The biggest problem some people have about learning Counter Steering is grasping the concept of “turn right to go left” So here is a better way to learn counter steering a motorcycle:
Counter-steering, leaning, and using massive throttle to steer the motorcycle from the rear is currently the quickest combined technique to change direction of a motorcycle. Of course on the street most people will not do the third part, so Counter-steering and leaning together will always change the direction of the bike faster than Counter-steering by itself (on the street). On the track, the best racers use all three combined. It doesn’t matter if you’re riding a Harley or a cutting edge Sportsbike, I strongly recommend practicing both together.
2009 Big Dog k9 motorcycle
Counter Steering A Motorcycle
The physics behind why counter-steering (push steering) works is because we are creating a greater angle (of instability) between the center line of the bike and the imaginary perpendicular (straight) line from one grip to the other on the handlebars. When we ride straight down the road, there is a 90 degree angle between the center line of the bike and the handlebars, but when we push steer, the front wheel angle goes from being an extension of that center line, and instead becomes an obtuse angle in the direction we pushed, this creates an instability or lack of support in the direction we pushed, so naturally the bike wants to fall in the direction that no longer has support. Think of a front wheel turned, as removing an imaginary support leg in the direction we push. The greater the distance the grip is from the gas tank (or center line), the quicker the bike will fall towards that grip. The caveat to this is, when the bike is traveling at very slow speeds counter-steering will no longer work as expected, but instead the bike will go in the direction we steer the handlebars, usually under 20 mph.
If you’d like to learn more about counter steering visit Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
