BMW Motorrad Dynamic Damping Control – DDC
“Making motorcycles better, safer, and more fun to ride with innovative developments has been one of the BMW Motorrad core competences for decades. As the leader in this technology, BMW Motorrad presents new solutions in quick succession that usually soon become indispensable in series motorcycles. Now a new step in development is in the offing: the semiactive suspension control system Dynamic Damping Control, in short DDC.
BMW Motorrad – competence in suspension innovations and control systems. As early as 1986, BMW Motorrad achieved a milestone in suspension technology by launching the Paralever swingarm, an innovation that considerably improved rear suspension and the transfer of forces. In 1993, the freshly launched opposed twin “boxer” engine series was the first to be fitted as standard with a front suspension system that operated independently of the rear known as Telelever. Yet another revolutionary step in suspension technology was taken in 2005, when the Duolever offering extreme torsional rigidity for the front wheel was launched.
Bikers were also able to benefit early from pioneering innovations in drive control. In 1988, with the launch of ABS in the BMW K1, BMW Motorrad presented the first antilock brake system to be fitted as standard on motorcycles. Since 2007, the automatic stability control system ASC has been preventing the rear wheel from spinning out of control. In 2009 there followed Dynamic Traction Control (DTC) which also analyses the vehicle’s inclination, a first on a series production motorcycle.
And BMW Motorrad has always been that one step ahead in suspension control systems as well. 2004 saw the advent of ESA, the electronic suspension adjustment system, which allowed the rider to adjust suspension elements at the push of a button – also a first on series production motorcycles. In 2009, the successor system ESA II went a step further and was the first to provide spring rate variation.
Click to View Gallery The next logical step – semiactive suspension control. The next logical step in the development of suspension and control systems is taking concrete shape. The next stage of evolution in this field is the automatic adjustment of suspension elements to diverse operating conditions like varying road surfaces or certain manoeuvres. BMW Motorrad achieves this through Dynamic Damping Control DDC. “
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