Question

When making a right turn, look right and left, yield the right of way and turn the steering wheel using what technique?

1) Hand-over-hand technique
2) Push-pull technique
3) One-hand steering technique
4) No specific technique

Answer 1

Pulling back on the right handlebar of a motorcycle creates a gyroscopic effect causing the bike to lean and turn to the left, which is a result of the physics of counter-steering and precession of the spinning wheels.

Step-by-step explanation:

When a physics student driving a motorcycle at highway speed pulls back lightly on the right handlebar, the motorcycle tips to the left and initiates a left turn. This can be understood through principles of physics involving gyroscopic effects and counter-steering. The spinning wheels of a motorcycle act like gyroscopes. The gyroscopic effect means that when torque is applied to the axis of a spinning object, such as a wheel, it creates a rotating effect, or precession, in a direction perpendicular to the initial force. So, applying a torque by pulling back on the handlebar (i.e., turning the front wheel slightly to the right) generates a precession effect that actually makes the motorcycle lean and turn in the opposite direction (to the left). This is essential for initiating a turn at high speeds, where simply turning the handlebars in the direction you wish to go, without leaning, would not be effective due to the high momentum and gyroscopic stability of the moving motorcycle.