VOL. 52 ISSUE 24 JUNE 16, 2015 P87
(cars received this technol-
ogy long ago).
Traction control has been
around for a while now and
most top line sportbikes
have some form of it. Indeed
bikes like the Multistrada
were designed from the
outset to incorporate varying
levels of traction and ABS
as part of their four-bikes-in-
one philosophy, however the
creation of MSC takes things
a step further.
Bosch claims that over
40 percent of motorcycle
fatalities could be avoided
by having the ABS and MSC
devices fitted, so that statistic
alone makes the enormous
investment Bosch is making
in these devices worthwhile.
20 years ago a motorcycle
ABS would weigh up to 15lbs,
now you'd be hard pressed
to find one over 9lbs!
WHAT IS AN IMU?
The IMU, or Inertial Measurement
(or Moment) Unit, is Bosch's latest
safety innovation for motorcycles,
even though it has been available
in cars for about 15 years. It's a tiny
little sensor that sits under the rider's
seat.
The IMU in a Multistrada is a 5D
inertial signal device that measures
roll, yaw, longitudinal acceleration,
transverse acceleration and vertical
acceleration up to 100 times per
second to determine the exact lean
angle of the motorcycle and how
much brake and acceleration force
can be applied to maintain the given
traction of the tires.
The MSC takes information from
the IMU and every sensor on board,
including those sent out by the
wheel speed sensors and Ducati
Skyhook Suspension, and passes
that info to the MSC algorithms,
Ducati Wheelie Control and Ducati
Cornering Lights system.
The IMU is available in bikes
such as Yamaha's new YZF-R1 and
YZF-R1M, as well as the KTM Super
Adventure and the Multistrada, but
don't be surprised if many more
bikes come out with it in the future.
