Counter Steer Question!

[Guest IgnativsElvis]

hi,,,do you counter steer just to get the bike leaned over then tilt the bars back.. or are you actually countersteering throughout the whole turn.. thanks

[jasonbw]

Hi IgnativsElvis, this is a GREAT question, one that when answered, surprises even very experienced street riders and racers!

 

Best to answer this question by clearing the purpose of counter steering:

The purpose of counter steering is to bring to bike to your chosen lean angle. We can discuss how Counter Steering works if necessary afterwards as you indicate in your post above an understanding of Counter Steering.

 

Once the motorcycle is at speed you initiate a turn by counter steering, once the bike is leaned into the turn, you release the pressure on the bars entirely, the motorcycle will remain at that chosen lean until you tell it to do otherwise.

The pressure sequence on the bars is simple: Press, then Release.

 

Suspension, tire pressure and wear may have an influence but for the majority, just press, then release.

 

There's a VERY important reason why releasing the pressure on the bars is beneficial, anyone able to chime in with reasons as to why we would want to get as relaxed on the bars as soon as possible?

[dmj120]

My 2 cents....

 

Push...release! I push to lean the bike, then release pressure - there's more to worry about after that; look, throttle control.... relax shoulders. Continually pushing (or counter steering) keeps you -or at least me- tense, which transfers to the bike and equates to a feeling of instability. The tighter you are -especially on the the bars- the more input felt, the greater stimuli, culminating to a rushed and choppy line/roll-on.

 

I think of it as, one less thing to do. Flick-it and move on to the other things.

 

One thing about tire pressure I've noticed: If you do the push - release technique and the front feels heavy or like it's gonna tuck, your front tire is lacking a few psi (assuming your suspension is set 'properly'--ie for conditions, road surface, riding style, etc.). Something else that helps me regarding the push-release, is getting my hips twisted toward the turn (this is my self-talk... probably best described as opening your hips), which pulls my outside knee snuggly into the tank.

 

 

soooo.... too much [continued] pressure on the bars = too much input = many SR's = a possible bad day

[Kiwi]

...anyone able to chime in with reasons as to why we would want to get as relaxed on the bars as soon as possible?

 

Righto I'll have a go...let me know if I've gone wrong somewhere

 

Right after counter stearing in order for the bike to continue cornering on the descired line the front wheel must constantly re-position itself side-to-side so that it's following the rear wheel around the corner. If the front wheel cannot re-position itself (e.g. the rider is holding on too tight and/or placing too much weight forward) the bike cannot corner and it'll run wide. Too much weight forward also compresses the front forks and takes the bike out of the perfect 60/40 balance.

 

Also the more weight you have on the bars the more the rider feels every bump and shudder therefore there's more of a chance of the riders SRs coming into play.

[Cobie Fair]

Only one point to add, and that is at what speed does countersteering begin to work?

 

If you are going 2 miles an hour on a bicycle, and you start to fall to the right, what do you do? Don't you turn the bars to the right (push on the left bar) to make bike stop going to the right and change it's lean angle leftwards?

 

I know we have covered countersteering in more detail in other threads, but this point comes up often.

 

Let me know if this makes sense to you guys.

 

CF

[ironside]

anyone able to chime in with reasons as to why we would want to get as relaxed on the bars as soon as possible?

 

So that the bike can "sort itself out" (thanks to the steering geometry, caster angle I think - the same way a car steering wheels self centre when travelling forwards) allowing the front wheel to turn so that it is steering conventionally. I guess keeping pressure on the bars would prevent it from doing this.