Uhh, Guys,
The gyroscopic effect of your front wheel has a limited amount of effect on turning (countersteering). I did the calcs a while ago. Remember, there is an equal or greater gyroscope in the rear, called your rear wheel. It takes a bit of energy to make that lean over.
The basics of how it works (and a lot easier to understand than a gyroscope) is to remember that a mass in motion wants to remain in motion. The mass of a motorcycle can, for this purpose, be thought of as a point mass somewhere near the center of your bike. That point wants to go straight. Imagine a bike standing still on ice, if you held the center of the bike in one place and slid the tires to the left, the bike would fall over to the right. Now if you are moving and you turn your handlebars counterclockwise (to the left) the center of the bike wants to go straight ahead but the bottom the wheels) go left, forcing the bike to lean to the right. Now that you are leaned over, you are turning to the right.
Now, the gyroscopic effect is VERY useful in keeping a bike stable.
Ain't physics grand!
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CT_Bob@juno.com
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Bob L.
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