Motorcycle Ergonomics

Riding motorcycles is enjoyable, exciting and fun! It's also a highly skilled but risky activity with many factors in common with other safety critical situations. The rider and motorcycle form an interactive system operating within a very demanding environment which encompasses the broad range of ergonomics and human factors application areas.

Motorcycles present an interesting and somewhat neglected case study to which the work and research of the members of the Institute lends itself very well. Motorcycles take in all aspects of ergonomics, from anthropometrics through cognitive ergonomics to the thermal environment, these issues are currently not well represented within the design, manufacture, and use of motorbikes, nor within the wider context of the road system. These are important issues if safe, enjoyable, and efficient motorcycle usage within a future road transport system is to increase in the way that current trends suggest. Therefore, the scope for ergonomics research and design solutions is large, but currently untapped. The special interest group will provide a focus for motorcycle research by the Institute's membership, and will facilitate further research by means of a group forum.

If there is enough support, a one-day conference may be run with an associated publication of the group's findings.

An article entitled "Are you sitting comfortably?" was published in the main stream motorcycling press, following a request for information from a journalist. Whilst this article was necessarily of a broad brush nature, it is an encouraging sign that the subject area is of interest to a large audience, and provides a basis on which further detailed work can gain similar exposure.