And, believe it or not, some of us are simply trying to help.

 

OK I confess. Never had a Safety course, and I've been riding for 45+ years and just reading counter-steering made me think.
Yes I obviously counter-steered as I slid or flat-tracked corners when I was racing, even when wheelying to correct balance, but I never thought of counter-steering in the every day, until after I read some of this thread.
That's the key to me, I never think about it, it's just how it is.
Understanding it is great, but don't over think it.

 

Not sure if this addresses the OP's perplexity, but when I took the MSF course, I was confounded by the instructor telling us to "press" on the grip in the direction we wanted to go.

To me, "press" means a downward motion and that's what I tried to do. It just didn't work and didn't make sense. I've ridden bicycles for decades and ended up just doing what I'd always done to turn on a bike. It's exactly the same principle.

Later, I realized that he meant "push" and if that's what he had said, it would have been clear. I'm not sure why MSF uses the term "press" but I was not the only one in the class who had to work through the terminology.

 

Removed as OP is already a specialist on this topic

 

Oh the OP is a troll alright,,, or maybe your just off your meds?

 

BaaaHaaa! Way to circle back!

 

The true value of this thread will be found in the MSF classes. I am quite sure that there are some members here who teach MSF courses. I think the message has come through loud and clear that when teaching the MSF course instructors need to make it clear to the students that when they say "push right go right push left go left" they mean to push the handle bar forward, not down or any other direction.

 

your location says texas, but I know that in east texas there are several roads that are 75mph that are single lane each direction....

I think that for most people it is clear. i'm not gonna say that you're the only one, but I would say that maybe 1/2%. I think that most people realize that there is only 1 axis that the handlebars can move on and there would be no logical reason to try to move them any other way.....

 

I love riding early Sunday mornings. Very little traffic on the roads.

My bike ran so good this morning. I have found, for my bike, that if I let it warm up for about 5 minutes it seems to run better, anyway...

I paid close attention to how I negotiate turns and experimented with consciously paying attention to counter-steering. There is nothing wrong with doing this, in fact, it made for an interesting ride.

I found that pushing the handlebars forward, on my bike, just tips the bike over a little bit in the direction I want to go. Once it tips I shift my weight and lean, as someone said, I try to kiss the mirror. That is pretty much how I always have done it and its a fun way to take a curve. I was going about 55 to 60 mph when I was doing this. The fact is you can lean more than enough just by shifting you weight once you tip the bike in the direction you want to go.

I also found that when I approach a curve I let up on the throttle, just a tad before I counter-steer and tip the bike.

Don't take any of this to seriously because I am sure I am not describing it completely accurately as I found it kind of hard to figure out exactly what I do when approaching a turn. I do know that it is fun!

I do not think there is anything wrong in focusing a little attention on how you steer your motorcycle when you are riding by yourself on a Sunday morning when there is very little traffic on the road. I think everyone should try to figure out how they do it because I am sure it is different for everyone.

I did find that pushing "forward" was not possible. Because my hands are above the handlebars and because of the shape(angle) of the bars, and "push", being a force, and since force is a vector, it resolves into a component outward and downward. If you were going really fast it would be hard to push those bars "forward", you would have to use the palms of your hands and probably push upward a bit. I did not try that. In my opinion, Harleys are not the best bike to use if you want to go fast in the "twisties", and I do not want to start a flame war by saying that. I do think that the shape of the handlebars will come into play if you want to get good leverage on the bars when you "push forward" while going fast in the "twisties". Pay attention to the shape of the handlebars on sport bikes, I bet they are designed for that.

Oh and guess what? A deer ran out in front of the car in front of me! The car stopped and I stopped. No big deal.

Peace!

 

That is why I suggested, in post #121, that in this case 'steer' is a better word to use then 'push'.

Steer right to go left, steer left to go right.