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31 Oct 2008
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Semantics
Lets just day you,ve overcooked it coming into a bend way too fast,you,re understeering and about to head onto the otherside of the road into oncoming traffic.
Most people don,t use all the tire and grip available too them and as I understand it,s this scenario that kills a lot of bikers.Now if you know how to tweak those bars and get the bike right over using all the tire 9 times out of 10 you,ll come out of it none the worse for wear!
As far as I,m concerned countersteering is not just for racers,it,ll save your life and get rid of your chicken strips.
Al theturtleshead
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31 Oct 2008
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And that answers my question, does it?
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31 Oct 2008
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Quote:
Originally Posted by albert crutcher
Lets just day you,ve overcooked it coming into a bend way too fast,you,re understeering and about to head onto the otherside of the road into oncoming traffic.
Most people don,t use all the tire and grip available too them and as I understand it,s this scenario that kills a lot of bikers.Now if you know how to tweak those bars and get the bike right over using all the tire 9 times out of 10 you,ll come out of it none the worse for wear!
As far as I,m concerned countersteering is not just for racers,it,ll save your life and get rid of your chicken strips.
Al theturtleshead
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I did a bikesafe course run by the Met Police andwas told by a traffic investigator that most bike crashes not involving other vehicles, happen when a rider doesn't make it around a corner that on investigation, could have been ridden at often twice the speed of the crashing vehicle. When we panic, we tense up an stare at the object we don't want to hit / side of the road we don't want to go. This is why we see so many bunches of flowers on isolated oak trees on the outside of a bends.
I had it happen to me once; overcooked going into a corner and thought I was ****ed; thought, oh **** it, lets try the look round the corner, push on the bar thing and easily made the corner. Most of the time your bike is way more capable than you, it's panic that kills us.
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31 Oct 2008
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Duh for me- I had the wrong word in one sentence in earlier post ,now corrected.
Nice pictures of all the racers, Rossi, Hayden et al- and yes they were all to a man applying the physics and as some would have it "countersteering" , a sensation only they could experience sitting on the bike and setting up for the corner .But being the experienced riders they are they did not have to think about it one microsecond.
This is why the inexperienced riders on streetbikes get into problems , they have not gotten to the point of where they can do the reaction without thinking about it.It has to be an instant reflex.I personally make no claim to being anywhere near
as skilled as Rossi et al. Nor I did suggest it (c'steering) was only for racers, they were just an example of riders who have learned how to manage a motorcycle the best way. These techniques for motorcycle control are for every rider.
The thing for all new riders to do is practice fast directional changes by getting onto an empty road and doing zig zags, get the feel for how it works when you push or pull on one side of the bar.And as Albert suggests learn to lean to the maximum available to get thru corners quicker than at the slow speeds that might previously have scared you . By all means carry on the discussion about steering.
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31 Oct 2008
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Bicycle Wheels
Dear OnlyMark, you seem to be very doubtful. Please take a bicycle wheel to feel the force! You need to hold a wheel out infront of you, each hand holding an axle end--as if you had knelt down infront of the bike and taken the wheel out. Is this clear? Now remove one hand, balancing the wheel on the other hand. Spin the wheel up quite fast. hole the axle ends in each hand again. NOW------try to turn the wheel as if to turn right and the "bike" will throw itself down to the left. This is counter steering. Don't try it on a small wheeled scooter! It'll lay itself on it's side and flip over the front wheel! Hope this helps, Linzi.
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1 Nov 2008
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No
Quote:
Originally Posted by onlyMark
I may be the only one here who doesn't get this at all.
I've been going round corners for years and the only time I fell off was when the chain came off and wrapped itself round the back wheel.
So let me get this straight.
Counter steering - to common sense this means to go right you steer to the left.
That is you turn your front wheel to face the opposite direction to that which you want to go.
Tommy said, via How stuff works, "That's because motorcycle riders must push the handlebars to the left to make the vehicle turn right and vice versa"
So - you pull with your left hand and push with your right hand, however gently, the front wheel changes direction from the centre position.
It was pointing straight ahead at the twelve o'clock position, now it is pointing at 11 o'clock - and you turn right.
Yeah?
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No I wasn,t answering you,re question.Secondly if you never fall off you cant be trying very hard!!!
Al theturtleshead
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1 Nov 2008
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Try this...
As you approach the corner, keep your weight bias on the inside bar, lean the bike over as you normally would and gently push forward (feels like forward and down) on the inside bar. Can't think of a simpler way to explain it. Probably subconciously doing anyway.
You should be able to circle roundabouts with one hand pushing on the inside bar leaving the other hand free to flip the bird to the cager trying to cut you up
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1 Nov 2008
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what i have taken away from this...
...is that you sub consciously move the handle bar in the way mentioned earlier, push left to turn left etc. But being more aware of it and adding a little bit more tension to your right arm and slacking your left makes for a better right turn, couple that with digging your right knee in to the tank , which raisers your centre of gravity higher, gives extra control. I have been using this technique over the past few days and have noticed a real clean up with my corner taking, and feel generally more confident with taking sharper bends at a little higher pace. As a 'green' rider its easy to get your CBT and piss off with out knowing jack about bikes. Weight distribution is a key factor, and one could argue that it is this 'shifting of balance' that makes biking such a memorable experience, sorry to repeat but it allows you to be a fluid part of the movements of the machine. It will be interesting to see how the topics covered are effected by luggage cases and the like, over uneven ground....hmmmm sounds like my sunday afternoon is gonna be interesting!
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