Motor Cycle Touring

Posts Tagged ‘Restoring Stability’

The second way is to leave the quiet center of gravity, and move the wheels so that the line joining them is brought back under the center of gravity. This is done, of course, by turning the handlebars and forward (or backward) a bit. As we move a few inches with the handle turned, the bike turns a little. Therefore, the line connecting the two wheels also rotate, and put back under the center of mass, restoring stability.

In both these ways we keep the balance when the motorcycle is like, or moves very slowly. The first one works best for light vehicles such as bicycles or scooters. In a big motorcycle, the mass of our body is small compared with that of the whole, so that the influence of our position is less (though still exists). So a big bike, the best option is to move the handlebars. Read the rest of this entry »

Physically, a motorcycle is what we call an inverted pendulum. In a normal pendulum, we have a fixed point and a mass hanging below it. If we move a little dough on your site, gravity will pull him and, therefore, will fall under its own weight. That is, a simple pendulum back by itself to the equilibrium position, we say that is a stable system.

However, a donkey does just the opposite. The fixed point (where the wheels make contact with the pavement) is below the mass. Can be kept in balance only if the center of gravity remains just above the line joining the two wheels. But any deviation, however small, will make the weight throw it down. That is, by itself inverted pendulum tends to move away from the equilibrium position is an unstable system. Read the rest of this entry »