Flexible multibody modelling of a motorbike timing system as a tool for the engine design optimization

This paper describes a flexible multibody model of the Ducati Moto GP timing system. The model is developed by means of the Ricardo’s commercial software Valdyn. The aim of the work is to provide the designers and the analysts of the Ducati company with a useful tool for the optimization of the engine dynamic behaviour. The predictive model of the system was developed and validated by means of experimental tests. The comparison between the simulation results and the experimental data proves the effectiveness of the model. Several examples of model applications are presented.