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How do motoGP riders bend so much without falling?
MotoGP bikes are quite heavy to ride and the only way to make through a corner at high speed is to bend the bike. This was the rider’s perspective of what is happening. Let’s cut to the mathematical and physics point of view.
How does a bike go down so low without falling down? If your bike was stationary and you lowered it to one side will it fall down? See the difference? It’s the rotating tire that keeps the bike from falling down.
In mechanics, this principle is called a gyroscope. To understand how it works, let’s assume that the bike is turning left and you go through the turn at a constant speed. Normally, what happens is you experience a centrifugal force pushing you outside.
The friction force acts on wheel on the inside to balance the lateral forces. When you turn to the left at speed, this centrifugal force tries to push you to the right. You lean to the left to counterbalance this centrifugal force.
The faster you travel the more centrifugal force there is, so the further you have to lean. If you curl the fingers of your right hand in the direction of the rotation, the thumb will point to the direction of the torque. Now, due to earth’s gravity the wheel will move downwards. If you apply the right hand rule again, the thumb will point in the direction of a new torque, which provides the circular motion to the wheel before coming to rest.
This circular motion is called precession. Same is the case with the motor bike. A balanced rider produces no turning torque. But when a rider leans left, a torque will be produced to the rear of the bicycle. This gives a rearward change in the angular momentum vector, turning the motorbike in left direction.
Stay smart, it’s okay! ☺
