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Originally Posted by Dezmo
hrmm, ever heard of gyroscopic precession billy? without getting into a pile of physics, its what makes motorcycles lean into corners.
now what happens when you take about half that force and reverse its effect? hmmmmmmmm
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Common misconception - I don't fault you for repeating it. Someone somewhere tried to connect the old "twist the spinning object, and the force is redirected through 90 degrees" freshman physics lesson with the behavior of motorcycles on the road, and they stopped there at the thought experiement.
It's not true. Motorcycles handle just fine even when you go to great lengths to cancel out the rotational inertia of the wheels.
Motorcycles tend go in a straight line becuase of the castor effect of the contact patch of the front wheel being behind the axis of the steering head - "trail".
Motorcyles don't lean because they are turning, but rather they turn because they are leaning - the tires are narrower in diameter at the edges than they are in the center, causing them to roll in an arc when leaned over - like a styrofoam coffee cup lying on its side. Coning.
Rotational inertia has nothing to do with the physics of motorcycling except for the fact that a wheel with a greater moment of inertia takes more energy to start and stop, and a heavier wheel requires more spring and damping force to keep it in contact with the road. But that's not what makes a motorcycle balance or turn.