How can a motorcycle lean so much, yet still stays up?

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I see MotoGP riders lean so much that their shoulders can touch the ground. How is this possible?

In: Physics

12 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

From the point of view of the motorcycle rider, he is upright and the ground is tilted, not the other way around.

If he didn’t lean inward, he would fall over towards the outside of the curve.

Think about what it feels like to be riding in a car going around a curved highway ramp at high speed, where you feel as if you are being pulled towards the car door on the outside of the curve.

It’s the same thing, except the rider deliberately tilts his bike right or left so he *doesn’t* feel pulled left or right.

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