Bosch Now Offers Additional Functions For The Antilock Braking System
Bosch Now Offers Additional Functions For The Antilock Braking System
Bosch Now Offers Additional Functions For The Antilock Braking System
Bosch Now Offers Additional Functions For The Antilock Braking System

Oct 02, 2012–Gerlingen, Germany (Techreleased) –Bosch now offers additional functions for the antilock braking system. With its Generation 9 motorcycle ABS, Bosch offers a scalable braking control system for all motorcycle classes. And by offering new additional functions, the company will provide motorcycle manufacturers with precisely tailored solutions for additional safety applications. For example, engineers can add an off-road version or a traction control system to the diverse Generation 9 variants. In 2013, both functions will feature for the first time in the 1190 Adventure and 1190 Adventure R by KTM. “The many variants of the Generation 9 motorcycle ABS and its additional functions allows us to satisfy the requirements of all motorcycle makers and their customers,” says Fevzi Yildirim, general manager for motorcycle safety systems at Bosch.
ABS with off-road control – more safety on rough terrain
Up to now, riding a motorcycle in rough terrain far from paved roads has tested ABS systems to the limit. With a system geared to paved roads, the optimum braking effect is lost on sand or loose surfaces, and with it the fun of taking motorcycles to the limit in off-road maneuvers. To remedy this, Bosch experts have developed a special off-road control, designed for loose surfaces. It can be integrated into the ABS plus and ABS enhanced versions of the Bosch Generation 9 antilock braking systems. This means all-terrain motorcycles now have the benefit of added safety, and bikers no longer have to make any compromises when riding off-road.

In the off-road control developed by Bosch, slip thresholds and other parameters have been adjusted to give bikers optimum braking performance in rough terrain as well. The result of this fine-tuning is that the ABS takes effect later. It allows more slip between tires and riding surface than an ABS designed for road use. The rear wheel can dig in to the track surface, improving braking performance on rough terrain.

Moreover, the front-wheel control allows stronger deceleration, without any negative effect on vehicle stability. Motorcycle manufacturers can adapt the off-road control to allow riders to deliberately block the rear wheel and perform the typical maneuvers seen in off-road racing, such as drifting or pulling the rear wheel around in tight corners.

ABS with traction control – additional safety when accelerating
It is not only motorcycle braking performance that the Bosch ABS can optimize. When combined with the Bosch traction control, it can prevent the rear wheel from spinning during acceleration, and counteract front-wheel lift. Summing up the advantages of this innovation, Fevzi Yildirim says: “The Bosch traction control provides support on pavement and now, for the first time, in rough terrain as well.” The traction control can be integrated into all 2-channel systems of the Bosch Generation 9.

If the motorcycle manufacturer adds the Bosch lean-angle sensor to the system, the traction control will also control the maximum permissible drive power in bends. If this sensor is installed, the safety system checks the machine’s dynamic state 100 times a second, and computes the tilting and lean angle as well as vertical acceleration. The traction control can even be adapted to motocross machines for dirt racing.

Leading innovator of braking and vehicle dynamics control systems
As a globally leading supplier of automotive technology, Bosch makes a decisive contribution to vehicle safety with its innovations relating to braking and vehicles dynamics control systems. Since Bosch launched the world’s first electronically controlled antilock braking system for passenger cars in 1978, the number of fatalities in car crashes has dropped considerably. In 1986, it was followed by the TCS traction control system – which was based on the ABS platform, and was again made by Bosch – and in 1995 by the ESP® electronic stability program.

Bosch is also applying this safety systems know-how to motorcycle technology. The first Bosch motorcycle ABS went into series production in 1994. It was followed in 2010 by what is still the world’s smallest ABS, the first to be developed specifically for motorcycles. It was developed by engineers at the Bosch centre of competence for powered two-wheeler safety in Japan. “ABS significantly increases safety when riding a motorcycle, since 47 percent of motorcycle accidents are caused by riders braking wrongly or too hesitantly,” says Dr. Wolfgang Hiller, the regional president of Bosch Chassis Systems Control in Japan. And the new additional functions made ready for series production by Bosch engineers in a gradual process offer even more riding safety and comfort.