View Single Post
  #8   Spotlight this post!  
Unread 08-10-2003, 11:20
KenWittlief KenWittlief is offline
.
no team
Team Role: Engineer
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Rochester, NY
Posts: 4,213
KenWittlief has a reputation beyond reputeKenWittlief has a reputation beyond reputeKenWittlief has a reputation beyond reputeKenWittlief has a reputation beyond reputeKenWittlief has a reputation beyond reputeKenWittlief has a reputation beyond reputeKenWittlief has a reputation beyond reputeKenWittlief has a reputation beyond reputeKenWittlief has a reputation beyond reputeKenWittlief has a reputation beyond reputeKenWittlief has a reputation beyond repute
yes, I have owned two motorcycles, and the first time I road one on the street I almost did exactly what I talked about, came to a curve and tried to turn the handlebar towards the direction I wanted to go, and the bike started going the other way.

Try it with a bicycle - hang the bike in your garage by the top bar, get the front wheel spinning fast, then turn the handlebars to the right. The bike will lean to the left.

You dont notice this so much on a bike and you tend to steer a bike by shifting your weight, the wheels do not have enough gyroscopic force to stop you from leaning it

but on a motorcycle, going fast, you would have to lean way over to make the cycle over-ride the gyroscopic force of those big heavy tires.

its much easier to give the handlebars a slight push in the 'wrong' direction, the bike will lean right over the way you want it to.

BTW, I think this might be part of the reason it takes a while to learn to ride a bike. If you try to steer it like a car, you will fall over.
Reply With Quote