Any idea why?

[sAsLEX]

Yeah but wait till they have a go at Tony Foale

Tony Foale is wrong there. But he is writing for layman like you who like the word and find comfort in its simplicity, rather than pure physics.

[MacD]

I think it may be something to do with slip angle as well. Variation in slip angle seems to be the reason that you need to lean a bike more as you increase speed for a constant radius corner. I did have a good site bookmarked previously but I can't find it at present. It was a comparison of cornering on a sportsbike using different riding styles/angles of lean. I think it was relevant to the lean angle question.

The issue of centrifugal force is debatable. As you said yourself sAsLEX it depends on your frame of reference. While it may not be a very rigorous use of terminology, it is still a useful concept, particularly if the bike (accelerating around the corner) is your reference. Although Wiki is a debatable source at times it does seem to cover the issue relatively well.

[Motu]

Tony Foale is wrong there. But he is writing for layman like you who like the word and find comfort in its simplicity, rather than pure physics.

The difference between a theoretical engineer and a practical engineer.

The smartest guy I have ever come across in automotive engineering couldn't pronounce half the words he tried to teach us - but he wasn't teaching us the correct terminology,he was teaching us to understand the principles of how and why.If you know how something works...words just become that,words.

[Jantar]

In a turn the tyres are providing the required centripedal force that makes the bike change direction. There is a countering centrifugal reaction (which can also be correctly termed centrifugal force) that would needs to be overcome by leaning the bike so that the combined vectors of gravity and centrifugal force act through the centerline connecting the contact patches of both tyres.

There can not be a centripedal force without an associated centrifugal force. So in this argument Tony Foale is correct and Wikipedia is out.

However back to the original question, the bike with the longer wheelbase, narrower tyre profile and higher CoG will require less lean angle for the same line through the bend at the same speed.

[Lou Girardin]

Lines were the same, speed was the same.

Well, it sounds like you're a lot porkier than Paul and have to get all that mass low enough to get around.

[Fishy]

Well, it sounds like you're a lot porkier than Paul and have to get all that mass low enough to get around.

Must be all my protein shakes and creatine.