I think I follow what Jim is saying. When I transitioned from light weight
dirt bikes to heavy road bikes I noticed the exaggerated gyroscopic effect
of the heavier wheels. What was interesting was that in order to execute a
smooth right turn, I needed to apply forward pressure on the right handlebar
('a left turn'), then when the proper lean angle was achieved gently pull
that right bar back to maintain that desired angle. This is due to
gyroscopic precession where a force applied to a gyroscope reacts 90 degrees
in the direction of rotation. You can simulate this with a bicycle wheel
held up by the axles at arms length. Have someone spin it for you then push
the right end of the axle away from you. So perhaps what our very
streamlined brothers and sisters are experiencing is simply the increase in
gyroscopic effect of the wheels as the speed dramatically increases. This
all must be a very odd sensation indeed when you are sitting below the axle
height and very near the roll center.
Dave Seely
1141 XF/VOT
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