I see MotoGP riders lean so much that their shoulders can touch the ground. How is this possible?
In: Physics
When you go around a corner there are two forces acting on you.
Force 1: Gravity. This is straight down into the ground.
Force 2: Centripetal force. This is pointing horizontally, into the center of the curve you’re turning.
These two forces combine to a “resultant force”.
you draw a triangle. You draw a horizontal line towards the center of the turning circle, and the length is proportional to the centripetal force. Then you draw a line down to the ground, whose length is proportional to the gravity force.
Now draw a diagonal line back to where you start. This represents the resultant force, and the angle from the ground is the direction it acts in.
A motorbike driver has to match that angle. If they lean further over then they’ll fall onto the road, if they don’t lean far enough they’ll tip outwards from the turn.
This is fairly instinctive when you’re riding, and gyroscopic forces in the wheels also help stabilize and correct the angle if you’re not quite right.
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