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Counter steering
- Thread starter mindsoma
- Start date
sedanman
neanderssance man
Let me put it another way. Motorcycles maintain or change their direction of travel based on complex physics. They are immune to the personal desires or idiology of the operator. They will only turn precisely if they are given input inline with the physics that govern them. If you think you are "heaving" your bike then you are simply unaware of how you are actually providing input to the motorcycle. I used to beleive the "lean to turn" mantra. My wake up call came as l was leaning into a left hand turn and travelling in a straight line heading towards a mailbox. I managed to stop before striking the mailbox. It was then l began to open my mind about motorcycle handling. If you are making turns on a motorcyle you ARE countersteering, it's how motorcycles turn, it's not something you can choose to do or not do.
sedanman
neanderssance man
Well, I hope you all know that if counter steering doesn't work for you, you will have to "lay 'er down" sooner or later.
+1
pglaves
#13338
Well, there is that tricky little part about the contact patch (where the bike meets the pavement) and its relationship to the forks and the steering head, and how moving the handlebars moves the contact patch to initiate a lean. And of course, that whole bit about rake and trail and those things. But suffice it to say that if you ride a production motorcycle you countersteer whether you want to or not.
Well, I hope you all know that if counter steering doesn't work for you, you will have to "lay 'er down" sooner or later.
Trouble is, in order to "lay 'er down", you pretty much have to counter steer.
akbeemer
SURVIVOR
Well, I hope you all know that if counter steering doesn't work for you, you will have to "lay 'er down" sooner or later.
To quote the spokesman for a past Governor of Alabama who was explaining the Gov's wrecking his HD on the Dalton Hwy, (the spokesman described the Gov's actions as heroic), "He had to lay the bike down to avoid an accident."
pglaves
#13338
I really don't know whether to laugh or to cry. This is so pathetic.
Bud
It is what it is.
Trouble is, in order to "lay 'er down", you pretty much have to counter steer.
Don't go confusing them with the facts. Their minds are already made up. Not many Gov's are heroes anymore.
chasmrider
not lost til out of gas
wow, I guess I am lucky. when I first learned to ride a motorcycle, in a parking lot, from my friend, after he showed me the gas,clutch,and brakes, he gave me the best motorcycle advice I ever got." Push left, go left, push right, go right." lucky for me I accepted, and embraced that advice. all you have to do is get on a straight road and give it a try!
Question: You are sitting at a stop sign in the right wheel track of your lane, left foot on the ground, and you want to make a right turn. When you ease off the clutch and roll on a little throttle, should your front tire be pointed straight ahead, a little to the right, or a little to the left. Probably seems like a dumb question, but I once dropped my bike doing exactly that, on a dry paved street. Never done that before or since, but clearly I did something basically wrong, and not sure what it was. Probably my front tire was turned a little to the right.
So in this situation, should you start rolling straight forward, push to the right to make the turn, then counter-steer to the left after you have made the turn? Yes, we do this all the time without thinking - even me. But we can also do it wrong, so maybe a little thinking is not out of place. There is also a lot contradictory information on at what speed counter steering replaces normal steering. Lots of smart people here to respond. Hope you will.
So in this situation, should you start rolling straight forward, push to the right to make the turn, then counter-steer to the left after you have made the turn? Yes, we do this all the time without thinking - even me. But we can also do it wrong, so maybe a little thinking is not out of place. There is also a lot contradictory information on at what speed counter steering replaces normal steering. Lots of smart people here to respond. Hope you will.
greenwald
New member
Actually, you kind of did. Counter-steering is simply a slight maneuver to redirect inertia towards the direction you wish to turn.
With no momentum present while stopped, the maneuver is both different and more relaxed.
Just ride - physics will sort itself out quite well without all the handwringing.
WalterK75
Active member
I think the real problem with counter steering is trying to conceptually understand the physics and why it works, not the fact that it does work. The "counter" in counter steering is that it is counter intuitive so that it appears to logically go against what one expects and that causes the unending discussion of the topic.
pglaves
#13338
I believe that is because, as children, we learned to ride tricycles at an early age. Now after many miles on two wheels most any rider would be in a near state of panic driving a sidecar rig or three wheeler.
pglaves
#13338
Actually, you kind of did. Counter-steering is simply a slight maneuver to redirect inertia towards the direction you wish to turn.
With no momentum present while stopped, the maneuver is both different and more relaxed.
Just ride - physics will sort itself out quite well without all the handwringing.
My F650 (single) Dakar was interesting. More than on any other bike I found myself riding it on tight knarley switchbacks when it was right at the transition point - and at one moment it wanted direct steering and the next, at a slightly higher speed, it wanted counter steering. It was really scary until I figured it out and sped up a bit.
AKsuited
New member
Push right: push right handgrip forward, or at least apply a forward force to it.
This forces the front tire contact patch to the left, "tripping" the bike into falling to the right.
The bike doesn't actually fall over completely due to other factors that provide stability and resistance to falling over.
The bike begins to fall to the right which means it leans to the right, the beginning of a right turn.
You use counter-steering to immediately lean the bike in the direction you want it to lean, and turn.
Harry
