The development of a new motorcycle platform is a complex activity comprising of many engineering disciplines. The full development cycle can be as long as 40 months, depending on the complexity of the project. During the later stages of the program, there are typically four build phases, with increasing motorcycles produced at each phase.

Engineering Simulation can be used to reduce the number of prototypes produced, and in some cases eliminate a complete build phase. This has three effects; reduced cost of prototype motorcycles, reduced program duration and faster time to market. The cost saving due to these effects is significant and can be used to show that investment in engineering simulation has a high rate of return, which allows the business to be more profitable.

The case study presents findings from Royal Enfield internal study on the effectiveness of CAE.

This webinar was the first in a series organised by the Business Impact Working Group.

About the Presenter

Rod Giles, Head of CAD & CAE, Royal Enfield.

Rod studied Manufacturing Engineering at the University of Bath, graduating in 1982. During that time he also designed, built and raced his own cars, learning chassis development and race tuning of engines. After graduation, Rod was a test and development driver for BL Cars (forerunner to Jaguar Land-Rover) before moving to head the chassis analysis department at the age of 24. At this time Rod also completed his Master's Degree at the University of Warwick. Rod moved to Lotus Engineering in 1990 where he was involved in developing the Lotus Elan, Esprit and Carlton as well as cars for many clients. Rod then moved to head the design and analysis department of Thyssen-Krupp Automotive, a tier-one supplier of suspension modules to Ford, GM, Honda, Nissan, VAG and BMW, where he developed new methods for FEA based fatigue analysis. Rod went into engineering consultancy for a number of years, involved in many projects in aerospace, oil & gas, domestic products and automotive as well as devising and delivering FEA training courses. In 2008 Rod joined Polaris Industries to work on the RZR line of side-by-side high performance off-road vehicles. After a spell at Triumph motorcycles working on the new Bonneville 1200cc powertrain, Rod joined Royal Enfield in 2015 where he leads a team of dedicated and enthusiastic CAE engineers who are developing the next generation of Royal Enfield motorcycles.