Errrm. Just on the physics bit here.
Doesn't one of Newton's laws state "for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction"?
So, imagine if you are stood up in a rowing boat, with your feet apart. If you try to push down with your foot, nothing happens (because the boat pushes back, and that force transfers through your body back to the other foot, cancelling out the force you applied).
You can, however, rock the boat by moving your weight from one foot to the other (this sounds like weighting the pegs to me), but this is changing your CoG - isn't it (moving mass , however slightly, from one side to another)?
Similarly, sit on a child's swing, and try to get it moving without moving your mass around - it simply isn't possible.
So, you can't apply a force to an object without it pushing back. And you can't apply a force at all, unless you have something to push against (in the opposite direction to the force you wish to apply).
Actually, you can apply a small (insignificant) force - because when you push, and the object pushes back, there's an amount of inertia (I think is the right term) to overcome in getting your mass moving e.g. a shuttle astronaut is floating in zero G. He tries to push a button in. He can do it if the resistance of the button is very low - lower than the inertia of getting his mass moving in the opposite direction. If the button has a strong spring behind it, when he pushes it, he simply moves off in the other direction, unless he can brace himself against something... (and, just to be PC - it could be a her
So I suspect that weighting the pegs effects a change in direction by changing CoG. This is clearly the case with hooking the tank with your knee - you are redistributing where your mass is on the bike - this must affect CoG - and the force you are applying is due to gravity (a bigger moment on the bike, because the mass comes to bear further up the lever (chasis), and further away from the pivot point (contact patches of the tyres).
What do you guys think?
:jump
