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Curious About Data Logging?


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I found this link the other day and figured it would be a good resource to share with the forum. BMW has some demo software for the BMW datalogger on their site so you can download it and "review" data like you would on data pulled from the bike. It includes a demo version of the 2d software and some demo data to play with.

 

This would be quite useful for someone who's interested in understanding data acquisition or the BMW Datalogger. Just a word of advice. The 2d software has a bit of a learning curve (it's a professional grade tool) and takes some patience to work with and understand. Once you get over the learning curve it can tell you virtually anything you want to know. Of course part of the problem is you are often swimming in an ocean of data. You have to often know what questions you want to answer and then go to the data to find what you are looking for.

 

Here's the link

 

http://www.bmw-motorrad.ca/com/en/motorsports/hp-race/download/software/datalogger.html

 

I have learned a lot about the software in my time using it to look at my own data. While I can't guarantee I'll have an answer if you have questions feel free to PM me.

 

P.S. I'm not sure that this is "just" a BMW thing. 2d offers a lot of products to race teams for a number of different bikes. The software may be quite similar to options available to any model bike out there. If you are bored sometime give it a whirl.

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Thanks, very interesting!

 

2D is used in MotoGP so it's in the very high end. They csn do just about anything, but come with a rather high entry cost.

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I just got an aim solo DL for my cbr600 (the solo DL logs ECU data but no analog signals, so rpms, throttle, gyro, gears, gps but no brakes).

 

I have a general idea of what I can learn from it, like lean angle and throttle at the same time, but would be interested to know how else you benefit.

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I use mine to answer specific questions rather than just looking at every single bit of data and drinking from the fire hose.

 

Here's a good example of what I look at. Take for an instance a corner I'm having issues with. With the datalogger I can go in and trace my exact line, my entry and exit speeds. Where I got on the brakes and where I got off the brakes. I can see turn points, lean angle and traction conditions by observing the slip rate. I can see what worked, what did not work and have a record of everything I did and match that with what it felt like I did based on leaving that extra bit of attention to observe. I usually wait until after the day and look at all the data at once but you could easily pull the data each session and review while you are at the track.

 

One of the things that's helpful for me is to have another riders set of data. It requires a bit of trust but it's a good thing to look at to be able to understand what you are looking at. Find a fast rider you trust and send them on track with your bike and allow them to set a base line set of data for you at a lap time you want to eventually achieve or a "hot lap". You can then take that specific corner and compare on exactly the same platform without the guesswork of comparing lap times with a rider on different tires or setup. It's been useful for me at least for showing me that I'm not even CLOSE to the outer limits of what can be done with my bike.

 

Another thing that I find really useful is being able to see my improvement over time. I keep all of my data archived. A quick review of the "high points" of your previous data can show you your improvement over time.

 

When I'm not looking for anything specific I will often look at the high level stuff. Lap times, Max speed's, Max RPM's, Max Braking pressure, Max Lean angle and compare those same 20 mile view metrics previous rides on the same track.

 

Do keep in mind that what's important to me might not be as important to you depending on where you are with your riding. For example a more experienced rider might not really be interested in lean angle because they know they can confidently reach max lean within the first few seconds of entering the corner every single time. They might be more interested in the slip rate and entry speed.

 

Hope that gives you some ideas for what you might want to look at.

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Since I discover the datalogging I have explained a lot about my driving. The only problem is that you need time to learn how to translate those lines,dots etc. Every day in the track is a huge amount of info that you need to read and understand. As mentioned above some are using the telemetry to find what is wrong there, there or there, but some study all the data. The second part is very time consuming but in this way you cannot miss important things that do not show immediately. For example the braking G forces. A rider has in one lap 0.8g and in the others 0.6g. He feels the bike is excellent in both situations. With the datalogging he can tell if he won or loose time in the track and he can understand WHY. This is sooo important to know. If you can correct point by point your driving guided with telemetry, you are going to be... a faster and safer driver.

Here is an example of data at the track comparing 2 laps. You can see the Speed (most important channel), Throttle, TC, Brakes, Gear and the delta (comparing the laps and showing where you loose and win on the track via GPS). The good thing a bout BMW S1000RR is that you can see a lot of channels (>24) as in most modern DTC,Traction,Ride by Wire bikes. In earlier models you have less information.

 

155rmlt.jpg

 

Also most softwares allow you to create channels that you need. For example you can measure trail braking or total forces (lateral longitudinal etc)

fbkvv5.jpg

 

 

A very good site to start with is http://www.datamc.org

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Great resource there. Some pretty cool information.

 

One of the cool things you can do with the data is visualization. Here's a trace of my bikes GPS signal with the throttle position color coded and corner speeds listed. Ignore the numbers (I'm still learning the track even to this day) but you can see where I was getting on the gas and a spot where I was having some throttle control issues. From turn 11 to turn 13 this is considered one corner. Notice the blue green blue green alternation of my rather timid throttle hand? Visual information like this can communicate a lot of data in a very powerful way.

 

AMPthrottle.jpg

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I heard IMU's are going at 100 USD a unit but ditto on how to connect to mostly analogue bikes...
(the only thing digital on my bigger bike is the fueling, its a fuel injected bike, no electronic gizmos maybe ceopt for the LCD fuel gauge on the speedo , my smaller bike is carburated )
any on the matter of data logging, if you guys are really into the kindergarden grade type (read, near ghetto) there is an app for that:
Pirelli Diablo Superbiker
Remember to set your bike tupe up and the software will do the rest for you :)

PS. how do i attach images ? this forum really needs a better native image uploader imho - -

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I heard IMU's are going at 100 USD a unit but ditto on how to connect to mostly analogue bikes...

(the only thing digital on my bigger bike is the fueling, its a fuel injected bike, no electronic gizmos maybe ceopt for the LCD fuel gauge on the speedo , my smaller bike is carburated )

any on the matter of data logging, if you guys are really into the kindergarden grade type (read, near ghetto) there is an app for that:

Pirelli Diablo Superbiker

Remember to set your bike tupe up and the software will do the rest for you :)

 

Thanks. Here's a direct link for those of you with Android phones:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=it.pirelli.diablosuperbiker

 

You can get laptimer/loggers which take analog channels. Starlane and GPX Pro from XTracing.com comes to mind. I'm toying with the idea of making my own logger (including IMU and analog channels), but the main hurdle is to make the visualization software.

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Before I joined the world of computing on two wheels my previous bikes were completely analog with no electronics at all. Some of them even had mechanical instruments driven by cables and grumpy carburetors. That never stopped me from wanting to get more insight into my riding.

 

How do you do it with an analog bike? The GPS lap timers are a great option. MotoD makes a great one from what I have heard from people using them. They give a lot of great information.

 

I took a different approach on my bikes. I had a camera mounted right behind the windscreen that gave me a view of the tach and speedo. I also was using a GPS enabled camera that could read speeds and trace the layout of the track so I could view lines. With just that simple setup on a bike that's biggest electronic component was a few transistors I was able to see speed, RPM, Line and with the video get an insight on estimated lean angle and other elements of my riding. Those basic things are some of the more important data. Speed in the corner is speed in the corner everything else is just additional information.

 

I still use my camera the same way on my RR. You can see things that you won't easily find in the data. On my bike it can see the the speedo, tach, ABS light and DTC lights as well as my gear indicator. That's a good amount of information available without even resorting to the onboard data logger. When I review my day at the track I'll often look at the video first and relate that to my recollection of how it went. Then I go to the data and start looking at specifics.

 

With all of this technology it's important to remember one thing. Its a help but it can't replace your own mental observations while riding. Being able to match the numbers to the feel is VERY important. For me it helps me review and quantify what I'm actually experiencing. Riding beyond 80% and relying on the data afterwards to tell you how you did is probably not a great way to improve. You will miss out on a lot of good information that bike can tell you right away.

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One other thing...

 

Please be careful with your mobile phones if you decide to use it on the track. My suggestion is if you want to use one you put it in the tail or secure it to the bike in some fashion. Phones tend to be hard inflexible objects. Stick it in the wrong place inside your suit and have a tumble and you could get injured. As well if it's not secured well it can become a projectile for other riders. A phone coming off a bike at high speed can shatter bodywork, windshields and helmet visors. I know you guys probably have thought of these things already but it's worth a mention.

 

Great idea though for having a platform where you can grab data. Most smart phones have GPS's, G sensors and other specific peripherals that can record lots of information depending on the app you use.

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For the data to be useful you need a refresh rate of more than 1Hz that most phones have for the GPS. One good solution that I did before I buy a dedicate telemetry was an after market GPS receiver of 10Hz. This allowed me accurate GPS data through my phone.

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For the data to be useful you need a refresh rate of more than 1Hz that most phones have for the GPS. One good solution that I did before I buy a dedicate telemetry was an after market GPS receiver of 10Hz. This allowed me accurate GPS data through my phone.

 

+1

 

Even the 2Hz update rate of some Contour cameras isn't enough to give a decent resolution. It also seems that some of the older phones have a rather poor spacial accuracy.

 

My GPS laptimer has 5Hz resolution, which seems to good enough although maybe at the low end. You can get commercial GPS'es with 50Hz update rate these days (which is probably way overkill)

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That's a good point. Initially when I used my Contour +2 it would not keep up because of the GPS refresh being too low. I had to max out the refresh rate for it to be able to keep up with a bike. Works just fine now.

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