Some riders say that peg weighting doesn’t matter, that the physics of weighting the motorcycle with your feet doesn’t change from one peg to the other. On this episode, we have celebrated off-road racer and renowned rider trainer, Chris Birch, and physicist and rocket scientist, Mark Nesbit, a former space craft designer from the European Space Agency, to work through the physics of what really happens when we weight the peg in a corner - and it’s not what you think.
Images: Mark Nesbit
Mark Nesbit:
Mark is a physicist by education, who worked at the European Space Agency for 30 years.He’s quite literally a rocket scientists, having spent his career designing spacecraft. Mark has ridden motorcycles most of his adult life, he has helped prep race motorcycles for the track and off-road, and has also worked on setting up cars for racing.
Chris Birch:
Chris is a life-long motorcyclist and has been an off-road riding instructor in New Zealand since 2007. He first started out as a trials rider and moved on to enduro riding in his teens. He’s an eight times national enduro champion in New Zealand, and is New Zealand’s most successful Dakar Rally competitor finishing 27th and 2nd in the rookies class in 2012. He’s now one of KTM’s highest profile Adventure Ambassadors. Chris has a background as a mechanical engineer which gives him a unique perspective on the physics of motorcycle riding and the techniques. He now runs his coaching business full time and spends most of the year travelling around the world running coaching clinics and going to adventure bike events.
Website: http://www.chrisbirch.co.nz
Chris Birch Vimeo Pay Per View course: Say No To Slow