**Ask a monkey a physics question thread**

[Keith]

is that why if the rider is drunk they exagerate the natural left/right wobble and end up going all over the road?

[MadMojoMonkey]

is that why if the rider is drunk they exagerate the natural left/right wobble and end up going all over the road?

TL;DR
Probably. It is well known that alcohol messes with your balance.

***
There are many more factors which help to balance the bike than the description I gave. What I gave is a kind of minimum necessary circumstance for it to maintain balance.

The gyroscopic effect of the wheels helps to maintain balance, too.
The design of the front axle often accentuates the front wheel's turning into the fall.
The fact that the mass is higher at the front of the bike than the back also accentuates the turning.

I'm sure there's more that I'm not mentioning. It's a much debated topic among physicists as to what are the vital factors, but it has been shown that these above factors are non-essential for riderless stability.

Of course, I've been talking about a riderless bike.

Throw a human on top and their own sense of balance and coordination will effect the balance of the bike.