Motorcycles and Coriolis Effect Name: Ralph B. I teach a
motorcycle course and I understand about countersteering and the
physics that go into it. My question focuses on the idea of the
Coriolis effect and how it effects motorcycle turning. In the
northern hemisphere we notice that riders can make turns to the
left easier than they can to the right. Some people believe that
this is related to the Coriolis effect. Is it? If it is how is
it? Near the equator, the Earth travels 25,000 miles per day.
Near Illinois, the distance is closer to 15,000 miles per day.
When an object moves toward the equator, the ground accelerates
eastward. This makes the object appear to accelerate westward.
When an object moves away from the equator, the reverse happens.
For something as large as a rotating tropical storm, this
Coriolis effect decides the direction of rotation: clockwise in
the northern hemisphere, counter-clockwise in the southern
hemisphere. The Coriolis force is a very weak force. For
something as small as a motor