Omg.....!

[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!

[Terminated]

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

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!

[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

[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....

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

[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

[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

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

Good luck

[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

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

[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....

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

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.