990039

Design and Development of a Range of Gearboxes

for Motorcycles and Light Vehicles
Stuart McGuigan and John Crocker
Cranfield University and Criterion (Engineers) Ltd., Swindon, United Kingdom
Vikas Khitha
Royal Enfield Motors, Eicher Ltd., Chennai, India
ABSTRACT
The paper describes the design and development of
a five speed gearbox for the Royal Enfield 'Bullet' range
of motorcycles and a four speed + reverse variant for
industrial, light car and similar applications.
The design specification for the five speed gearbox
called for a directly interchangeable unit with the sting
Bullet four speed gearbox, providing either right or left-
hand gear shifting, to meet local market preferences/
statutory requirements worldwide. Provision was also
required for either 'up-for-up' or 'up-for-down' gear shift
patterns, with the minimum of special-to-option parts.
Within these demanding spatial and functional
requirements, the design produced is not materially
heavier and has greater load capacity than the current
four speed gearbox. The four speed + reverse variant
utilises the same major castings and has all but a few
components common or very similar to the parent five
speed gearbox.
The design ethos and techniques used are described
and various methods of assessing gear load capacity
discussed and compared. Material choice and production
methods are also considered, The philosophy adopted
for prototype testing and reliability assurance is outlined.
Prototype gearboxes of the five speed version have
now been extensively tested and a pilot-production batch
manufactured, prior to build-up to full commercial
production. The gearbox has also been homologated with
the Indian authorities.
This is the first time that such a gearbox has been
designed specifically for production by an Indian two-
wheeler manufacturer. It is aimed to complement
Enfield's new generation of engines in premium segments
of the international and domestic markets.
Close collaboration between Enfield and their
consultants, including the involvement of suppliers,
production engineers and service personnel from the
earliest stages, has contributed to the successful
implementation of this important new product.
INTRODUCTION
Royal Enfield Motors (formerly The Enfield India)
has been producing the 'Bullet' range of motorcycles in
Chennai for more than forty years. These bikes are
robust and simple to maintain and, over the years, have
proven themselves well suited to Indian conditions and
the needs of domestic customers. However, the
demands of overseas markets, increasing sophistication
in the domestic market and changing statutory
requirements have lead to a need to improve and
develop the product. Since Enfield was acquired by the
Eicher Group, a major product improvement programme
has been invoked in order to meet these demands. The
range of gearboxes described in this paper form a part
of this product improvement programme.
CURRENT GEARBOX
The gearbox currently used in the Bullet is a four
speed unit which is bolted to the back of the engine
crankcase so that, though self-contained and separately
lubricated, it forms part of the assembled power unit.
This form of construction has attractions in that the
gearbox can be dismantled and serviced separately from
the engine. It also means that the gearbox can be
supplied to third party purchasers for use in other
applications. For these reasons, and also to retain
compatibility with the current engine range, which itself
is undergoing development, Eicher wished to retain this
configuration for the new gearbox.
The current gearbox has been in use, without major
change, since the introduction of the Bullet to India. It
was initially manufactured and supplied by the Albion
Engineering Company in the UK, but manufacture was
transferred fully to Chennai in 1967.
This gearbox was originally designed by Albion, and
its principle of gear changing is different from that of
virtually all other motorcycle gearboxes. A cross-section
through the gearbox is shown in figure 1. To change
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Symposium on International Automotive Technology '99
gear from 1
st
sequentially through to 4
th
, the four gears
shown double-hatched in figure 1 are slid along their
shafts en bloc. Dog teeth on the gears and shafts
engage the drive through the appropriate gear pair.
Because of the relatively large mass and inertia of this
cluster of four gears, and because of the large axial
movement between the engaged positions in successive
gears, the gearchange is rather heavy by modern
standards, and over-changing can occur if the rider
attempts to make a gear change too quickly. A major
design aim for the new gearbox was to obviate these
problems and provide an improved speed and quality of
gear change.
A further drawback of the Albion gearbox is that the
gear c ha nge m ec ha ni sm needs to be set up and
adjusted individually during assembly on the production
line. This adjustment is quite critical, and can be upset
if wear of the mechani sm occurs in service. Since the
m ec ha ni sm is not positively lubricated, wea r can
sometimes be quite rapid especially in the event of
ingress of dirt. A n additional design aim for the new
gearbox w a s therefore to eliminate the need for
adjustment during assembly and to m a k e provision to
lubricate all the internal components, including the gear
change mechani sm, from a c o m m o n oil supply.
The current gearbox employs a numb er of splines
which do not conform to any national standards and
numerous imperial threaded connections, which are to
standards that are now obsolete. These features result
in high costs for tools and cutters. The new design w a s
set out to use a mi ni mum number of different sizes of
splines and threads, all of which are to current
international metric standards for which tooling is readily
available from several competitive sources.
BASIS FOR THE NEW GEARBOX DESIGN
The salient requirement for the new gearbox wa s the
provision of five gear ratios. A s engine power is
increased to provide a higher m a x i m um road speed,
closer spacing of the upper gear ratios is needed in
order to confer good acceleration at higher cruising
speed s, in the face of increased a erod yna m i c
resistance. Closer ratios are also required because
mid-range and low speed engine torque tends to suffer
somewhat in the search for higher m a x i m um power. Set
against this, a greater ratio spread between top and
bottom gears is needed to enable a good getaway from
rest and the ability to maintain w a y w hen at low speed
in congested traffic. These conflicting requirements are
impossible to reconcile fully with only four gear ratios.
With five ratios available, it b ec om es feasible to have
the higher gears (particularly the upper three) relatively
closely spaced, and yet increase the overall ratio spread
to give a bottom gear low enough for urban congestion
and to maximise 'sprint start' capability,
Table 1 show s the closer spacing of the upper
gears and increased overall ratio spread achieved with
the new gearbox, in comparison to the current four
speed unit. In practice, the new gearbox results in a
major increase in useable performance, both in improved
acceleration from rest up to normal urban traffic speeds
a nd in greater reserves of pow er for high speed
overtaking on the open road. Hill climbing ability w hen
heavily laden is also, of course, m uc h improved.
The n ew gearbox w a s specified to be directly
interchangeable with the existing four speed gearbox.
This entailed retaining the existing interfaces with the
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engine and motorcycle frame; the gearbox casing is a
structural member of the frame assembly and must
sustain the loading which this involves. The interfaces
with the primary and secondary transmissions and clutch
were also to be retained -so that the chain lines and
location of the mainshaft centreline had to remain
unaltered. The positions of the kickstart and gearchange
levers on the existing gearbox are not ergonomically
ideal. In the new design, the kickstart pivot was moved
in board to give improved clearance for the rider's foot,
and the gear lever pivot is located coaxially with the
footrest to provide better operation of the gearchange.
A further constraint on the design was that provision
was required to have either a right or left-side
gearchange lever location. A t the time of inception of
the Bullet, most motorcycles had right-hand gearchange.
Since then, a preference has evolved in many markets
for left-hand change; indeed it is now a statutory
requirement in some markets. A conversion to left-hand
operation has been produced for the existing four speed
gearbox. However, this entails an external linkage which
is heavy in operation and subject to rapid wear. For
the new design, it was specified that either right-hand
or left-hand operation should be possible without
resorting to external linkages. This requirement was very
difficult to meet and involved investigating many
alternative ideas at the conceptual design stage. A
solution was eventually created which enabled the pivot
shaft for the left-hand change to be passed right through
bosses in the engine crankcase castings. This entailed
a modification to the castings, but the change was
accomodated within the existing dies and the final design
requires the minimum of components which are peculiar
to the right and left-hand gearchange options.
There are also differing preferences across the
market spectrum regarding gearchange pattern. M any
customers prefer an 'up-for-up' pattern, whereby the gear
lever is lifted to select a higher gear and depressed for
a lower one. Conversely, some prefer an 'up-for-down'
change pattern, where the lever is raised for a down-
change and depressed for an upchange. It was required
to make provision for both options in the new design.
The solution adopted enables this to be achieved with
no special-to-option components; each alternative being
achieved by subassembly.
It will be seen from the foregoing that the design
brief for the new gearbox embraced very tight spatial
constraints and several additional functional requirements.
In addition to these features, the new design was
required to have greater load capacity. The parallel
product improvement programme for the Bullet engine is
such that the larger displacement, higher powered
variants under development will place increased demands
on the gearbox, and result in gear and bearing loads
beyond the designed capacity of the existing four speed
gearbox. The new gearbox was designed to meet these
increased loadings. This was achieved without resorting
S y m p o s i u m on International Automotive Technology '99
to exotic materials or manufacturing techniques, in order
lo provide a viable unit cost in volume production.
In summary, the requirement for the new design
was to provide, with no increase in overall dimensions
and retaining direct interchageability, a gearbox with five
well-spaced gear ratios in place of the current four and
improved, consistent gear change quality, with a choice
of change pattern and operation from either side.
In conjuntion with this five speed gearbox, Eicher
required a four speed +reverse gearbox having the same
basic design and sharing a max i mum number of
common major components. This variant was required
for possible in-house or third party applications in the
light four-wheeler and industrial fields.
FIVESPEED GEARBOX
A cross-section through the gearbox is shown in
Figure 2. The section is through the centrelines of the
mainshaft and layshaft. The clutch is mounted on splines
at the right hand end of the mainshaft and the drive
passes along the shaft and down to the layshaft via the
appropriate gear pair. Drive is then transfered along the
layshaft to the high gear and back to a hollow sleeve
gear, which is coaxial with the mainshaft, and then out
to the final drive sprocket. In top gear, the drive is
transferred directly from mainshaft to sleeve gear, giving
a 1:1 ratio and relieving the gears of load.
GEAR ENGAGEMENT AND SELECTION - The
gears are engaged by integral dog teeth; a 'free' gear
being slid axially along the shaft to engage an adjacent
'fixed' one, or vice versa. The sliding gears for
engagement of 1
st
and 2
nd
gears are on the layshaft and
those for 3
rd
, 4
t h
and top gears on the mainshaft. The
dog tooth form is identical on all gears to simplify
manufacture. The working flanks of the dogs are of
conjugate shape to minimise wear and are undercut
slightly to hold the gears positively in engagement under
load. 30 of backlash is provided between the driving
and driven dogs to assure ease of engagement. The
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S y m p o s i u m o n International Automotive Technology '99
axial m o v em en t for en gagem en t of the d o gs is 6 m m
in all cas es
;
as against approximately 8m m in the
existing four s p eed gearbox. This facilitates a lighter and
quicker gearchange.
T h e sliding gears are m o v ed axially along their
shafts by three selector forks whi ch are m o u n ted o n a
rod lo cated behi n d the s hafts . T h e forks are
m anu factu red by i nvestment casting an d are cas e
hardened. T h e s equ en ce of m o v em en t of the forks is
controlled by a c am plate having slots s o s hap ed that
the required fork m o v em en t is generated by rotation of
the c am plate through an angle of 41for each gear
change. A p eg, cast integral with each selector fork, runs
in the correspondi ng c am plate slot. T h e slots are
des i gned s o that the motion imparted to the selector
forks is approximately sinusoidal in relation to c am plate
rotation. D u e to this, the initial and terminal accelerations
of the sliding gears are relatively gentle, giving a go o d
'feel' to the gearchange. A spring loaded p awl working
in notches in the periphery of the c am plate indexes
the c am plate in the appropriate positon for each gear.
Figure 3s h o ws the c am plate, together with its
operating striker, the selector forks and indexing p awl.
T h e bas i c principle of o p erati o n of this selector
m ec h an i s m is similar to that em p l o y ed in m o s t
motorcycle gearchange m ec han i s m s . Ho wever, In m an y
des i gns , a c am d ru m is em p lo y ed , Into whi ch the
selector fork slots have to be C N C or co p y milled o n a
three-axis m achi n e. In our cas e, the flat c am plate is
produced as a fine-blanking, requiring n o machi ni ng of
the selector fork slots. Thi s gives a highly accurate
product at low cost, o n c e suitable dies have been
produced. T h e c am plate is of cas e hardened mild steel.
T h e camp late is rotated through its 41angle for
each gearchange by m ean s of a 'positive stop' or ratchet
m ec han i s m . In this way , repeated operation of the foot-
operated gear lever through its full m o v em en t en gages
successive gears . T h e principle is similar to that u s ed
to advance the wo rk table of a shaping m achi ne for each
stroke of the tool, except that it is bi-directional in order
to effect both u p ward and d o wn ward gear changes . This
ty p e of m ec h an i s m is agai n c o m m o n to m a n y
motorcycle gearbo xes . In the n ew design, ho wever, the
m echan i s m has to be capable of providing either up-for-
u p and up-for-down gearchange patterns, as noted abo ve.
Als o , for spatial reas o ns , the camp late an d selector
m ec h an i s m had to be positioned behi nd the gears ,
whereas the gearchange lever n eed ed to be located in
front, In order to furnish an eco no m i cally satisfactory
pivot point in relation to the rider's foot. It w as thus
neces s ary to transfer the moti on n eed ed for a gear
chan ge from the front of the gearbo x to the rear. This
is achi eved via a three bar linkage, and a longitudinal
tubular shaft located to the off-side of the gearbo x,
abo ve the mainshaft. T h e entire gearchange m echan i s m
is s h o wn in figure 4 and co m p ri s es a series of simple
mild steel sections and pressings, which are rivetted and
welded together.
T h e alternative gearchan ge patterns are provided
simply by inverting the camplate. T h e two conditions are
s h o w n in figure 5. Thi s requ i res two different
s u bas s em bli es of the camp late and the ratchet plate to
whi ch it is rivetted, but n o additional basic c o m p o n ets
are n eed ed to facilitate the two options.
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KICKSTART MECHANISM - The kickstart
mechanism is carried over virtually unaltered from the
current four speed gearbox. It comprises a spring-loaded
pawl, mounted in the kickstart shaft, which engages
internal ratchet teeth cut in the hollow centre of the
layshaft 1
st
gear. This is a spatially efficient solution
which has stood the test of time and was considered
to require no improvement. The kickstart shaft runs
directly in its housing; no bearing being necessary in
view of the intermittent operation. The needle roller
bearing supporting the off-side end of the layshaft is
carried in the bore of the kickstart shaft.
CLUTCH OPERATING MECHANISM - The clutch is
disengaged by a push-rod passing through the hollow
gearbox mainshaft, acting on a thrust pad which lifts
the pressure plate. The push-rod is in two pieces to
resist buckling and to accommodate lack of straightness
of the hole in the mainshaft. The push-rod is actuated
by a 'three balls' mechanism comprising two similar
circular fine-blanked plates, each with a set of three
coined conical depressions to accommodate the balls.
Relative rotation of the two plates causes the balls to
roil up the sloping faces of their respective depressions,
thus producing axial separation of the plates and
operating the push-rod. A screwed adjuster is provided
in the centre of the mechanism for setting up, and to
accommodate wear of the clutch friction linings. This type
of mechanism is simple, very cheap to produce and
provides a mechanically efficient means of achieving the
necessary leverage to disengage the clutch.
GEARS AND SHAFTS - All the gears and both
shafts are made of a case hardened low alloy steel, to
Euro specification 17NiCrMo5 (equivalent to S.A.E. 8620).
The gears have full-depth hobbed or gear-shaped spur
teeth of 2.5 module and 20 nominal presure angle.
The 'fixed' gears are splined to their shafts, using
DIN standard top-fitting involute splines of 1.25 module
and 30 pressure angle. The working diameters of the
shafts are ground after hardening to provide the correct
fi t Only two diameters of spline are used for the gears,
with a third for attachment of the final drive sprocket.
All the male splines can be generated either by hobbing
or gear-shaping.
The 'free' gears run directly on their shafts, except
the layshaft first gear, which is carried on a bronze bush,
in view of the high relative speed between gear and
shaft when top gear is engaged. There are no ground
shoulders or radii on the shafts or gears, all grinding is
of diameters only. The mainshaft 4
th
gear is located
axially, between a pair of thrust washers, by a shoulder
on the shaft and a circlip. Stress-relief grooves are
provided on each side of the circlip groove to reduce
the stress concentration in this heavily loaded region.
These grooves resulted in some difficulty in fitting the
circlip onto the shaft during prototype assembly. For
production assembly, this has been overcome using a
special fixture to expand and fit the circlip.
Symposium on International Automotive Technology '99
The drive enters and leaves the gearbox coaxially
and on the same side. The mainshaft, on which the
clutch is mounted, passes through the bore of the
sleeve gear, which carries the final drive sprocket. The
sprocket is simply a flat circular disc with a splined bore,
onto which the appropriate number of teeth are cut to
provide the required overall gearing of the vehicle. The
sprocket can thus be blanked from sheet material,
whereas the sprocket for the existing gearbox requires
a forging.
BEARINGS - The mainshaft is supported in the
gearbox casing via two ball races. The larger one, which
reacts both the gear loads and the primary and
secondary chain tensions, carries the sleeve gear. The
mainshaft, in turn, runs in two needle roller bearings in
the bore of the sleeve gear. The smaller off-side
mainshaft bearing is mounted in a carrier, which is bolted
to the main casing. This bearing reacts the thrust load
resulting from clutch disengagement, as well as the gear
loads.
The layshaft is supported radially by caged needle
roller bearings at either end; axial location is by hardened
steel thrust washers. That at the drive end Is positively
restrained from rotation against the aluminium casing
against which it bears.
CASING - The gearbox casing comprises three major
die-castings in aluminium alloy. The main housing is a
gravity casting and includes the mounting lugs for bolting
to the engine crankcase and the motorcycle frame. It
was designed specifically to avoid the need for any loose
cores; a single one-piece metal core produces the entire
internal shape. The design also facilitates machining on
CNC machining centres with the minimum number of set-
ups in different fixtures.
Most motorcycle gearboxes, including the existing
Enfield/Albion four speed unit, have two end covers: an
inner one which supports the shafts and an outer cover
contai ni ng the clutch wi thdrawal , kickstart and
gearchange mechanisms. This necessitates two
gasketed joints if the entire gearbox, including these
mechanisms, is positively lubricated. The new gearbox
has only one end cover, the shafts being supported by
an internal bearing carrier which is dowelled and bolted
to lugs cast inside the main housing. In this way, oil
tightness is enhanced, especially as the outer cover is
not loaded, except by the clutch withdrawal mechanism,
so that no major transverse forces are applied to the
joint face. The bearing carrier is shown hatched in
Figure 6. The end cover and bearing carrier are both
pressure diecastings.
LUBRICATION - The gearbox is lubricated by a
standard S.A.E. 90 grade mild EP automotive gear oil.
The level is checked with a dip stick. A magnetic drain
plug is used to capture any detritus shed from the
gears, especially during the running-in process.
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S y m p o s i u m on International Automotive Technology '99
F O U R S P E E D +R E V E R S E G E A R B O X
The four s p eed +reverse variant of the basic five
s p eed gearbox was designed for industrial and light car
u s e. T h e ai m was to p ro du ce a gearbo x for these
applications whi ch shared as m any co m p o nents as
possible with the parent unit.
The philosophy was to adopt the 2
nd
, 3
rd
, 4
th
and
5
th
gear positions in the five s p eed unit as the four
forward gears (1
st
through to 4
th
respectively), and to
utilise the 1
st
gear position in the parent gearbox for the
reverse gear of the variant. The reversal of rotation is
achieved by interposing an idler gear between the
mainshaft and layshift reverse gears. A cross-section
through the shaft centres of the four s p eed +reverse
gearbox is s ho wn in Figure 7.
It will be s een that the basic layout is the s am e
as that of the parent five s p eed gearbo x. Ho wever, in
order to achieve appropriate spacing of the gear ratios,
it was necessary to change the tooth nu m bers o n m o s t
of the gears. T h e gear ratios are listed in Table 2.
A complication was that the kickstart mechanism of
the five speed gearbox could not be employed, because
of the reversed rotation of the layshaft reverse gear.
Enfield wished to retain the facility for a kickstarter, so
that an alternative arrangement had to be designed.
T he solution chosen utilisises a dedicated pair of
kickstart gears, mounted on extended main and
layshafts, outboard of the bearing carrier. The kickstart
ratchet mechanism is similar to that of the parent
gearbox. Space for the outboard kickstart gears is
available since the four speed +reverse gearbox does
not use the positive stop gearchange mechanism of the
parent gearbox. For the industrial/light car application,
progressive movement of the gear lever engages the
gears in sequence. This is^achieved by operating the
standard camplate via a sector plate, to which the gear
lever is attached.
The main housing and end cover for the four speed
+ reverse variant are mad e from the s ame castings as
those of the parent gearbox, with minor machining
differences only. T he bearing carrier reqires a different
casting to accommodate the reverse idler lug, though
most of the machining is common to the parent and
variant carriers.
Development of the variant gearbox will follow that
of the parent five speed gearbox.
DESIGN TECHNIQU ES
T h e gear ratios provided by both the parent and
variant gearbo xes were decided bas ed o n the designer's
long experience of the requirements of land vehicles of
all kinds. In arriving at the final choice, the m ax i m u m
road s p eed, engi ne p o wer characteristics and p o wer-to -
m as s ratio of the vehicle are am o ng the factors whi ch
need to be taken into account. S o m e of the ground rules
in the deci s i o n-m aki ng p ro ces s are di s cu s s ed in
R eference [1]. T h e overall reduction ratio in a particular
gear is, of co u rs e, achi eved in two stages - the first in
transferring the drive from mainshaft to layshaft and the
s eco nd in transferring back to the sleeve gear. It is go o d
general practice to m ak e these two reductions abo u t
equal in bottom gear. This has been achi eved exactly
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in the five speed version, but some compromise was
necessary in the four + reverse variant, in order to be
able to use some common components and to achieve
the required set of ratios.
The design of the five speed gear cluster is such
that, should alternative ratio sets be required for other
purposes, such as racing or cross-country competition
use, this could be achieved by changing only a few of
the ten gears.
The design of the gear teeth of a motorcycle
gearbox, to achieve adequate safety margins and
durability, presents some difficulty, because the tooth
loading at maximum power is extremely high, but the
duty cycle is relatively light. That is, maximum power
and torque are used only for short periods, much of the
life being spent at a relatively small percentage of
maximum load. The latter is true especially when, as
in the present case, top gear is direct - so that the gear
teeth are unloaded in this gear. The durability of gear
teeth is highly load dependent; the rate of damage varies
roughly as the fifth power of the applied torque. The light
duty cycle thus enables the gearbox to be made very
compact in relation to its power throughput, but the
gears require careful design to achieve both adequate
durability and integrity under peak loads.
The standard gear design codes such as AGMA,
ISO and British Standard 436 are aimed mainly at large
industrial gears and may be excessively conservative in
the scenario outlined above. Criterion and Cranfield
University have developed a gear design technique
aimed particularly at the light duty cycles which are
experienced in motorcycles, and also in many military
vehicles [2]. The validity of this technique has been
verified experimentally on a back-to-back test rig at
Cranfield, mainly during the course of MSc project
work[3], [4].
In applying the technique, a difficulty is that data
is needed on the proportion of time spent in the various
gears and the time spent at various throttle openings
in each gear. Both of these parameters, of course, vary
with the type of usage to which the vehicle is subjected,
which differs widely In different markets. In India, urban
use with the vehicle quite heavily laden is common and
high speed open road driving relatively rare. In Europe
or the USA, the converse may be more likely. Definitive
information is rarely available in practice and, in the
present case, duty cycle assumptions based on long
experience were used. There is a need for empirical
data obtained by logging actual gear selection and
throttle opening during vehicle usage under various road
conditions, in order to provide better information for
designers.
Design calculations were based on a nominal life
of 80.000 km, using the assumed duty cycle and a
maximum input power corresponding to that of the most
powerful of Enfield's new range of engines. The design
of the gears was adjusted so that adequate safety
Symposium on International Automotive Technology '99
factors were predicted for all gears, and such that the
factors were similar for each meshing gear pair. Profile
shift was used to optimise the relative strength of the
pinion and wheel teeth in each meshing pair. It is
generally considered prudent to have a greater safety
factor against bending failure of gear teeth than against
surface damage, because the consequences of tooth
breakage are much more immediate and serious. This
was also achieved.
It is worthwhile, in designing a new gearbox, to
carry out a comparison of the gear load capacity with
that of similar exisitng designs, using the same
calculation procedure in each case. In the present case,
the designer compared the most highly loaded gear pair
in the new five speed gearbox with the corresponding
pair of the existing Enfield four speed gearbox, and also
with the same pair in a similar five speed gearbox
produced by Triumph Engineering in the UK for a 750cc
motorcycle. The new gearbox was found, on this basis,
to have approximately 1.6 times the load rating of the
former and 1.1 times the latter.
Load rating calculations were also carried out on the
new gearbox using two alternative rating procedures
employed by Eicher's tractor division. These suggested
that the high gear pair, which is under load for the
greatest portion of the life of the gearbox, have a very
high safety factor. Conversely, the other pairs, especially
1
st
gear, where the peak load is higher but the duration
of loading is shorter, appeared to have reduced safety
factors. This is probably because the tractor division's
techniques are less suitable for modelling light duty
cycles. Wear patterns observed on the gear teeth during
prototype testing have indicated that, in practice, the
ratings of the various gear pairs appear to be reasonably
well matched.
The shafts were analysed for fatigue strength in
critical areas, under the loading imposed in each gear.
Particular attention was paid to shoulders and other
changes of section, which act as geometrical 'stress-
raisers'. These were minimised where possible by the
provision of suitable fillet radii. The circlip groove which
locates the mainshaft fourth gear both acts as a stress-
raiser and results in a reduction in the section modulus
of the shaft. The groove is near the point of maximum
bending moment on the shaft In 4
th
gear. In order to
reduce the stress concentration and obviate an
unacceptable reduction in fatigue strength, semi-circular
grooves are turned in the shaft either side of the circlip
groove.
Bearing selection calculations were carried out using
standard ISO-based procedures, making due allowance
for the variable duty cycle and Including appropriate
factors to achieve better than B
10
reliability. Experience
shows that motorcycle gearbox bearing failures often
occur due to ingress of dirt or wear debris, rather than
through the applied loading. These problems are
minimised by the use of a double-lipped seal for the
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Symposi um on International Automotive Technology '99
sleeve gear bearing and by the magnetic drain plug.
From the start ofthe programme for the new
gearbox, close liaison and collaboration has been
maintained between Enfield and Criterion. During the
conceptual design phase, changes and improvements to
the specification were discussed and agreed as the
design evolved. As soon as draft concept drawings were
available, briefings were held at Chennai for all key
Enfield staff who would be involved with the project,
including senior managers, production engineers and
planners, service personnel, as well as R &D staff.
These briefings ensured that all concerned understood
the principle ofoperation ofthe gearbox and ho w
manufacture, as s embly and mai ntenance were
envisaged. In turn, valuable feedback was provided to
the designers, who were also able to beco me more
familiar with Enfield's manufacture and assembly facilities.
Meetings were held at this stage with potential vendors
of major components, such as castings, so that their
views on manufacturability issues could be sought before
the desi gn concept was finalised. Wear and
condemnation limits for service replacement were also
proposed at this stage and discussed with service
department personnel. These limits were reviewed and
confirmed during development testing.
This close co-operation has been maintained
throughout design and development, and in the period
leading up to full production. All component drawings
were discussed in detail with Enfield's production
engineers, both initially, and as production tooling and
procedures were evolved. The designers assisted with
prototype assembly, which was invaluable both in
ensuring that Enfield's engineers were fully aware of all
necessary procedures and also in providing feedback on
any difficulties encountered, so that detailed
modifications could be m ade swiftly and effectively.
Prototypes have been tested both in Chennai by
Enfield engineers and in England by the designers.
Again this approach has been important in ensuring any
problems encountered were fully understood could be
quickly and efficiently resolved.
TES TIN G
Initially, six prototypes ofthe five speed gearbox
were built. Five ofthese were as s embled into
motorcycles at Chennai for road testing; one was
assembled into a motorcycle in England. Thes e
prototypes were used for various purposes, including
homologation, performance and endurance testing.
Endurance test units were run for 30,000 km on various
duty cycles and then dismantled for detailed assessment
of condition, before being reassembled for further testing.
The unit assembled in England was tested mainly under
high speed, open road conditions, including testing in
cold weather during the English winter.
Absequently, a pilot-production batch of30 five
speed units was built, which included a number of minor
modifications m ade as a result of experience gained in
the earlier prototype build and test programme. These
were assembled into vehicles having various engine and
gearchange configurations; five s amples ofeach
configuration being built. Testing of these units embraced
running machi nes on rollers through various duty cyles,
including load cycling and repeated gearchange
sequences, as well as road testing. Periodical stripping
for inspection was carried out during the test regime.
Testing of this relatively large batch of gearboxes should
ensure that the test p ro gram m e is sufficiently
comprehensive to highlight any potential problems and
give confidence that production gearboxes will be reliable
and durable in service. This test programme is ongoing,
in the lead-up to full commercial production.
SUMMARY
The programme reported has resulted in a five
speed gearbox which is slightly more compact and only
marginally heavier than the existing four speed gearbox
which is slightly mo re compact and only marginally
heavier than the existing four speed gearbox for the
Enfield Bullet. The span across the mai n bearings is
s o me 1 3 m m less than that for the existing unit. This
is highly desirable in the interests of shaft strength and
stiffness, but clearly restricts the width ofthe gears.
Nonetheless, the gear cluster in the new gearbox has
substantially greater load capacity, This has been
achieved with conventional gear materials by optimising
the tooth design using best modern gear design practice
and specially developed design procedures.
The new gearbox enables different customer
preferences regarding gearchange location and pattern to
be met at mi ni mu m cost and provides consistent,
improved gearchange quality, without the need for
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adjustment on assembly. The provision of five well-
spaced gear ratios enables the improved power available
from the revised range of Bullet engines to be more fully
realised in terms of enhanced road performance.
Figure 8 shows the new gearbox installed in a Bullet
motorcycle. A four speed + reverse variant for other
applications has also been designed, which requires a
minimum of additional tooling and investment.
Close co-operation, throughout all stages of the
project, between the designers and staff responsible for
implementing volume production has facilitated the
development process and the evolution of optimum
methods of manufacture.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors wish to thank the directors of Royal
Enfield Motors Ltd. for permission to publish this paper.
The contribution made by all Enfield staff who have
participated in the design and development programme
is also acknowledged with gratitude.
Symposium on International Automotive Technology '99
REFERENCES
1. Automotive Transmission Elements; MSc Course
Notes, Cranfield University, Royal Military College of
Science, S J McGuigan, 1995.
2. Element Design Handbook, Section 9 - Gear
Design; MSc Course Notes, Cranfield University,
Royal Military College of Science, S J McGuigan,
1992,
3. Predicting the Finite Life Fatigue Strength of Gears;
MSc Project Report, Royal Military College of
Science, R C Sharma, 1985.
4. Fatigue Performance of Gears under Variable
Loading; MSc Project Report, Royal Military College
of Science, J S Matharu, 1986.
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