Why Don't They Teach Active Counter Steering?

Originally Posted by Baph

That's counter steering. Active counter steering is, IMO, different.

Active counter steering is using the bars/clip-ons to produce the effect of the bike leaning over rapidly - as above, usually when taking evasive action (flick one side then the other, not cornering).

You can lean the bike over without consciously moving the bars/clip-ons, just that it doesn't come over anywhere near as quickly.

I know of a few riders, and very good riders at that, who are still unsure about whether counter steering even exists!

i think its just a case of turning, or turning quicker. its the same thing, but people just like to talk about it as an advanced technique.

[flymo]

Originally Posted by Baph

I know of a few riders, and very good riders at that, who are still unsure about whether counter steering even exists!

I guess not everybody has a head for physics.

Doesnt really matter what you believe you just need to be shown. If you do this then this happens.....

I think counter steering is just like a lot of riding technique, everybody has their own particular style and way of doing things. This is what track days are particularly good for.

Ahem, i may sound a bit silly askin this but hope i dont, what is counter steering? so if i lean right and turn the bars right a bit is that it?

[flymo]

Originally Posted by Holdup

Ahem, i may sound a bit silly askin this but hope i dont, what is counter steering? so if i lean right and turn the bars right a bit is that it?

Well, thats the point. They dont turn right, they turn left until the bike is leaned over and then they straighten to some extent.

Imagine you were riding along and you were to push gently on the right hand bar (turning the wheel slightly to the left as a result) then the bike would lean right. The more forcefully you do this the faster the bike will lean up until the point that you fall off.

So, with a little practice you can force the bike to get to its desired lean angle for a corner quicker than it would otherwise.

In practice there is another area covering applying pressure to the footpegs. Personally in my experience I dont think this achieves much at all. I find that I can acheive better results by forceably moving my body weight to the inside of a lean and the rest happens naturally.

[fizzwheel]

Originally Posted by flymo

So, with a little practice you can force the bike to get to its desired lean angle for a corner quicker than it would otherwise.

Which is disconcerting if your a new rider or not expecting it to react that way and thats why I suspect most riding schools dont teach it when you're doing your DAS.

It took me ages to get my head around what was going on with counter steering. I know some very experienced riders that dont get it.

You do it naturally anyway without thinking about it. All you doing is exaggerating the effect by pushing the bars to get the desired reaction.

[flymo]

Originally Posted by fizzwheel

Which is disconcerting if your a new rider or not expecting it to react that way and thats why I suspect most riding schools dont teach it when you're doing your DAS.

It took me ages to get my head around what was going on with counter steering. I know some very experienced riders that dont get it.

You do it naturally anyway without thinking about it. All you doing is exaggerating the effect by pushing the bars to get the desired reaction.

+1 you have enough to think about during bike lessons without this scrambling your brains

[Ch00]

It wasnt until I had my Police bike course that I knew about C/S. But like others you do it with out thinking about.

Ch00

My instructor told me about it after my cbt.

He said to me that it wasnt something they teach on cbt level as it can be too much for new riders.
Its taught on pre test and advanced lessons at the school I went to.

I dont understand how pushing the bars left will drop the bike quicker to the right and vice versa but I do know it works

[flymo]

Originally Posted by speedplay

I dont understand how pushing the bars left will drop the bike quicker to the right and vice versa but I do know it works

If you were riding in a straight line and you very quickly pushed the right hand bar forward as far and as fast as you could you would fall off. Which side do you think you would fall?

Originally Posted by flymo

If you were riding in a straight line and you very quickly pushed the right hand bar forward as far and as fast as you could you would fall off. Which side do you think you would fall?

Theroretically you would fall off on the right (assuming the bike didnt fall away from under you and pitch you over the front) as counter steering isnt about pushing the bar all the way forwards....

Through my own experience its about subtle steering on a bike is part of what keeps you alive