Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Counter-Steering Motorcycles: Effects and Ramifications

I had ridden a motorcycle for abounding years afore I understood, or was even acquainted of the appellation "counter-steering".
The ability came about because of an adventure that happened to me one day as I was benumbed my bike through an intersection. When a car pulled out in foreground of me a alternation of contest abundant that larboard me mystified, abashed and analytic for a rational explanation. I did about aggregate amiss during that incident, the disciplinarian of the car aswell did about aggregate wrong; and yet we did not collide.
It was not by a phenomenon that I survived, but by the laws of physics as they administer to motorcycles and two-wheel vehicles. It took me canicule to amount out the mechanics of the contest that transpired during that near-collision.
Like the majority of motorcyclists, I am a recreational addition and primarily an auto driver. If we accept been active our autos for a amount of years our reflexes are aimlessly programmed to acknowledge to a bearings after thinking. So the aboriginal footfall to motorcycling assurance is to be carefully acquainted that the rules are altered and try to ahead what could appear next in adjustment to abstain the accessible abruptness that could activate a reflex action.
I had the appropriate of way as I approached an circle in the larboard lane, with a car on my appropriate that was authoritative a appropriate turn. I spotted the foreground end of a car entering my aisle from the stop artery on my right. Aimlessly my reflexes jerked the handlebars of the motorcycle to the larboard as if it were the council caster of my car; and my appropriate bottom airtight the anchor pedal locking the rear wheel.
In adjustment to accept the altered dynamics complex with two-wheel and four-wheel vehicles, accede what would accept happened if I were active an automobile. When I jerked the caster to the larboard I would accept abhorred hitting the car that pulled out in foreground of me, and hopefully he again would accept apparent me and angry his car to his appropriate to abstain hitting my car. Or if his reflexes were not that acceptable the affliction case would be a accessory fender bender.
But all of that changes on a motorcycle. Jerking the handlebars to the larboard fabricated the bike bomb over to the appropriate and with the rear anchor bound I was now sliding, about to ample ancillary the car that was now anon in foreground of me. I was now acicular in the adverse administration that I had intended. The disciplinarian of the car that was affairs out from the stop artery never saw me abaft the car that was axis appropriate and auspiciously never slowed down as he was authoritative his about-face and bridge my path.
Just afore appulse I noticed that my bike, although sliding sideways, was leaned to the appropriate and was acicular to a bright breadth abaft the car. My handlebars and foreground caster were still angry to the left, giving me ascendancy in the skid. I captivated my harder appropriate angular as I appear my rear anchor and angry the foreground caster to the new direction, luckily the bend of administration change was not acceptable abundant to could could cause the bike to flip. I was able to abstain hitting the auto but I was not out of agitation because I was traveling aslant beyond the alley and the barrier and added harder altar were now in foreground of me.
I knew that rolling the bike from a appropriate angular to a larboard about-face would accept consequences, but my acceleration had attenuated essentially and I absolutely didn't accept abundant choice. The rear end of the motorcycle approved to flip, but airtight to the new administration with just a appropriate hop. When it came down I was acicular area I capital to go. So after averseness I ancient the arena to appraise the contest that had just taken place, the after-effects of which I could not comprehend.
You accept to accept this; if a two-wheeled aeon is traveling in a beeline band and you about-face the handle confined to the left, the foreground annoy will aswell about-face larboard and this will could could cause the bike to angular to the appropriate and it will abatement on its appropriate ancillary if no corrections are made.
Everyone recognizes the actuality that if you angular a bike to the right, it will about-face right. But we may not apprehend that if we about-face our foreground caster to the left, the bike will angular to the appropriate after our effort. Of advance we again accept to about-face the foreground caster aback to the appropriate to antithesis the armament of acceleration and amount of about-face to the bend of angular or the bike will abatement over.
We can yield two acquaint from my experience. First, we cannot ascendancy our programmed reflexes so we accept to consistently be acquainted of your ambience and ahead what could appear next. If I had been watching added carefully I would accept apparent the achievability of the car affairs out in foreground of me and I would accept slowed down to abstain the situation.
The additional assignment is that a motorcycle is generally airy to the disciplinarian of an automobile. If you accept been benumbed for a while I am abiding that you accept apparent this appear all too often, and sometimes it gets ugly.
With acceptable tires and alley altitude counter-steering can access your cycling pleasure, acceptance breeze leans and effortless turns.

No comments:

Post a Comment