steering? As shown above, and you have hopefully now proven to yourself that 20 mph is the transition speed that reverses your direction of steering. How does this happen? Consider your car for a moment. You turn the front wheel in direction you want to turn at all speeds. The rear wheels and car itself obediently “tracks” behind the front wheel and follows it around the cor- ner. This works at any speed. There is no “transition” speed for a car. At low speeds, less than 20 mph, the
motorcycle track steers just like a car. So what causes it to steer in the opposite direc- tion at higher speeds? It is called “preces- sion.” It is a natural phenomenon that can occur when a spinning body can rotate on two axes. So this is why when you turn the front wheel to the right, for example, a force is generated to the left which leans the bike over to the left! Now you are back to back to Rule Number One. The bike is now leaned to the left, so it turns to the left. This is what “countersteer” actually is. So why does this only work above 20 mph? Precession actu- ally occurs at all rotational speeds. And track steer also works at all speeds. But at low speeds “track steer” dominates, when the slowly rotating front wheel is only generat- ing a small force. As speeds increase, in our case above 20 mph, precession can now generate enough force to dominate “track steering” forces. This force leans the bike over, and it’s back to Rule Number One again!
Al Butcher #134597 Greenville, South Carolina
Entertaining information The December issue of Owners News is, in
turn, informative, entertaining, and worrisome. This month’s set of product reviews was
particularly useful to me, especially the news of a “smart” battery tester/charger that could help avoid a nasty surprise some morning on my next long ride, and the news of a warm-weather jacket that is lighter than the still-heavy mesh I wore on the ride across South Dakota last July. From Natalie Barros I learned, evidently,
that attracting younger members to the MOA will mean accepting an ever greater presence of alcohol in our club’s culture. Alternatively, from Deb Gasque I learned
just how clever and classy a rider can be, female or not. Even as I laughed with Ron Davis’ and Jack Riepe’s descriptions of the perils and promises of bike storage, I nod- ded in recognition. Which of us has never battled vermin or felt soul pangs every time we look at the snow and then at our parked rides? Then, as I neared the final pages, Dave
Cwi gave me a kick out the door. His “Time to Get Cold” started out well enough, as he described errors in judgment in riding back to Indiana from Florida at the start of the cold season. As he pushed further into the cold and dark, he missed chances to stop and gear up, and he made elemen- tary errors in traffic. His crucial error, of course, was in allowing only one day for this tremendously long ride—a funda- mental rule is that when we are tired we stop. I was nodding my head in recogni- tion; which of us has not been in similar situations? But then Dave’s article turns into a rant against every fellow rider who has ever done something he doesn’t like. I’m with him about riders who fail to keep a “cushion zone” between themselves and surrounding vehicles. But I’m supposed to spend a thousand dollars equipping my 2003 R 1150 RT with an electronic cruise control simply because my need to adjust speed in group rides bothers the likes of Dave? Sorry, brother, but it isn’t going to hap-
pen. And before you ask, I’m not going to buy a new ride with one, either—I like being out of debt. Take a clue from your own title, Dave, and chill out.
Cleveland Eugene Bryant #181849 Newton, Iowa
A statement on reliability I wonder if David Barnes has been reading
BMW Owners News closely, as he has ignored all the articles and info concern- ing the ongoing problems with BMW bikes, especially the rear drive issue, not to mention the cost of buying and maintain- ing these bikes. Admittedly, BMWs are at the forefront of technology, but BMW engineers seem to have a problem with metallurgy.
He claims that BMWs have been the
most reliable bikes ever, and he went to BMW because of all the problems he had
Arlie Long #201210 Kilgore, Texas
February 2016 BMW OWNERS NEWS 17
with other brands. The Honda ST1100 was my bike of choice for nine years without any problems on long cross countries, as has been my current ride – Yamaha FJR1300 – which I have been riding for the past 12 years – and it has never prevented me from finish- ing or delaying any cross country. I did 1,000- and 2,000-mile IBR runs on the FJR with ease. I attended the Billings rally and extended the trip to Washington, Oregon and Califor- nia ending up in Trinidad, California, before heading back home to the Midwest. I was gone 19 days and rode 6,000 miles in daily temperatures
ranging from 80 to 105
degrees F. Both the Honda and Yamaha have been
totally reliable and I have spent very little at the dealer, doing some of the maintenance myself with special tools. I might add that both the shaft and the rear drive gears are in excellent condition with sharp lands. There is a reason for the Anonymous Book
that Mr. Barnes has not perceived. No other brand has a need for such a treatise. I'm about a 17-year member and have
read many letters in the BMW Owners News about the problems owners have had on the road and how thankful they were to get some help when a BMW dealer would be so distant. By the way Mr. Barnes, did you read the
article in September BMW Owners News by Wes Fleming? Twenty-five FJRs entered and 26 finished, the 26th was a replacement for a rider's BMW that broke down irretrievably. So much for the “reliable” BMW. I've had three BMWs over the years, but did not keep any long enough to test reli- ability, and none could outperform the FJR.
Frank Yuhas, #68216 South Bend, Indiana
Young with a motorcycle Enjoyed reading about Natalie Barros’
adventure in “From Overland with a Hang- over.” It’s good to be young and have a motorcycle! Now I wish to speak for the “creepy men” and say most of us know who we are, and we know there isn’t a snowballs chance in South Texas of ever getting within pawing distance. Sadly, there are excep- tions, and for those I apologize. Enjoy the ride.
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