| This is part 4 of the Defensive riding article series. It | | | | direction you want to turn. Counter steering is a very |
| discusses counter steering, probably the most difficult | | | | fast and effective way to do that. You probably |
| topic in motorcycling. As far as I can tell, this | | | | know from experience what I mean. If you want to |
| phenomenon does exist, and in fact it is a pretty | | | | test this and think it through, do not do it on the |
| obvious one. Also it regularly happens that some | | | | road. Go to an empty parking place where you have |
| people will start challenging this phenomenon, claiming | | | | plenty of room and nobody around. Now, drive |
| that it does not exist. Countless threads on forums | | | | forward 20 MPH or so, make sure you have room to |
| deal with this, and many of those threads explain it | | | | turn left, make a small fast push from the handlebars |
| wrong. | | | | to the right, just an inch or two. Yes , at the |
| Anyone who has ridden a bicycle very fast and has | | | | opposite direction of the turn. See how your bike |
| turned tight, has used counter steering. Bicycles need | | | | reacts to this. Yes, it will make a sharp fast lean to |
| faster speed to notice the effect because of their | | | | the left, and you can initiate the turn itself. Of course |
| lighter weight. | | | | it does not mean that you will push and push the |
| Now explaining how and why a motorcycle turns is a | | | | bars to the right forever, just momentarily make a |
| bit difficult because it deals with many kind of forces | | | | small fast push to the right, and then let the bike turn |
| and formulas. Also the round profile of the tire has to | | | | itself to the left. |
| do with it. When the wheels are turning, they create | | | | The faster you go, the harder it is to counter steer, |
| a gyroscopic effect that tries to keep the | | | | because if speed increases, so does the bikes |
| motorcycle upwards and going forward. The faster | | | | willingness to stay up and go straight forward. |
| you go, the harder the motorcycle wants to stay up | | | | Explaining counter steering with words is somewhat |
| and go straight forward. When approaching a turn, | | | | frustrating, you really must go to a safe empty place |
| you have to somehow upset this situation and make | | | | and try it out yourself. You have been doing it |
| the motorcycle want to turn. | | | | unconsciously all the time, you maybe just have not |
| You have to somehow make the bike lean to the | | | | thought about it. |