When riding a motorcycle, leaning into turns is a crucial technique for maintaining stability and control. Leaning allows the motorcycle to maintain balance while navigating through a curve or corner. Here are the primary reasons why leaning is necessary:
Centripetal Force: When a motorcycle goes around a curve, it experiences a centripetal force that pulls it towards the center of the turn. This force acts horizontally, pushing the bike sideways. By leaning the bike and your body into the turn, you align the center of gravity with the resultant force, allowing the bike to remain balanced and stable.
Countersteering: Countersteering is a technique used to initiate a lean in motorcycles. To turn left, for example, you momentarily push the left handlebar forward, which causes the bike to lean to the right. This might seem counterintuitive, but it's an effective way to initiate a lean and control the bike's trajectory in the desired direction.
Traction and Stability: Leaning the bike increases the contact patch between the tires and the road surface on the side where the motorcycle is leaning. This increased contact patch provides more traction, allowing the tires to grip the road better and maintain stability during turns. Leaning also helps distribute the bike's weight more evenly between the tires, optimizing traction and control.
Clearance: Leaning allows the motorcycle to maintain clearance between its body parts, such as foot pegs, exhaust pipes, and fairings, and the road surface during turns. By leaning, you raise the lower parts of the motorcycle and reduce the risk of them scraping against the ground, which could lead to loss of control.
It's important to note that leaning should be done smoothly and progressively, adjusting the degree of lean according to the speed and angle of the turn. Proper body positioning, keeping your head up and looking through the turn, and maintaining a relaxed grip on the handlebars are also essential for safe and effective cornering while riding a motorcycle.