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A Dozen Deadly Motorcycle Myths


Casper

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You all are missing one key fact: the bars are free moving even when your hands are not on the bars.  Yes, the bike will lean and change directions with no hands on the bars, but that doesn't mean the front wheel isn't turning on it's own slightly.

Yes. It is the front wheel all the way. Nothing else matters much.

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You all are missing one key fact: the bars are free moving even when your hands are not on the bars.  Yes, the bike will lean and change directions with no hands on the bars, but that doesn't mean the front wheel isn't turning on it's own slightly.

 

 

This...

 

I've ridden along the roads near me without my hands on the bars, and by shifting my weight I can adjust my line on the straights, no need to touch the bars...

 

This does not mean you can "turn" per se, and what most people are doing when they think they are turning by leaning is subconsciously pushing the bar in the direction they lean.

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Because the school I went to doesn't have any and where is the school he help out, that's right, it's in the toilet.

you do realize the school he teaches at is where graves sends their riders....what team is winning all the races in the AMA?

Edited by serpentracer
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Scott Russell can ride the wheels off a bike, but he's no physics professor.

Bikes lean because you turn the wheel out from under it. Shifting your weight is to keep the bike more upright, not make it lean.

 

Umm...no? Shifting your weight is meant to move the center of gravity and give the rear tire more control and grip where it's needed.

 

 

And yes, you can definitely dip the bike into a corner without using your hands. It does turn the front wheel, but it's your weight shifting the center of the bike that's making it happen. If you don't believe me get up to around 100Mph, take your hands off the bars, and put all of your weight onto one of the pegs (and move your body in that direction). I promise the bike will turn nice and quickly.

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And yes, you can definitely dip the bike into a corner without using your hands. It does turn the front wheel, but it's your weight shifting the center of the bike that's making it happen. If you don't believe me get up to around 100Mph, take your hands off the bars, and put all of your weight onto one of the pegs (and move your body in that direction). I promise the bike will turn nice and quickly.

100? At 60 i can hit the throttle lock and drop my hands to the tank, it takes a fair amount of weight shifting just to adjust my line from straight to slightly less straight..there is no way you're doing anything that resembles"turning" at 100 without counter steering...

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When I am riding at anything close to freeway speeds I can lock the throttle and take my hands off the bars.  I can lean my bodyweight to make the fine corrections to keep my bike in the lane ok, but as far as changing lanes?  Maybe a very long, slow and precarious lane change - certainly not happening at any normal lane-change rate.

 

Swerving or cornering?  Forget that.  Cornering my bike requires proper counter-steering unless I'm going less than walking speed. I'm not a small guy either, over 6'3 and 220lbs riding a DL650.   If I lean over the side enough to steer through any actual bend or turn in the road I'd fall off before having any appreciable steering effect.

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I was told to make an offer. If you can get the no bs bike to turn quickly at 35mph my buddy will pay for you flight, cali superbike day and diner.

 

Define quickly, so we're all on the same page.   Quickly enough to turn at an intersection on a 35mph road?

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Only crazy people think that pushing on the pegs will turn a bike. Or hanging off. You can twist to get a little but it will be slow and ineffective.

Anyone who believes otherwise needs to go test their theory and report back.

Some confuse weighting the pegs which can be used to help the front end grip when exiting a turn. I understand that mx racers use this and I learned a long time ago that it would help the bike finish a turn by allowing the front to keep traction. I don't know how exactly it works but I have weighted the outside peg and it worked. It solved the front tire from dancing across the track under full throttle.

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I give anyone $1000 plus my bike, trailer, and all my gear the minute they can prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that they can turn in a motorcycle at speed into a corner by only leaning off with no hands on the controls.

 

I suspect I'll still have all my shit and whomever attempts this will have a pile of wadded up bike.

 

So...who's first in line??

 

I'm half way there...PBM_0154.jpg

 

In all seriousness, yes you can turn a bike at any speed by shifting your weight.....it is just slow as shit compared to knocking the tires out from under the CG by countersteering.  Either case you are doing the same thing, moving the CG to the inside of the turn.  Shifting weight does it slowly because you are only 1/3 of the weight of the bike, so the CG is shifting 1/3 of the distance you can shift your body's CG.

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After reading these arguments, I did a test at 75 mph today. With throttle lock engaged & holding the gas tank tank tightly with both hands, I successfully turned my motorcycle without using my hands. I know there are probably some skeptical people, but this statement is true. I leaned over, and I successfully turned my Concours from the fast lane to the middle lane.

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I'm half way there...PBM_0154.jpg

In all seriousness, yes you can turn a bike at any speed by shifting your weight.....it is just slow as shit compared to knocking the tires out from under the CG by countersteering. Either case you are doing the same thing, moving the CG to the inside of the turn. Shifting weight does it slowly because you are only 1/3 of the weight of the bike, so the CG is shifting 1/3 of the distance you can shift your body's CG.

So you're completely disregarding the effects of angular momentum?

Clearly you've never passed a physics course.

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After reading these arguments, I did a test at 75 mph today. With throttle lock engaged & holding the gas tank tank tightly with both hands, I successfully turned my motorcycle without using my hands. I know there are probably some skeptical people, but this statement is true. I leaned over, and I successfully turned my Concours from the fast lane to the middle lane.

 

You didn't turn, you went from one lane to another.

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You didn't turn, you went from one lane to another.

As has already been discussed, slight line changes can be achieved due to weight shifting, but nothing resembling "turning" (90 degree change in direction that could be achieved by a new rider easily at 35 mph)

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