INTERNATIONAL DESIGN CONFERENCE - DESIGN 2010

Dubrovnik - Croatia, May 17 - 20, 2010.

DESIGN OF A NEW HIGH-END STREET BIKE

S. Uberti and M. Gadola

Keywords: motorcycle, handling, chassis, design

1. Introduction
This paper deals with an “atypical” bike design. It can be considered atypical due to the materials used
and the peculiar engine – chassis combination. The project was born as a consequence of CR&S desire
to access the so-called “maxi-naked” motorcycle market.
The project, called “DUU”, is about a new bike with an adequate family feeling with the “VUN” (the
factory’s first commercial model), totally “customizable”; it will be a large capacity, naked sporty
two-seater, with innovative design and a very good handling.
In the paper the entire design process leading to the presentation will be briefly explained: market
analysis, benchmarking, concept, dynamic behaviour studies, structural calculations, and prototype
manufacturing.

2. CR&S’ New project

CR&S’ design philosophy can be described as follows:
 High emotional impact
 Peculiar design
 Valuable materials, often unpainted
 (Standard version)
 Highly trimmed finish
 High performance (intended as optimal and balanced equilibrium for maximum driving
pleasure)
“Customizable and modularity”: CR&S’ bikes are highly customizable by the factory.

Figure 1. CR&S first model: “VUN”

Learning from experience in production and selling of the “VUN” model, CR&S developed its own
product marketing knowledge, summarized as follows.

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Among single-cylinder street bikes, the “VUN” created its own market niche. In the larger “naked
bike” segment, CR&S would like to place itself on the top of the maxi-naked sub-sector, using a new
formula: “Sport custom”. The “maxi-naked” segment is worth more than 100k bikes/year worldwide.
As a matter of fact DUU’s market positioning will be in a wider market area and at premium price
level: 35% higher than the competitors’ average and 25% higher than other prestigious brands, but
much lower than the most exclusive outsiders (see Figure 5). The DUU selling potential can be
evaluated by taking the VUN selling numbers as a reference: about 0.30% within its market segment,
that is to say 300 bikes/year. The company break-even is set at 100 bikes/year and this can be
considered as highly feasible. Moreover the product range development program (3/4 versions),
already undergoing development, should make selling targets easily under reach.
Base price will be 21.000 € (+ VAT) and production cost (part list + labor + amortization) will be
13.500 €; sales are predicted to be 100% through dealers with a 15% passive commission for the
manufacturer. Due to its own positioning the DUU reference market is among the “naked”+“sport-
naked”+“custom”+“classic” bikes, which actually is the widest and reaches up to 50% in the Italian
market, which in turn is the European reference market. (see Figure 2 : from “Moto Dealer News” may
2008).

Figure 2. Maxi-naked bike market

Figure 3. CR&S “VUN”

Following the CR&S brand positioning and focus on innovation, the “DUU” should be a “maxi-
naked-sport-custom”, creating its own market niche as it happened with the “VUN”. A minimum
market share of 0.1% could also be considered attainable, considering that the “VUN” reaches a
respectable 0,3% in a 10k bikes/year market. Subsequently a prediction of 100 to 300 unit total
production in five years is realistic. The project long term, strategic effects should be: company

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development, market share growth, and brand exposure as a high quality manufacturer. Finally the
project should turn the company from a small manufacturer of hand-crafted products with a 2.5
million euro turnover to a larger, 5 million euro turnover company, with staff growing to 18/20 people,
and with enough resources to self finance its own R&D department for the introduction of a third
product line.

3. Benchmarking& Project design startup

A focused survey was conducted to evaluate the potential customer attitude towards DUU’s potential
competitors. Such research was based on two questionnaires proposed to a 100 “R.U.B” sample
(where “RUB” stands for Rich Urban Biker, or rather well-off people deeply keen on motorcycling:
the typical CR&S’ costumer), in order to focus on their preferences and judgment on competitors’
bikes. An extract from this survey will follow (see Figure 4).
According to market studies, in the maxi-naked segment the engine is the bike’s heart, more than in
other bike segments. This is why an S&S factory engine was chosen: its brand new “X-Wedge”, 56°
V-twin unit. It features a traditional air cooling, a dry sump and a 1920 cc displacement. Power output
is 110 Hp@5500 rpm coupled with a flat torque curve peaking at around 150 Nm. Despite its classic
look it is a modern unit that has been developed to cope with severe American noise and emission
rules (EPA). It is therefore Euro 3 compliant (EU standard 98/69 CE). The gearbox is also an “S&S”
6-speed unit with its own case and coaxial input and output shafts.
Customizability
performance

Exclusivity

Handling

Comfort
Price(€)

Engine 

Brand

Total
Price
Look

Make Model
Yamaha  MT‐01 14k 7 7,17 6,33 6 6,33 6,17 7,67 7,67 6,79
Buell XB12 12,5k 7,5 6,67 6,83 7,33 7,67 7,83 8 6 7,23
new 
Yamaha  V‐Max 20k 7,5 9,17 6,83 5,83 6 6,17 6,33 7,33 6,9
H.D. V‐Rod 19k 6,83 7,67 7,5 5,83 8,67 8,33 7 7,5 7,42
Rocket
Triumph  III 19k 5,5 7,83 7 5,67 6,5 7,5 6,5 7,17 6,71
Brutale
MV Agusta 1078 RR 19k 8,67 8,67 8 8 6,5 7,83 6,67 6,17 7,56
Victory Hammer 18k 6 6,33 6,83 5,67 6,83 5,83 6,67 7,17 6,42

Boss Hoss ‐‐‐ 53k 4,83 7,33 7,17 4,17 6,67 6,33 5,17 6,5 6,02
Confederate Wraith 80k 8,83 7,83 9,5 6,83 6,5 7,5 4,67 5,17 7,1
Roadster
Wakan 1000 34k 8,83 8,33 8,5 7 6,83 6,67 5,67 5 7,1
Bimota Delirio 19,5k 6,17 7,5 7,33 7,83 6,17 7,5 6,67 6,5 6,96
Suzuki B‐King 14k 4,5 8,17 5,17 6,17 6 5,67 7,5 7,17 6,29
Honda CB 1300 10,3k 7,76 7,88 5,5 6,56 6,55 6,2 8,3 7,2 6,99
HD FX 15,2k 8,35 6,5 7,8 6,83 7,8 8,2 7,2 6,5 7,4
BMW K1300R 15k 5,85 8,27 6,2 7,85 6,3 7,15 5,5 6,8 6,49
Moto Guzzi Griso 8V 13k 8,2 6,5 6,3 6,56 6,45 7,76 7,2 7,45 7,05

Figure 4. Extract from poll results Figure 5. CR&S “DUU” market positioning

Figure 6. From left: X-Wedge engine, gearbox, external clutch assembly, engine shaft output
The primary transmission is by means of a duplex chain while a sealed chain was chosen for the final
transmission in place of a shaft transmission because of rear swingarm geometry reasons. Final
transmission ratio was chosen for a 140 km/h cruise speed.
The entire bike was designed around this big engine with a characterizing double function backbone
chassis (acting also as fuel tank), where engine and gearbox are rigidly assembled with aluminium

ENGINEERING DESIGN PRACTICE 1743

(Ergal) mounting brackets specifically designed for damping purposes. In line with the sporty
character, the gearbox position is higher than traditional applications in order to give a 45° roll angle
before the primary transmission case actually touches the ground.
Technical and production considerations drove materials selection to reduce tooling and assembly
costs for a small scale production, while offering high product value perception.
AISI 316L austenitic stainless steel was chosen for welded structures while all interface plates and
bracket, as mentioned above, are designed to be machined from Al 7075 T6 (Ergal), a material
particularly suited to high-stressed mechanics applications. Starting from scratch, keeping these
choices as a landmark the entire product family has been developed, according to the “modular”
philosophy, while strictly looking to global performance (see Figure 9).
The development of the product line variants at the same time is a key factor to achieve common
customer feeling on all the range. The variants should not be perceived as later “add-ons” as it happens
to most “custom bikes”. Consequently, during concept and project startup, and while defining the bike
ride & handling performances, some basic layouts were explored in parallel and considered all
together before “freezing” the layout, design and technical specifications (i.e. all the bike fundamental
dimensions).

 
Figure 7. First sketch & initial 3d concept studies

CR&S DUU technical specifications

Type Modular Naked Bike

Engine Type: "V" bicylindric (56.25°)

Displacement: 1917cm³
Bore-Stroke 105mmx111mm
Lubrication: Dry sump with oil reservoir
Timing: OH 2 valves -automatic hydraulic backlash adjustment
Cooling air + oil/air
Induction 52.4mm throttled body
Fuel system
& ignition: S&SVFI Integrated System
Exhaust Stainless steel 2-1 with box, lamba sond an catalytic converter

Drive Train
Primary: duplex chain
Clutch: oil-multidisc
Gearbox: 5 gears with separated case
Secondaria: O-ring chain

Chassis
Type: Stainless steel "Backbone" chassis with machined light alloy inserts

Suspensions
Front: Sachs "upside-down" 48mm telehydraulic fork ,120 mm travel,
adjustable spring preload
Rear: Single arm, sachs telehydraulic unit, 120 mm travel, adjustable spring preload

Brakes
Front: Brembo double 320mm disc with four piston calipers and and radial 19mm pump
Rear: "Brembo" 270mm disc with four piston calipers

Wheels & pneus

Front: Two pieces light alloy 3.50x17"/Pirelli radial 120/70ZR17
Rear: Two pieces light alloy 6.00x17" Pirelli radial 190/55ZR17

Figure 8a. Technical data sheet

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 Figure 9. Bike’s variants permitted by modular lay-out

4. Predicted Handling
It is important to explain some basic considerations on bike handling, as a function of the main design
parameters. As aforesaid the DUU is a very atypical bike, with an American “muscle bike” engine
fitted in a european-style chassis, and oriented to maximum driving pleasure during fast trips or
cruising on winding roads. It is therefore necessary to examine the bike dimensions and settings during
the design phase very accurately.
In Figure 10a and 10b the most relevant dimensions are listed, here only with symbols for
confidentiality purposes. Aim of the analysis was to achieve a proper balance between stability and
reactivity, operating mostly on the following parameters:
 Engine position: this engine is fairly heavy (120 kg) and has a large flywheel momentum
(with a stabilizing gyroscopic effect), so it is very important to work properly on “h” (bike’s
COG height) and “b” (rear wheel trail from COG) parameters by positioning the centre of
gravity slightly towards the front
 Front wheel trail (“a” in figure 10) and normal wheel trail ,where a  f ( d ,  , R f ) and
a n  a  cos   R sin   d (1)
(from[1])
 Wheelbase (p)
 Rear wheel trail bn  ( p  a ) cos  (from [1] and [2]) (2)

ENGINEERING DESIGN PRACTICE 1745

 Figure 10 a. DUU’s fundamental dimensions (CR&S)

Figure 10 b. Motorcycle fundamental dimensions affecting ride & handling (from [2])
Consequently it is important to talk about the following ratio: the so-called “wheel trail ratio”
an
(expressed in %): Rn   100 .
b
In the “DUU” development prototypes this ratio is adjustable between 5.4 and 7%.

    
Figure 11a,b. Chain pulling ratio parameters ([1])
 Chain pulling ratio: defines rear swingarm forces equilibrium during acceleration

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 N trasf  L cos  tan 
Rn   (from [1]) (3)
r  tan 
T  L   c  sin   sin(   )
 Rr 
(rc is rear sprocket radius, Me is rear shocker torque and L is swingarm length). If Rn is slightly larger
than 0,5 as in the “DUU” an “anti-squat” effect is achieved.
The rear suspension geometry was designed with a built-in progressive behaviour, with benefits on
ride and road-holding; furthermore this limits steering geometry variations due to rear excessive
compression (e.g. for low frequency bumps, or with passenger and luggage).

5. The frame
The peculiar bike style and the performances combined with its weight (ca. 240 kg) made frame
design a tough challenge. Most of the problems were solved with an unusual approach. As stated
above the frame is a mixed structure: a stainless steel backbone is assembled with 7075 T6 alloy
machined plates and a fabricated sub-frame by means of bolts.

Figure 12. Frame’s initial lay-out

Figure 13. Three sub-frames

ENGINEERING DESIGN PRACTICE 1747

The frame design has been carefully developed by means of FEM structural computation. The upper
part is the most characterizing in terms of bike design (see Figure 12, Figure 16 part “A”). As a matter
of fact it is a large diameter, cold formed tube (104mm). It also acts as fuel tank and links the steering
head with the rear swingarm pivot by means of the lower part (see Figure 16, “D” and “B”). It also
features the pickup point for the rear shock absorber.
Two machined alloy plates connect engine heads to the upper backbone structure (see Figure 16 part
“C”). The lower sub-frame is a mixed stainless steel fabricated structure with Ergal plates that connect
rear swingarm pivot and related bushings. Furthermore mounting points are provided for gearbox and
lower engine crankcase (as shown in fig.16 on parts “D” and “B”).
Front engine cradle initial design was a double tube bridge structure between upper and lower frame to
close the structure and spread forces (see Figure 13, Figure 14a).
As shown in fig. 14a and 14b , the front engine cradle and lower sub-frame manufacturing process was
quite complicated. Therefore their design evolved into a stainless steel sheet metal structure, laser cut,
folded and welded like an “origami”, this providing benefits also in terms of look overall (see Figure
15a, b).

Figure 14a. Front engine cradle

Figure 14b. Jig for building and welding Figure 15a. Lower frame

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 Figure 15b. Jig for building and welding

Figure 16. DUU’s final frame: A =backbone, B= lower frame, C= machined plates, D=front
engine cradle 
The frame can be seen as tailored on the engine to achieve a compact bike design, despite the large
engine dimensions (see Figure 16). The machined plates act primarily as interface in order to embrace
the engine.
Moreover these plates, due to Ergal mechanical properties, are aimed at controlling vibrations. During
the prototype building phase some additional modifications were carried out to improve general
functionality and manufacturing costs.

Figure 17a. Fuel filled components Figure 17b. Underseat structural fuel tank 
Fuel primary tank, as aforesaid, is the backbone tube itself. The capacity -around 7 litres- is not
enough for the desired 200 km mileage. For this reason an innovative decision was deemed necessary:
the rider and passenger sub-frame was replaced with an aluminium sheet structural monocoque fuel

ENGINEERING DESIGN PRACTICE 1749

tank, taking total fuel capacity to 16-18 litres. This additional tank is fitted to the main frame by means
of rubber bushings, in order to reduce vibrations and improve ride comfort. This tank -clearly visible
in Figures 17 a, b- is currently undergoing development. The tanks are connected via appropriate fuel
lines in order to optimize refuelling.
The engine being a dry sump unit needs a separate oil tank. It is placed on the right side between
engine and gearbox in order to lower the CoG. An oil heat exchanger is also provided to improve
engine cooling. It is positioned in front of the engine cradle, exposed to the air flow(fig.18a).
A single arm structure was chosen for the rear suspension as a trade-off between design and functional
requirements. It should be noticed that this lay-out is always subject to torque loads around the
longitudinal axis and requires a proper design for torsion stiffness.
The effect of torsion are present even in straight running, and it is directly proportional to rear wheel
loads. Any swingarm twist results in wheel misalignment from the bike vertical plane, thus generating
tyre side forces and affecting driving behaviour.

Figure 18a. Oil heat exchanger housing Figure 18b. Structural fuel tank fairing
The wheel spindle is fitted by means of an automotive type upright structure. The rear rim large offset
provides room for the brake caliper and disk
In line with the peculiar backbone structure design, the swingarm is also made of a large diameter cold
formed tube (AISI 316L) with a laser cut, sheet metal stiffening rib supporting the primary structure
and accommodating the rear shock pickup point.(fig 19a)

Figure 19a. Rear swingarm Figure 19b. Front mounting scheme

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As mentioned above, the rear suspension geometry features light anti-squat effects (Rn>1) during
acceleration (contrasting suspension compression) and anti dive during braking (contrasting
suspension extension).
Swingarm pivot hinge is realized by means of needle-combined bearings to feed vertical and
transverse loads into the frame, thus reducing slip-stick effects with positive influence on ride quality
(see Figure 19b).
Wheel bearings are contained in an adjustable eccentric cartridge clamped to the swingarm (see Figure
19b).

6. FEM analysis
In order to validate the frame strength and stiffness calculation, FEM techniques were applied to both
frame and swingarm design in their final configuration. They underwent a number of simulations with
different load cases corresponding to heavy braking, acceleration, cornering, riding over severe
bumps, as well as their combinations. Effective stress levels were confirmed to be within a range of 35
and 110 Mpa, thus giving a 2-3.5 safety factor on AISI 316L (σrp0.2 = 235MPa).

 
Figure 20. Rear swingarm first and second vibration modes 

Swingarm natural frequencies and vibration modes can also affect handling. It is therefore important to
analyze and predict possible interactions with powertrain and road profile energy input. Maximum
wheel speed is 1795 rpm corresponding to 29.9 Hz, while the tyre own chatter frequency is about 20
Hz. FEM models showed that the first swingarm natural frequency is placed well beyond the above
typical inputs.

Conclusions
Up to this development stage, the “DUU” appears to be fully adequate to its market target. Its peculiar
design characteristics are dedicated to driving pleasure understood in the European way. First road
tests on prototype are currently in progress and are confirming the design goals.
The DUU was presented to public and press during EICMA 09 in Milan, one of the world’s leading
bike shows, achieving a very good success: the first year production was already sold three weeks
after the show.
In spring -summer 2010 some important checks on project will be done: a massive road test conducted
by professional testers and a fatigue test on a road simulation bench.
From the first we expect to verify how correct initial design was. From the latter we expect to verify
deeply, with augmented stress on structure, calculations on frame and others components.
By means of these two phases outputs we will act on design to modify bike’s behaviour.
After CR&S first two bikes experience, some reflections can be done on what can be improved to stay
ahead of competition. Firstly it is very important to create a remarkable brand identity, focusing on
some key elements in product line. CR&S focused on sporting-bikes with top quality components
suited to be totally factory-customizable. Then another key factor has been in exploring new market
areas, where big producers cannot or do not want to investigate, these sectors being too small to
guarantee revenues for consistent investments.

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CR&S strategy is to identify such areas and enter them from top with a high valuable product, to be
clearly associated with this market sector. So strategy towards competition is to anticipate it, being
ready with an improved product when concurrence will enter the same market sector.
For the near future, we are collecting feedbacks from bike shows in which the DUU is exposed, trying
to analyze them to update the bike to meet customer’s expectations.
Our future market challenges will be in using revenues from DUU’s selling in expanding CR&S with
a third product line while creating a structured R&D department and perhaps a racing division, whose
aim would be to enforce brand’s reputation among European sportsmen.

References
Cocco G. with Aprilia, “EFFETTO MOTO” -Dinamica e tecnica della motocicletta,Giorgio Nada Editore,
1999.
Cossalter V., “MOTORCYCLE DYNAMICS”, Lulu Editions, 2002.
Foale T. “MOTORCYCLE HANDLING AND CHASSIS DESIGN” – the art and science, Giorgio Nada Editore,
2002.
Spalding N, “MOTOGP TECHNOLOGY”, David Bull Publishing, 2006

Dr Stefano Uberti
Researcher
Università di brescia, Dipartimento di ingegneria meccanica e industriale.
Address, City, Country
Telephone: +39 030 3715517
Telefax: +39 030 3702448
Email: uberti@ing.unibs.it
URL: http://www.crs-motorcycles.com/, http://archimedes.ing.unibs.it

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