Omg.....!

[judecatmad]

I tried the countersteering thing today...and whaddya know, it works, it really works! :shit: LOL

OK, I've only just discovered something that everyone else in the bike universe has known for the whole of eternity, and having had my learners now for 18 months it's something I probably should have figured earlier....but hey! :doh:

I was somewhat skeptical when I read up about it during the week, and somewhat nervous about giving it a go (corners and me don't really get along that well), but woo hoo! A new and easier way of going around corners!!

OK, that's me over and done with :D Make fun of me at your leisure! :bleh:

[SwanTiger]

To my Dearest judecatmad,

Congratulations!

I am delighted to learn of your new found discovery and I hope it brings an enhanced many years of pleasure to your motorcycling.

I wish you all the best with your future adventures on two wheels.


Scincerly yours,

Swan Tiger

[hurricane_r]

great work man,

[sunhuntin]

good stuff!

i find it fun to corner one handed...really gets the lean going! went and saw my wrecker buddy...he doesnt have a muffler for you, sorry, but he says the hole should be easily repaired. he hasnt had a chance to look for the rest, but he says the tail light is the same across all years [for the older bikes at least, not sure about the new ones]
he also asked me have i tried counter steering...with my feet?! tried it a couple of times today and must say i didnt even notice the difference. i notice if i press with the foot in the direction im leaning, but thats not quite what he meant!

[judecatmad]

went and saw my wrecker buddy...he doesnt have a muffler for you, sorry, but he says the hole should be easily repaired. he hasnt had a chance to look for the rest, but he says the tail light is the same across all years [for the older bikes at least, not sure about the new ones]


Thanks for that - really appreciate your efforts.

Dave's going to order a new muffler this week and paint up the pipes. If your mate can come up with any other bits, we'd be really chuffed :)

Buckbuck mentioned steering with foot pegs in one of his recent newbie updates - I really didn't understand it too much, but it's taken me long enough to get this far so my not understanding something is not any great surprise! :rofl:

[toymachine]

Yeah i've been really getting into countersteering lately as well... it's great.

Often I still do some big leans without it just for the whole rolling side to side fun factor, but countersteerings great.

[jtzzr]

You go girl , I find that the foot option is best.(thats me)You keep up the good work!!

[sunhuntin]

Thanks for that - really appreciate your efforts.

Dave's going to order a new muffler this week and paint up the pipes. If your mate can come up with any other bits, we'd be really chuffed :)

Buckbuck mentioned steering with foot pegs in one of his recent newbie updates - I really didn't understand it too much, but it's taken me long enough to get this far so my not understanding something is not any great surprise! :rofl:

thing is...youve been countersteering subconciously this whole time... its when you try and do it, as in, actively thinking to do it. like when im cornering on that bit of road just outside foxton....i actively do it and really notice the difference. once you get your confidence up, try and do a bit with one arm....youll really notice it then!!

[SuperDave]

Try doing the countersteering thing and leaning, you'll see using the two techniques together is really quite useful.

[Terminated]

I tried the countersteering thing today:

Perhaps that's the difference between Port and Starboard.

Say gidday to the hubby for me.

Regards

[Nicksta]

good on ya.... you never stop learning new techniques and stuff.... and thats a good one that will help you a lot.. believe me...

[judecatmad]

Say gidday to the hubby for me.


Done :)

JCM

[Terminated]

Buckbuck mentioned steering with foot pegs in one of his recent newbie updates - I really didn't understand it too much, but it's taken me long enough to get this far so my not understanding something is not any great surprise! :rofl:

Gidday judecatmad, now as you know this comment is coming from a newbie, a total newbie, so accept it in that light.

Having read the chapter in Flick of the Wrist II, I looked at Pivot Steering and essentially it is one of 'feel' and 'balance' for me repeat for me. Going into a right hander: I push a little on the right handlebar/pull a little on the left handlebar, while at the same time keep a bit of pressure on my left foot against the peg.

Here's a little drill, sitting at the computer: put both palms against each side of the keyboard, and you feet firm against the chair legs. Gently push your right palm against the side of the keyboard, with pressure down on your left foot - visualise that sweeping left curve.

Heads Up and Enjoy

[judecatmad]

thing is...youve been countersteering subconciously this whole time... its when you try and do it, as in, actively thinking to do it. like when im cornering on that bit of road just outside foxton....i actively do it and really notice the difference. once you get your confidence up, try and do a bit with one arm....youll really notice it then!!

That's the thing - I actually paid attention to it today and put conscious effort into it on corners that I'm familiar with. Knowing how I normally go around them and paying attention to what I was doing today really made a difference. I found myself going around them faster and easier than before. Quite an achievement for me cos corners do scare me silly for some stupid reason!!


Try doing the countersteering thing and leaning, you'll see using the two techniques together is really quite useful.

See the 'corners scare me silly' comment above! LOL.

While I've still got the original factory GN front tyre on the bike, I'm not confident pushing it too much. I'd dearly love to try out a sports bike just to see the difference and to find out if it's my lack of confidence in the GN or if it really is my riding that's holding me back. (if it's anything like driving cars, I guess I just answered my own question - you should be able to drive even a bad car well if you're a good driver! Guess bikes aren't too different :o)

[McJim]

That's cool - it's a good way to change the direction of the bike - you've probably been countersteering a bit for the past 18 months anyway. I've been trying different cornering techniques in car parks like countersteering, shifting weight to the outside footpeg, hanging my arse off the inside of the bike and just crouching down really low as I turn to reduce the height of the centre of gravity (this is particularly effective coz I'm a fat bastard and my bike is particularly light!)

[gijoe1313]

Sweet as! Glad to hear you doing the reflective thinking and putting into practise thing! Before I even got my bike I was reading like a swotty geek (hmm wait, I still am!) and ordered two excellent books from Amazon.com

namely :

Proficient Motorcycling : The ultimate guide to riding well
More Proficient Motorcycling : Mastering the Ride

Both written by David L.Hough, even though its written for American riders (you just reverse some of the road ideas) I've found it invaluable as a noob in gaining understanding for the art of riding. I've been reading it constantly over and over (normally compulsory bedtime reading for me!)

The feeling I got once I understood and put into practise the art of countersteering was like light bulbs going off in my head. What I was reading was actually happening! Glad to hear you got that feeling and hope you keep following it up with more study, practise and reflection!

You go girl!

:rockon:

[Terminated]

Proficient Motorcycling : The ultimate guide to riding well
More Proficient Motorcycling : Mastering the Ride

:rockon:

Good reading.

[Ozzie]

Went on a ride the other week with a guy, he know's who he is, I can't remember, but something about an indonesian plane or something ;).....Terbang??????

His advise was, stick yer face in the miror closest to the corner.

If your goin round a left sweeper, and thinkin Faaaaarrrrrkkkkk, put your face in the left mirror, presto, all is good.

What i mean is, there are many techniques, the best is a combination.

Counter steer, try moving your ass off the seat, put your weight on the outside pegs, lean, it all helps, what makes a good rider, is using the combo, and knowing which combo is best at which time.

Just for clarification, I am studying, still trying to work it out, but got to admit, with the amount of windy roads in NZ, it is the absolute best class I have ever attended!

:Punk:

[judecatmad]

Gidday judecatmad, now as you know this comment is coming from a newbie, a total newbie, so accept it in that light.

Having read the chapter in Flick of the Wrist II, I looked at Pivot Steering and essentially it is one of 'feel' and 'balance' for me repeat for me. Going into a right hander: I push a little on the right handlebar/pull a little on the left handlebar, while at the same time keep a bit of pressure on my left foot against the peg.

Here's a little drill, sitting at the computer: put both palms against each side of the keyboard, and you feet firm against the chair legs. Gently push your right palm against the side of the keyboard, with pressure down on your left foot - visualise that sweeping left curve.

Heads Up and Enjoy

Hey thanks for that Buck, I'll be sure to give it a go next time I have the chance (ie. not plodding my way through rush hour traffic!). Prob be next weekend now, but now that I've tried one new thing, I'm on a roll :D

[BNZ]

good stuff!

i find it fun to corner one handed...really gets the lean going! went and saw my wrecker buddy...

Hahaha, looks like a whole story just there

[judecatmad]

Hahaha, looks like a whole story just there

LOL, no it's not the whole story.... :D

The wrecker part is to try and get parts for my hubby's bike cos we bought a cr@pped out old 1985 GN for a steal off trademe and we're trying to do it up as cheaply as possible (cos we're poor having just bought a house)!

I, of course, get the nice shiny 2005 bike to ride around on :D

[Lil_Byte]

I have only just heard of this counter steering thing as I am self taught. I have found I have been doing it to some degree naturally. Will play with it a bit to see what difference it makes.

Wish me luck :scooter:

[McJim]

I have only just heard of this counter steering thing as I am self taught. I have found I have been doing it to some degree naturally. Will play with it a bit to see what difference it makes.

Wish me luck :scooter:

Good luck..............or was that rhetoric?

[Jimmy B]

Hi JCM

Congratulations on your new found skill. As the some have mentioned you probably have been countersteering for some time otherwise you would not be able to turn effectivley at a reasonable speed. In my mind its one of the most valuable skills to conciously control because it has the potential to get you out of the poo and quickly.

I have been away from riding for 5 years and am just getting back into it so I went on a riding course at the weekend, slow speed skills, cones, figure of eight etc and .... countersteering. The instructor recommended that you find a suitable space a couple of hundred meters long and practice, good advice that.

Goodo

JB

[judecatmad]

I have only just heard of this counter steering thing as I am self taught. I have found I have been doing it to some degree naturally. Will play with it a bit to see what difference it makes.

Wish me luck :scooter:

Good luck :D

[apteryx_haasti]

Hey JCM -

I am too lazy to do a search myself. Were there any countersteering threads on here that you found particularly helpful that you could paste the link in?

Yep, feeling pretty lazy today. Gotta go stir my chilli now.

[judecatmad]

Hey JCM -

I am too lazy to do a search myself. Were there any countersteering threads on here that you found particularly helpful that you could paste the link in?

Yep, feeling pretty lazy today. Gotta go stir my chilli now.

Sorry A_H - not been doing online research, was reading a book called 'The Biker's Bible' by Graham Allardice which was given to me by Holeshot Suzuki in Auckland when we bought the GN from them. I can lend it to you if you like....


Hey thanks for that Buck, I'll be sure to give it a go next time I have the chance (ie. not plodding my way through rush hour traffic!). Prob be next weekend now, but now that I've tried one new thing, I'm on a roll :D

OK, gave pivot steering a bit of a go tonight and I can see that there's definitely a place for that too! Left peg is a bit munted from hubby's off about 2 weeks after we got the bike (**sigh**), and I'm still waiting for the new one to go back on......so will probably leave it a bit longer before I give it a proper try :) But was really happy to be trying something else new!

Got the 6R test tomorrow lunch time - will let you all know how it goes :D

[sunhuntin]

cat......i shocked myself this morning..nearly stuffed my corner when i realised!!
by the pak n slave here, is a rather nice corner, i usually come out the other end doing at least 60, sometimes faster [shh] anyways...i was going into this morning...when i suddenly realised i was counter steering with my foot, and yes it does work!!! LOL. ill be trying it again tomorrow

edit...yes, that book is awesome...a great read!

[apteryx_haasti]

was reading a book called 'The Biker's Bible' by Graham Allardice

Whaddya know! I have that book. Better have a look at it, aye?

Big ups for the test tomorrow. You'll be fine.

Cheers,

A_H

[Lord Derosso]

LOL, no it's not the whole story.... :D

I, of course, get the nice shiny 2005 bike to ride around on :D

Please dont tell me you actually let your cat sleep on your bike seat ??!!
I had a running war with my kitty for weeks because she got pissed off with me banning her from sleeping on my nice new, and warm, DVD player. So she decided she was going to sleep on my bike at night and use my seat and tank as her cat blanket. In the end I had to make up cardboard inserts to cover the tank etc before covering the bike and then she worked out how to sleep in the hollow's caused by the bike cover. Luckily it was a fad and shes back inside on a ledge on my portable warerobe.

I am not familar with this counterbalancing term but I have always found I can corner easier by transferring the weight to the outside of my handlebars, whilst riding in city traffic I place my hands on the inside and this gives me more control. Of course I am referring to a sports tourer set up. With the cruisers I have owned I think the foot trick was more naturally effected. At the end of the day having faith in your rubber is step number 1, and you need to ride within this expectation.

Anything that makes new riders more comfortable and confident is great but never forget that its often the unexpected lurking around the corner which causes the problems so keep your speed down so you can cope with these events which will happen sooner or later. Cheers and say hi to Puss for me.

[judecatmad]

Please dont tell me you actually let your cat sleep on your bike seat ??!!

No, she was just investigating it the weekend we bought it. Once she heard the noise it made, she wasn't so keen on going anywhere near it! LOL. Wouldn't be a problem if she did tho, she's not into clawing stuff.


Cheers and say hi to Puss for me.

Done :D (said 'hi' to the other 3 too so they didn't feel left out :D)

[Lord Derosso]

She sure is beauiful. I have a TShell lady (bossy in her old age) Shes just in the picture on my profile picture. Should take one with her on the handlebars and in a leather cap... remember Ruffish? Sad day when him and owners got killed up Taranaki way years ago.

I am actually very interested in what this thread is about. I learnt by trail riding back in the early 70's and have always leaned into corners and I also use my knees to shift weight around as I slide into corners like you see racers doing. I dont hang off the bike as I would consider that a last resort for overspeeding into a corner, but do provide more information on getting around some of those extreme Taka corners as I have been more of a crusier than a protential bruiser.

[sunhuntin]

think you mean rastus. :sunny:
one of my 3 cats sleeps on the bike, but i dont have a clue which one! LOL. often come out and find cat hair all over the tank. my girl often gets up there in the summer when the bikes been sitting for a bit...warm seat.

[Macktheknife]

I tried the countersteering thing today...and whaddya know, it works, it really works! :shit: LOL

I was somewhat skeptical when I read up about it during the week, and somewhat nervous about giving it a go (corners and me don't really get along that well), but woo hoo! A new and easier way of going around corners!!

OK, that's me over and done with :D Make fun of me at your leisure! :bleh:

Hey JCM, good for you for trying it out.
It takes a lot of the work out of riding when you get some good technique happening. You might also consider signing up for the mentoring program on KB as there are heaps of skilled riders who can help out and teach you guys some good habits early.
Keep up the good work
Mack

[judecatmad]

Hey JCM, good for you for trying it out.
It takes a lot of the work out of riding when you get some good technique happening. You might also consider signing up for the mentoring program on KB as there are heaps of skilled riders who can help out and teach you guys some good habits early.
Keep up the good work
Mack

I wondered about the mentor thing but I couldn't figure out how to register my interest and I felt like a d!ck asking, cos there's been so much explanation around the site about how to request a mentor :o

[McJim]

I wondered about the mentor thing but I couldn't figure out how to register my interest and I felt like a d!ck asking, cos there's been so much explanation around the site about how to request a mentor :o

You live in Upper Hutt? I will go and look up the Mentor List and find the one nearest you.

[McJim]

Okay

riffer seems to be the only Mentor in Upper Hutt.

Jim2 and Uncle B are in Lower Hutt - I'm from Scotland so I've no idea where these places are or how far apart they are.

Now all you need to do is send a Private Message to riffer and ask if he'll Mentor you - I did this with M1CRO coz he's closest to where I live. Learnt loads from him already and that was just in one day.

[Macktheknife]

I wondered about the mentor thing but I couldn't figure out how to register my interest and I felt like a d!ck asking, cos there's been so much explanation around the site about how to request a mentor :o

Hey JCM,
You could try contacting Riffer, UncleB or Jim2 for some tips and time for mentoring. They are all in your general neck of the woods I think.
Never be be worried about making a dick of yourself, I do it all the time! lol
Besides which you really would feel a dick if you had an accident or damaged your bike/self because you were too embarrased to ask a question huh?
We all started out knowing next to nothing and had loads of help on the way, thats why motorcycling has a real spirit of community about it.
(edit: Well done Mcjim, just saw your post!)
Enjoy
Mack