Final answer:
To quickly lean a motorcycle to the right, push the right handlebar forward, initiating a countersteering action that employs gyroscopic precession, causing the bike to lean and turn right swiftly.
Step-by-step explanation:
If you are about to collide with an object and you wish to get the motorcycle to lean quickly to the right, you should push forward on the right handlebar or pull back on the left handlebar. This action is based on the principles of countersteering, which involves initial steering input in the opposite direction of the desired turn. By pushing the right handlebar, you create a situation where the wheels of the motorcycle go to the left, but due to gyroscopic forces and the conservation of angular momentum, the motorcycle itself leans to the right, enabling it to change direction swiftly.
The concept is similar to the observation made by the physics student who noticed while driving at highway speed that pulling back lightly on the right handlebar tips the cycle to the left and produces a left turn. This effect is due to the dynamics of gyroscopic precession, where the force applied to the rotating wheels causes a precessional motion perpendicular to the direction of the applied force, leading to the motorcycle leaning and turning in the direction opposite to the handlebar input.