This is not about handling of heavy vs light motorcycles, just about grip. I have been wondering what type of bike would have better grip in a given corner and same speeds with same tires.
Would a heavier bike hold the road better that a lighter bike - same turn, same tires, same speed, same wheel base, same rider.... etc.
Thoughts?
I would hazard a guess that a lighter bike would have better grip.
Given the same turn, tires, speed, wheel base and rider, the only aspect that would change would be the angle of attack needed to balance the centrifugal force and gravity. An infinitely light bike could turn this hypothetical corner with zero angle of attack and an infinite heavy bike would need to attack the corner at 90 degrees (given infinite co-efficient of friction between the rubber and the road). Since we're working with real bikes, the lighter bike could attack the corner at a lesser angle.
However, most bike wheels are round enough that the contact patch is more-or-less the same regardless of angle (until one runs into the chicken strips), at which point the harsh mistress of gravity smacks you one and low side you to mother earth!
What does that mean? Nothing, until you think about the fact that the majority of the time, you're riding down the middle of the tire and it's going to be warmer than the sides. A warm contact patch sticks better to the road than a cold contact patch.
My 5c. Flame away, what do I know, I ride a cruiser and can't get near leaning before the pegs scrape.
Discuss.