COVER FEATURE B
ombardier Recreational Products (BRP) has a long history of making innovative vehicles for land and water.
For 2019, the company has come up with something completely new. The Can-Am Ryker is a novel trike with a surprisingly long gestation period, as Vincent Varaldi, project manager, Can-Am Vehicle Engineering explains: “The BRP Design and Innovation group started imagining the Can-Am Ryker back in 2008. It was a dream for something simple, minimal and with style that would be fun to ride and extremely accessible. There was a lot to learn to make the Ryker happen – it would not have been possible to manufacture such a machine back in 2008.” It started life in 2D form on a computer, moving to 3D next. During the development phase various software packages were used, with Rhino for surfaces, Catia for 3D design, and again with NCode for the fi nite element analysis. Star-CCM+ was used for the CFD, with Simpack and Matlab for vehicle dynamics. For NVH GT Power, Siemens Sim Center with Siemens Test Lab was used, and, as Varaldi adds with a smile, “Also a standard software used around the world by engineers: Excel.” The prototype stage proved crucial,
with 14 new patents being generated along the way. Phase one – the mule
Willing and stable
Even though the centre of gravity is naturally very low, BRP wanted to make it as stable as possible. To this end a stability system is combined within the ABS unit to form the ESP. Varaldi explains, “It grabs data from the vehicle, such as wheel speed, yaw rate, lateral and longitudinal acceleration, steering position, brake demand, etc. With that data, it analyses the present and predicts the coming state of it. If the future is considered as not suitable, the vehicle stability system (VSS) will
intervene by using individual brakes, increasing or releasing pressure or altering engine torque.” The tyres are new and unique. Supplied by Kenda and developed for the Can-Am Ryker, there are two different sets. One is for general purpose use on tarmac, the other for the Rally Edition, is designed for a mix of paved and unpaved roads. Work on tyres started early on, with attention paid to weight distribution, vehicle size, cornering balance and engine power.
A mechanical fi nal drive was chosen over a belt due to the distance from the engine
Varaldi confi rms, “We
wanted a balanced vehicle, so we studied braking, cornering, different grip levels and hydroplaning, comfort and wear.”
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