Motorcycle Counter-steering question?

Question

When you counter-steer a motorcycle down a road with, for instance, a 30 degree right turn, is it necessary only to push on the right handle or must you push on the right handled and deliberately through your weight on a right lean?

I've read articles online that say just "push right, go right, push left, go left" and others that say "push right, lean right, go right, push left, lean left, go left".

Thanks!

Answer 1

The wheels on your bike are large gyroscopes.  When you press forward on the left handlebar, the bike will lean to the left, moving it to the left as well.  This only happens when the gyroscopic effect is enough, usually faster than 15-20 mph.  Slower than that, you have to turn the bars in the direction you want to go.  When I say "press" on the handlebar, just put a little forward pressure.  Don't actually turn it any appreciable amount.

Try this - going in a straight line, press forward on the left bar and you will turn left, and vice versa.  Practice this to get the feel of it.  You won't have to lean.  Stay with the bike as it leans.  Don't try to stay upright.  As you get experience at this, you won't even notice you are doing anything.  It will be second nature to you.

Happy riding.

Answer 2

When they say "push" , they mean "push down".  When you push down on the right, you do lean right and turn right.  If you were riding "no hands" (don't try this) you would just lean to turn.  Pushing down just encourages this leaning

Answer 3

I gave a lot of these answers a thumbs down...  but the vegies never get it..LOL..

when you push the right handle bar forward the bike leans to the right & turns right,,  this happens any time you need to lean the bike to turn(really slow speed the bike remains basically upright). both articles you read were right..  they just explained it differently..

One other point to steering is that if you slow down in a corner the lean becomes greater..  & as you speed up the lean becomes less..

the results of all this stuff going on..  you countersteer into a corner whilst still slowing down..  the bike will turn quicker than anticipated & you then have to correct this by turning into the corner( or speeding up).

which means you pull on the right bar( push on the left) to make the bike turn less to the right..(stand it back up again)..  

this is also what you do as you come out of the corner...  turn in to make the bike stand back upright... or accelerate to cause the same thing..(gyroscopic effect )..

WHY YOU NEED TO KNOW THIS...

this is the important bit...  when a car slams on his brakes in front of you...  you need to turn towards him.. & cause the bike to lean away from the car, so that you steer away from the car...

this will come automatically after awhile "even in panic stops" you will do it without thinking  .  & it will save your life..  they will give you lots of other tips on the MSF as well... so pay attention...

Answer 4

I always thought the whole "push" thing was usually described very confusingly. What's important first is that you don't turn the handlebars (except at very low speeds, like parking lots). What you want to do is lean the bike in the direction you want to turn, and the gyroscopic force of the wheels turns the bike.

I own a sportbike, which weighs very little for a motorcycle. To turn it all I need to do is push down a bit on the handlebar... push right go right. I don't lean myself as far as I'm tilting the bike. With a much heavier bike, like a touring type, you will probably have to lean more in order to get the bike to tilt sufficiently. Of course, if you're on a touring bike, you won't be turning nearly as tightly as a sportbike can...

Answer 5

This subject only causes confusion.  I -KNOW- what countersteering is, and these answers even confuse ME.

Look, suppose you're riding a bicycle.  You are leaning forward, putting some of your weight on the handlebars.  Now suppose you want to turn right.  You lean your body to the right, and in doing so, you shift a little more weight onto the right handlebar.  And bingo, the bike turns to the right.

Now think about that.  You were pushing the right handlebar to go right. You were pushing the handlebars to the left to go right!  THAT's countersteering.

It's no more complicated than that.  If you are getting the bike to steer where you want it to go, you are doing it right.  As Yoda said, there is no think, only do.  8^)

Answer 6

I have never seen so much controversy over something that we all do every time we ride. If only one of us is correct, why aren't there more crashes? I think that just shows that this becomes so second-nature to all of us that we don;t really realize exactly what we are doing.

To add just a couple notes to what the others have said, please remember a few things. DO NOT rely too heavily on leaning, because that takes your body out of alignment with the tires, and therefore places the downward force of the tires away from the optimal angle with the road. Instead, try to keep your body aligned with the bike so the tires will be applying a smooth contact with the road surface (and using the tread rather than the sidewall). ALSO, think of when you are driving a car in a high-speed turn; you apply gently and slight force to the steering wheel. The same is true when steering the bike- gentle and slight. AND...AND...AND... driving a motorcycle is NOT like riding a bicycle. A motorcycle can weigh 500-1000 pounds, but a bicycle weighs 15-20 pounds. On a bicycle your body is the main mass of weight, therefore you rely more on leaning your body to steer a bicycle. So forget you ever rode a bicycle and you'll be ahead of the game.

AND MOST IMPORTANT!!!! Ask your nstructor all these questions when you take the course.

Happy trails, and ride safe!

Answer 7

You have it wrong. At speed you push right to go left. That is why it is called counter steer. Throwing your weight into the turn lowers the center of gravity and puts weight where it is needed for lean angles.

Answer 8

Counter steering is a concept, and takes practice.

If the bike is heavier than you, physically leaning (like with a bicycle) has little effect.

On a small bike, the counter steering come more naturally, but being conscious of it will make a better rider of you.

Definitely do the MSF course, it is a great help.

You will turn into the turn, once you are down in the lean, to control it, and it is most common to over control here, so hold your line.  The power of the bike can be used to counter the lean also.  I usually go low, and power through, but like the rest, that takes practice too.

Good luck, and see you out there!

Answer 9

Hopefully the first few responders are now sitting in a car park re-learning how to counter-steer.

On most bikes the position you assume to push on the handle bar (and you are pushing away from you not down, the push is gentle and progressive and is only slight) is with your forearm parallel with the road, this naturally pulls your shoulder and chest over the same side. The lean will follow the counter-steering, as you get faster/more experienced you can also bring increased shifting of body position into the equation – this comes down to positioning the balls of your feet on the pegs and moving a buttock off the saddle to the inside of the corner; at road speeds you will not need to be doing anything extreme like getting your knee down.

All this sounds rather a lot to take in while concentrating on other things, in reality it is not so daunting, and comes naturally.

Answer 10

Do yourself a favour, ignore all the answers and go sign up for a MSF course. In the meantime stay off your bike.

At speed you do in fact push right (the motorcycle will lean right) and turn right, the harder you push on the right the greater the lean angle to the right and the tighter the turn. For a left turn you push on the left, bike leans left, turns left.

At very slow speeds (below 10mph or so) you ignore countersteering and simply turn the wheel in the direction you want to go, considerably more skill is required to handle a bike at low speed than riding straight and fast.

Answer 11

can you ride bycicle? a mptorcycle is the same only a lot faster.And if ya gotta learn stay off one it should come natural!

Answer 12

The counter-steering thing is, to me, a little funky to describe. To me, what it is is sort of a way to push the motorcycle off balance so it starts tipping over, and then you can use your weight to lean into the turn. So, in short, I would not deliberately lean to initiate the turn, but I also would not solely push on the handlebar as the only means of turning. Instead, I would push on the bar to get the bike to start tilting, then lean through the turn using my body weight.