Are you interested in motorcycles? Who can blame you! Motorcycles smell good, but before riding a motorcycle, you need to know the basics of riding a bike!
Stand up straight, please
You wonder how they do it, but the motorcycles stay upright while moving thanks to some pretty advanced physics. A stationary motorcycle tilts without support. But a moving ducati dry clutch stays upright without much effort thanks to little things called angular momentum and torque.
To make this physics work, imagine you are holding a bat with a heavy head in the palm of your hand. It spins, doesn’t it? It’s very unstable. Now imagine extending your palm to always keep it directly under the heavier end of the club. Suddenly the bat was silent. It keeps the engine running.
As the motorcycle moves forward,
due to the power and torque of the engine, the rider (the palm in our example) continues to move the wheel (the stick in our example) to keep it straight at the center of gravity (that’s to say). is, for example, the heavy side of the racquet in our example).
Yes, I know I’m oversimplifying this example. But in reality, the bike is essentially held back by forward momentum, and the rider is constantly adjusting the center of gravity. Despite the many motorcycle models that have been produced over the years, most motorcycles have fairly standard functional setups.
One of them is the arrangement of elements
in the steering mechanism (steering wheel). The throttle lever is located on the right steering wheel and turning it gives more throttles to the engine to speed up the engine (when the brake is off). The clutch lever is located on the left handle. You can change gears by pulling it and releasing it. Some motorcycles have an automatic transmission, but this is far from common.
The engine gear lever is usually located under the rider’s left foot. Riders press the clutch (left hand), release the throttle (right), and move the clutch up or down (left foot). Releasing the clutch (left hand) and moving the throttle back (right hand) moves the motorcycle forward.
As you can see, there’s a lot of left-right arm
and leg movement here, and it takes practice to get it right. It’s hard to understand at first, but with practice it becomes second nature.
Now that you know how to “go”, it’s time to learn how to stop! The front brake lever is attached to the right handle. This lever provides almost all the friction needed to brake the bike (about 80%). Friction is caused by the brake pad pressing against a metal plate (or drum on older bikes) in the center of the wheel. Because this lever is so powerful, it can even bind the bike if pulled too quickly, especially downhill.
The rear brake lever is located next to the right footrest.
When pressed, the rear brake mechanism is activated. If you push too hard, the rear tire will slip. The rear brake lever and the front brake lever will bring the bike to a full (but not necessarily) controlled stop when used separately. It’s a perfect combination of front and rear braking power that stops the bike well. However, if you continue to pump both, the brakes will wear improperly and lose power prematurely.
Bikes equipped with a brake system work a little differently. In this type of system, the rear brake works with the front brake, this is connected to this part. Like the more traditional braking system of a motorcycle, the combination and simultaneous use of both brakes ensures a smooth stop.
So now you know how to get there and stop.
But what about motorcycle emergencies stop? Almost all ducati parts online these days have a kill switch that you can use if you want to speed up and take the gear off for some reason (brakes not working, bumps, etc.).
