Editing Highsider (section)

== Technical explanation ==
[[Forces]] occurring between the motorcycle and the road (such as those that result in accelerating, decelerating and turning) occur at the [[contact patch]] through [[friction]] and [[normal force]]s. There is a limited amount of force tangential to the road that the contact patch can transmit before the tire begins to lose traction, and therefore slide or skid.

When cornering on a motorcycle, [[centripetal force]] (in addition to other lateral forces such as acceleration or deceleration) is transferred from the road to the motorcycle through the contact patch, and is directed at a right angle to the path of travel. If the combined [[net force]] is greater than the [[static friction]] coefficient of the [[motorcycle tyre|tire]] multiplied by the normal force of the motorcycle through the tire, the tire will skid outwards from the direction of the curve.

Once a tire slips in a curve, it will begin to move outwards from under the motorcycle. What happens from there depends on how well the rider is able to restore balance and control. If the tire regains [[Traction (engineering)|traction]] after the rider starts to skid while the motorcycle is moving sideways, the tire will stop its sideways movement, causing the motorcycle to suddenly jerk into an upright position (and beyond). This movement can easily cause the rider to be thrown off.

The initial traction loss may be caused by:

* A new tire with wax or a similar compound on the sides of the [[tire tread]], or the sides of the tread not having been [[Break-in (mechanical run-in)|broken in]]
* Locking the rear wheel through excessive [[Motorcycle components#Brakes (disc/drum)|braking]]
* An incorrect downshifting technique that produces excessive [[engine braking]], even if the motorcycle has a [[slipper clutch]]
* Applying too much throttle when exiting a corner
* Oversteering into the turn by shifting weight to the front wheel and using balance to [[Drifting (motorsport)|drift]] the rear wheel sideways
* Exceeding lateral grip through too much speed (although this is more likely to result in a lowsider), or too much [[Bicycle and motorcycle dynamics|lean]]
* An unexpected change in surface friction (water, oil, dust, gravel, etc.)
* Reduced rear tire grip via scraping another part of the motorcycle on the road surface

If the wheels are not aligned in the direction of travel when traction is suddenly restored and the rear tire stops slipping, then a highside is likely, depending on how much the bike is turned across the direction of travel and how fast the bike is traveling when the rear tire regains traction. If the angle is high enough, the bike is moving fast enough, and the rear tire slips and regains traction suddenly enough, the rider has no chance of preventing a highside.