First, I think this video does a great job of explaining the physics of counter-steering.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgUOOwnZcDU

And another one that shows it happening on an actual bike.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLzB5oriblk

There was another video which I lost the link to that shows it happening with a bicycle as well. I think once you learn to balance on a bicycle, you probably intuitively counter-steer without realizing it. You just know that you want to turn and keep the bike balanced as you lean it.

My next question was about how a transmission works. This video talks about page and the video on it are about car transmissions.


http://auto.howstuffworks.com/transmission.htm

And then how a clutch works, with another video and a helpful animation on page 3.


http://auto.howstuffworks.com/clutch.htm

YermoAGripRobert#education #video

How a motorcycle transmission works: 


 

Not about mechanics per-se, but how to lift a fallen bike.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeLkrPkjimo

In retrospect, I'm surprised we didn't learn this in the MSF course. 

And here's a subject near and dear to my heart--two stroke engines:

http://youtu.be/LuCUmQ9FxMU

An excellent video showing the internal workings of a 4-stroke engine. It's a car engine but the principles are the same:

 

One thing I never thought about before, but in retrospect it makes a lot of sense: that's a 4-stroke engine with 4 cylinders, and the cycle for each cylinder is offset so that each one fires off at a different time. I wonder how they pull that off with a 6-cylinder engine, do two cylinders fire at the same time or are they offset by some fraction of a stroke rather than one full stroke?

Sitwon Cylinder firing order and combinations are a whole science unto themselves in engineering. 180 degree and 270 degree crank timing are examples that are in use. Yes, in some engines multiple cylinders will fire on the same stroke, but not all. I'll post some examples.

this is my favorite collection of videos for explaining engineering principles as they relate to vehicles (it says cars but the principles apply to all). there are a large number of videos here covering everything from internal combustion to very detailed explanations of suspension theory. don't be fooled by the whiteboard drawings, or the basic initial videos, there is some real physics and engineering being discussed. Some of the more complex concepts (like differentials and torque vectoring) are broken down into collections. Well worth burning some time: 

Oh yeah...it is common (and really pretty much required) to have pairs of cylinders fire together in inline engines, such as inline-4 motorcycle engines, and not V-types because of primary and secondary balance issues (largely primary).

*Edit* I didn't mention the crossplane crank in the R-1, which does not pair cylinders, instead using a firing order which has a power pulse every 90 degrees. It makes for a more complex design and requires a separate gear driven counter balancer.

Ok, it's hard not to laugh at how "classic" this video is, but it's still a great and very educational video.







How A Carburetor Works (by Shell)


 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_XX3QpKsZM







Talking about cars, but I seems relevant to motorcycle carburetors as well.



(It's copyright the year I was born.)

Another useful video. This guy explains how a simple carburetor works and how to clean one.


 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2NIDcqv59I

Here's a nifty cheat-sheet for understanding your engine.


 

This is quite good. Thanks!

In only tangentially related to motorcycling, here's an excellent animation of various mechanical systems that I found fascinating: