Well this hasn't been brought up in a while. In order to turn successfully, the rider and the motorcycle must first be leaned in the direction of the turn, and steering momentarily in the opposite direction causes that lean. The short and sweet of it....steering left to turn right.
Counter steering? Yup dats da way I do it, funny it used to be automatic, now I have to think about it. Hopefully the automatic phase kicks in soon, it can be a life saver in unexpected circumstances.
Countersteering has always been sort of a natural thing for me, but I have seen other people who don't get the feel of the concept. I remember this one old guy that was trying to ride a CT90 one time. He just couldn't get the bike to go where he was trying to point it, said it wanted to go in the opposite direction. He got off the machine after a couple of minutes of hitting curbs and having near misses with parked cars. He was just shaking his head.
From when you learned to ride a bicycle it has become a subconsious input. Being aware of it and conciously doing it puts you in greater control.
Reminds me of a famous quote from Doc Hudson (from the moving Cars) " I'll put it simple: if you're going hard enough left, you'll find yourself turning right." OK, so actually this is exact opposite ends of the turn (initiate verses controlling a slide), but it amused me.
Go watch Speedway, that will show you exactly what you need to do. Then practice on a nice gravel/dirt road that turns allot.
Yep, pitching it sideways at the end of the straight doing 80+. Not a good idea to try that on a flat dry lake bed. Don't ask how I know.
Rajo, You had the wrong tires for the job! I bet with the right tires you would have looked like a pro.
Yep, big MX knobbies are not the rights tires for power sliding on hard pack dry lake bed, well at least not the right ones for pitching it sideways at high speed.
It's funny, counter steer has always been intuitive for me but ever since this thread I actually think about it while I'm riding and it's screwing me up. What used to be a natural act is now becoming something that I think about and I don't think as fast as I can act instinctively. Darn you Husky Dude.
Sorry This was mostly to do with riding on the street and not so much for tight S/T stuff. Not recommend for all but we use to (when bored) put our left hand on the right throttle and your right hand on the left handle bar. And then try and turn. Please don't crash and come back on here and say it's my .....
This topic also reminds me of how I weight the pegs to turn or aid in turning. It's so second nature these days, but when I'm out teaching my 5 year old how to ride, it really is a lot to take in. Sometimes the boy just gives me a blank stare after a bit of instruction....That let's me know he's got it.
Don't give me something else to think about, I used to be a good rider until I started analysing what i'm doing.
Sorry....Motorcycling in the woods is supposed to be about relaxing in the great outdoors. Isn't it? Really, I don't think about any of this stuff until I bust my butt. Then I ponder, maybe I should have been putting more weight on that outside/downhill peg while riding/crashing in that long section of off-camber. Most of the time I'm singing some type of washed out song from the days of Grunge....Soundgarden Fopp anyone????
