Counter steering vs Body steering

[babyB]

i been surfin the net and found an artical on counter v body..makes interesting reading, especally when they designed a bike ( a Kawa zx6r) with 2 sets of handlebars ..1 normal set and the other set solid mounted to the frame so they wernt connected and didnt rotate the forks....to test the theory of counter steering, body shifting, peg weighting and the effects.......

http://www.vf750fd.com/blurbs/countercode.html

[Coldkiwi]

Interesting article! I've made myself learn to countersteer deliberately after having heard my instructors story of avoiding a muffler in his line on the motorway. Its really amazing how easy and fast it is. It also works very nicely under a touch of brakes through the tairua esses!!!

[wkid_one]

If you read any motorcycle book - it is actually impossible to steer a bike without counter steering at any speeds over about 20kph.  By pressing the inside handlebar away from the corner you are inducing the bike to lean toward the corner hence creating turn.  You have been countersteering all this time without actually knowing it.

This is why we crash on push bikes when we first learn to ride, as we expect to turn towards the corner, where in actually fact we need to countersteer on push bikes also.

Read Keith Code's Twist of the Wrist - he explains it very well.  Counter steering is a natural way to steer, in fact if you tried to steer conventionally, you would crash the bike something wicked!

 

[babyB]

so true....

i wish they put a photo of the ZX6R on the site....would have loved to seen the set up mind you i would have liked to have seen it in action (could have been comicaltoo.lol)

[Kwaka-Kid]

i fully agree with wkid_one... ive been doin git all this time? well when i first got my full bike licence a few years back (or 1.5 :P) and rode the gs1000, i was used to my 250 single where all idid was lean.. an d yes obviously minor unnoticable natural counter-steer... jumped onto the GS1000 and had great difficulty back then with my puny white arms and only like 60kg of weight to get the bike to corner properly... infact nearly went into a gutter.. came so close @ INCREDIBLY low speed for the corner.. untill my old man explained it and i read TOTW.. and started purposly countersteering.. which forced the bike to lean for me.. thought it was great.. but u cant just expect to stay upright and countersteer as i found out along the way.. still gotta throw body @ it to make the corner work... and yeah.. on the GS i still do major countersteer to start pushing the bike down.. whereas on my GPZ750 (which i just put back on hte road hte other day) its totally different i find.. i dont try.. i just like. start leaning and its very very slow but smooth and nice sorta lean/cornering.. i love it

[What?]

Interesting - there has been much debate in a number of bike mags in the last few years about this subject, particularly Two Wheels; counter steering versus weighting pegs etc etc. It is a crap debate! the only difference between steerring methods is your consciousness, i.e. what you are aware of doing. What ever you do on the bike ultimately affects the bike in the same way. It is just that some methods require less effort for the same result.

(Keith Code may not be God, but he must be God's right-hand man)

[babyB]

Its the thought that counts

Turn your thoughts and idears into motion

if your ideas match up with the road and the bike - how the bike works, the turn and its construction, your estimated speed, how much braking is requied, gear changing etc - youll probably have a good turn...   

Then what about comfort and stability http://www.cornering.com/us/keiths_c...tability.shtml

Keith Code the formost motorcycle riding instructer in the world and founder of the California superbike school

[Marmoot]

Countersteering...hmm....this topic always reminds me of a day when I rode through Waingaro (SH22) from Puke to Ngaruawahia on a GN125. Totally funny, dude. A loaner from a bike dealer. heehehe
After the ride the screws underneath the footpeg was only half of the original size. Now, THAT is what I call a fun ride.

[SPman]

Hey BabyB, this photo was on the site....

[SPman]

And this

[babyB]

thanks for that SP

Dose this count as body steering????????

 

[bluninja]

So is that a hardtail or soft tail??

Anyways, whilst countersteering is what makes the bike turn I do think that body position and bodyweight are important too. Try countersteering into a bend whilst leaning the 'wrong' way and you'll see what I mean.

TTFN

[Kwaka-Kid]

done that/do that heaps. its fun, thats how i nearly lost hte front of my 400 coming home in wet.. just pushing bike down and kinda lening other way

and i do it heaps in streight lines on motorways.. i just wobble the bars side to side rapidly feeling how twithy the bike will slap from side to side.. and in a way u cud say i mleaning hte wrong way, or not at all... its all fun and games

[wkid_one]

Try pulling a wheelie - crank the bar to one side hard - and then touch the rear brake to drop the front......nice feeling

[Kwaka-Kid]

okay! right after someone gives me a bike powerful enough to pull a wheelie @ speed without making the clutch smell like mums cooking :P

and all of you get ur grubby mits off that bike! im gunna marry it!