It's not just push right turn right...push left turn left. That's what I thought and that's why I had so much trouble in the twisties. It was explained to me by a motocross instructor. Basically if you want the bike to fall into a right turn you push forward on the right bar and pull back on the left....kind of like you are trying to turn in the oposite direction you want to go. It sounds wrong but that's how it works. If you are turning left then push up on the left bar and pull back on the right. The best way it was explained to me was push the bars like you are turning the oposite way. Just try it in some simple turns and you'll see.

 

NAAAA He just went into the turn a little hot.. I am betting he pulled out of ti in the top pic.



about counter steering. You are already doing it. I remember when this idea came about and everyone said NO WAY. But after California Superbike School built the "NO BS" bike he proved to everyone that it was IMPOSSIBLE to turn a bike by leaning at speed and that counter steering was needed.

THE NO BS BIKE

 

most important: look where you want to go, 'cause that's where you will be going.

"Motorcycole goes where I look, so I will look where I want to go." - gets you out of tight corners.

 

Save yourself some cash on replaced HD parts and take the msf course...

 

I definitely agree with everyone here that taking a beginning rider course is the way to go. When I got back into motorcycling after a 17 year layoff, that was the first thing I did. Even before I thought about buying the bike.

Countersteering is the method used to get the bike to lean in the direction you want to turn. It is based on gyroscopic principles. Your spinning front wheel/tire acts as a large gyroscope. When you apply a force to a gyroscope, that force acts 90 degrees from where it was applied in the direction of rotation. That is why when you turn or apply pressure to your handlebars to the left, the bike leans to the right and vice versa. The same principal is used in aircraft instrument gyroscopes.

Don't worry about the technical part though, just know it works. Push left, lean right, turn right. You do have to be above about 20 MPH for this to apply though.

 

yep thats right HC....run a dirtbike thru tight woods and you'll see the need REAL fast....or spit bark!

 

Countersteering is for initiation of a turn only, or to make mid turn corrections, or to stand a bike back up after it has been leaned into a turn. The concept of Gyroscopic Precession (G.P.) was raised (though not named specifically) as being a a significant factor in the physics of countersteering, but in fact, this effect is negligible in regards to how countersteering works. Were G.P. to be a major factor, than changing wheels to lighter ones with less polar momentum than heavy stock wheels would lessen G.P. forces, and hinder countersteering and flickability, when the exact opposite is what actually occurs.

And if one's technique has aquired this particular style, there is nothing surprising or unsettling about using a push on the inside bar combined with a pull on the outside bar to apply a well controlled countersteering input.

Initiating a left turn: You apply forward pressure on the left bar to turn left. Because of the physics involved with two wheeled single track vehicles, turning the bars to the right causes the front wheel to track to the right, out from under the CoG of the bike. The bike has no option but to lean to the left. It steers the front out from under the line of forward progression. The turn to the left is now initiated. Conservation of Momentum requires that the bike wants to continue to travel along the same line of forward progression, and so the motorcycle MUST lean in the direction opposite the front wheel was steered. As the bike assumes the kean angle, the rider will cessate the countersteer control input, and if the bike is well designed with neutral handling, the steering trail that is engineered into the bike's steering geometry will cause the bike's front wheel to track the arc of the curve. In some circumstances, a counter steer input is actually required to maintain a particular turning arc, such as a bike that falls into the turns. In this example, the rider would need to maintain a countersteering input on the outer clip-on.


Also, when countersteering, the bars should not be weighted or pushed down, as was said earlier. The pressure is a forward pressure, or more precisely, forward and slightly upwards, to place the CS input at a 90 degree angle to the steering axis, which has rake, and is thus not verticle. In this way, there is conservation of energy and maximum efficiency in steering control inputs initiated by the rider. Weighting the bars implies or denotes a downward push on the bar which is incorrect and wasteful.

Anyone who, when riding a motocycle or bicycle, can make the bike go around curves and turns at will, where and when they want it to go, in other words, is capable of steering the thing, is using countersteering. They just may not be aware of what it is.

 

Countersteering is what you do everytime you negotiate a turn above 5 mph whether you know it or not. It's the only way you can turn a motorcycle and you instictively do it even though you really don't realize that is what you're doing.

Take the MSF course. If you are a rider with any experience I would suggest you take the Experienced Rider Course. It helps alot to understand what you're doing and why. Also, once you understand countersteering you will use it more effectively knowing what you're doing.

 

One thing to add in my experience in turning.WHile in the turn you need to roll the throttle all the way into the turn........DO NOT let off on the throttle.You will straighten up,and load the front wheel,cutting into the bikes ability to get a good lean angle.ANd always look at the area you want to go.....your body and bike will follow.Take the course.its worth it.

 

So, you're suggesting I need to take the MSF so that I can understand countersteering better so that I will use it more effectively once I understand what I am doing?