Counter steer?

[SUPERSTARDJ01]

Hi,

Can anyone explain this to me?

[the_lone_wolf]

Steer left to go right, steer right to go left

Simples!

[suzsv650]

Countersteering (http://lmgtfy.com/?q=CounterSteer)

[SUPERSTARDJ01]

Countersteering (http://lmgtfy.com/?q=CounterSteer)

How did you do that?

[the_lone_wolf]

How did you do that?

The mystery's revealed (http://lmgtfy.com/?q=let+me+google+that+for+you)

[LK-SV]

I could really feel this on the CB500 (DAS machine), but on the SVS I can't ....

Anyone noticed this ??

[suzsv650]

The mystery's revealed (http://lmgtfy.com/?q=let+me+google+that+for+you)


Dam you!!

[sinbad]

I could really feel this on the CB500 (DAS machine), but on the SVS I can't ....

Anyone noticed this ??

You can, but the narrower bars make you feel like you're not moving them so much.

Next time you're out on a nice wide section of clear dry road give a solid but brief tug toward you on one of the handlebars. Hello super agile mega quick steering motorcycle :)

[beabert]

lol, when you next out and riding at about 30, just try to turn left with the handlebars only :-) (very gently)

[the_lone_wolf]

Next time you're out on a nice wide section of clear dry road give a solid but brief tug toward you on one of the handlebars. Hello hedge...

EFA...

[sinbad]

EFA...

Haha, well you were definitely on you're way to one sooner or later if you end up in a hedge after giving a handlebar a "solid but brief tug" on a wide piece of dry clear road :)

[Scoobs]

Try it on a pushbike first. It works and you are less likely to damage anything.

[rictus01]

it's magic, I know the internet told me.......;)

[Dave20046]

Steer left to go right, steer right to go left

Simples!
+1
Thread complete :smt020

[MrFish]

If you want to turn right for example, push gently on the handlebars with your right hand. This starts the bike leaning into the corner, do the rest as per usual.

[Philbo]

If you want to turn right for example, push gently on the handlebars with your right hand. This starts the bike leaning into the corner, do the rest as per usual.

That's how I learned it, push with your right hand to turn right, push with your left hand to turn left.

P.S. It doesn't work at walking speed, so be warned! Not sure what speed you need to do for the technique to work, but as an educated guess I'd say it kicks in round about 10, maybe 15 MPH? Try to find somewhere safe to practice, and get the feel for it before you try to use the technique in anger.

[beabert]

Also you are already doing it lightly subcontiously, but once your are aware you can use the technique to you full advantage, i find it very useful if i run wide lol.

[BillyC]

Seeing as no one's said it, I will.

I think most, if not all replies so far have talked about how to counter-steer. It's the rather sub-conscious act of applying, what might be considered opposite force, to the handlebars in order to turn the bike. So the bars are pushed from the right, in order to turn right; and the left to turn left.

But what actually happens here, and why does this work? Understanding this is rather fundamental to knowing how your bike moves and steers.

Sid Squid explained it to me once, and it has stuck with me ever since. Imagine a shape: a cone. Circular at its base, narrowing to a straight point.

Now, turn this cone on its side, and place it on a flat surface - and give it a push... it won't roll in a straight line, but will always steer around its pointy end.

Consider the profile of your motorcycle tyre... it's a curved surface, and most of the time you ride in a straight line, rolling along the centre of the tyre.

So, when you decide to turn the bike, either by leaning, or applying some counter-steer force to the handlebars; you effectively present part of the curved profile of the tyre to the road - and this has the same effect as the cone. Consequently your bike turns in one direction or the other.


Different tyres have different profiles - and thus have different rates of turn. Also, the effective angle of the "cone" varies the further you go from the tyre's centre line. This makes for a steeper cone, and a higher rate of turn.

Now that's simples.

[Richie]

hic.. my daddy set me out over the old harvested corn fields on my honda c50.
t'was a good ped at the time..
every time i came to that right hander just after the o'l combine it always spat me off in the that pig **** pit. my daddy would say, "try a touch of left on the bar and that will compensate.."

it worked ..

then I asked my daddy ... What does compensate mean?

he said .. ask your momma...

I asked momma and she said..

"Your father is living in an American souther'n county dream world.
Now this is the real world..





Counter steering is great. but only do it when you know you can pull it off and it is safe to do so.
This message is brought to you by experance and by the number 12.

[ThEGr33k]

Wouldn't worry too much, you do it naturally... you must or you simply wouldnt go around corners. :)

[MrFish]

Don't know why people keep mentioning this as if its some sort of dangerous manouvre. Try it on a long sweeping corner and its very easy and obvious when it works. You're probably doing it anyway, just never realised.

I remember my instructor telling me about it and grinning like an idiot when I felt it working on my next corner.

[barwel1992]

push with your right hand to turn right, push with your left hand to turn left.
.

im confused if you push with ure right hand you go left...... not right, now if you pull with ure right you go right or if you push with ure left you go right because the other arm move with the bar (pulling in toward you)

or am i totaly confused...:confused:

[lukemillar]

Eh? You don't decide to do it/try it!? Everyone does it. Difference is some people do it actively, others do it passively (depending on their understanding of it).

An easy way to prove this to those who passively countersteer is to hop on a quad bike with handlebars. First corner, you'll end up going in a straight line or veering in the other direction! :)

[vjones777]

im confused if you push with ure right hand you go left...... not right...:confused:
That's how it works at slow speeds, like Philbo said. Countersteering works at faster speeds.

Think of it this way. Have you ever played rugby..if you're running along and want to swerve suddenly? Imagine your bringing your left leg forward... instead of bringing it straight forward you deliberately swing it across your front, putting your left foot down in front of or even to the right of, your right foot. You'll be temporarily off balance and will 'fall' (swerve) towards your left.

The same sort of thing happens with countersteering. If you push on the left handlebar, the front wheel is pushed out to the right, to the right of the centre of gravity, so the bike falls over to the left - resulting in a turn to the left.

[barwel1992]

ahh right think i get you :)

QUOTE lukemillar "An easy way to prove this to those who passively countersteer is to hop on a quad bike with handlebars. First corner, you'll end up going in a straight line or veering in the other direction! :smile: "

yup been there done that lol :D had a quad for about a year 250 twin and did that the firsttime i went out on it.... then i found out how easy it was to slide and well corners were easy after that :P

[sinbad]

That's how it works at slow speeds, like Philbo said. Countersteering works at faster speeds.

Think of it this way. Have you ever played rugby..if you're running along and want to swerve suddenly? Imagine your bringing your left leg forward... instead of bringing it straight forward you deliberately swing it across your front, putting your left foot down in front of or even to the right of, your right foot. You'll be temporarily off balance and will 'fall' (swerve) towards your left.

The same sort of thing happens with countersteering. If you push on the left handlebar, the front wheel is pushed out to the right, to the right of the centre of gravity, so the bike falls over to the left - resulting in a turn to the left.

The basic counter steering principles of deflecting the contact patch from beneath the centre of gravity work at all speeds. That's why you steer the way you begin to fall in order to keep upright at walking pace, not because you want to go in that direction, but because you want to move the centre of gravity back beneath you. If you were able to turn the handlebars fast enough the bike would still "fall" in the opposite direction, and then you'd need to steer that way to prevent yourself from falling off. It's only because at low speeds the turning forces are generally so small and our "positive" steering much more obvious than at higher speeds in far less tight corners, that we believe there is this magic switch over point when the gyroscopic forces start to have an effect on how far and how fast we can move the handlebars.

Steering mass distribution helps (at any speed) because the bars turn further in the direction of turn/lean if left alone. Which is why you have to maintain pressure on the inside bar to continue to corner at a constant lean angle, why the bike will straighten up if you just take your hands off, and why it's really hard to simply fall over.

[andreis]

As the others have already explained, you already know how to do it. Here's a video explanation of how it works:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C848R9xWrjc