many race tracks have data regarding road elevation which can be downloaded.
After the calculations have been made there are several graphical and tabular options for analyzing the results, and comparing different cases. These comparisons can be used to optimize some of the contributing factors such as gear ratios, when to change gear, whether the CG is too high or too low, what effect would engine modifications have etc., etc. If required the results data can be exported for use in external software such as eXcel or other spreadsheets and calculation software.

(Click here to get manual) to get a better understanding of its capabilities.