fbr@utastro.UUCP (Frank Ray) (02/10/84)
Here's a tip that may save your neck, particularly on slippery surfaces: The thing to remember when riding a motorcycle is that the point in space we think of as the center of mass, when going around a turn, is a function of where the rider sits on the cycle. There are three things you can vary to lessen the bike's angle of lean. How important this is depends on how fast you ride, how versatile you are, and the conditions of measured risk you take regarding travel over funny road surfaces. (1) Your head, particularly when encased in a helmet, weighs close to 40 pounds. Watch the heads of road racers going around; they are as level as possible, but held to the inside of the machine in the turn. (2) Your inside leg can be slightly shifted on the seat to the inside of the turn, not so much that it impairs your stability on the bike, but there's a lot of mass in that leg to help balance the c.g. (3) The inside knee, if hung a bit to the inside, will help to straighten the bike up a little. Road racers use pads on their knees, but they are riding at the limit and sit much lower than street riders. These techniques all lessen the need to countersteer, improve the rhythm and flow of going through turns, make twisty roads more enjoyable, and give the rider more assurance and confidence to tackle inclement weather, as well as sand, surprises like oil spills, manhole covers, etc. Also, if you develop these habits, carrying luggage becomes a great deal easier; you pack better because you become more aware of the role of the c.g. in cornering, and you control the relatively tall position of the luggage mass in every turn, i.e., it becomes manageable, like a backpack. One can, of course, do just the opposite, that is, move one's body away from the turning direction, and countersteer to compensate, and also lean the cycle more. Around any given turn, however, at a given speed, the c.g. must remain invariant. On nice dry roads, at slow speeds, you can get away with this, but at speed, it won't work; at a much earlier point, the machine will slide out from under you. ...!ut-sally!utastro!fbr