Technical question here: if, say, a motorcycle falls sideways, would the engine stay on until it runs out of gas? If not, how long would it stay on? Is there a difference between some motorcycles and others?
I'm pretty sure they'll stay running indefinitely. I found this video (which is really long and may not be to everyone's taste) which is cued up to a couple of people who lost control of their bikes, only to have them keep going albeit on their sides: You can watch the rest or not, of course. I'm not a big fan of "fail" videos personally.
Not exactly the situation I'm going for, as the motorcycle in this scene has already stopped before it falls on the protagonist's leg, but still, it's good to know. Thanks a bunch, mate.
It varies depending a) on whether the throttle stays forward without the riders hand on the grip , an b) in regard mostly of race bikes, if the rider has a kill cord (ie a leash that attaches them to the bike which when pulled by a dismount cuts the engine... they arent common on roadbikes , but some countries make them mandatory for racers c) assuming its four stroke engine they don't like being inverted - in that case the oil from the sump will flow up into the cylinder and foul the plugs... two strokes like you find on scooters and such don't have a sump
It would definitely have to be stopped or going slow to fall on your leg. I’ve had it happen two times, once when I was coming off of a side street the cold-blooded Harley coughed and died in mid-corner. I was too close to the curb to put my foot out, trapping me and it laid over pinning my legto the curb . The next I was hot dogging my Yamaha into every corner as hard as I possibly could when the foot peg didn’t fold up which lifted the front wheel catching my leg under the bike for a long slide down the road. It kept running for a minute or so.
