Countersteer
 

Ever had that feeling that the bike won't drop into a corner and wants to go straight on, push down on the bar one the side that you want the bike to turn to, I.e. If you want to turn left push down on the left grip, it's forces you to countersteer, the bike will drop straight in and you'll go round like your on rails, have a try next time you're out, we always countersteer at speeds above 15mph it's just that we don't realise we're doing it, also if you go into a corner and feel you're going too fast, don't panic, push down hard and crank her over, she will go round! 😄

I'd like to make one small correction if I may:

Instead of pushing DOWN, press that bar FORWARD. Make your arm movements parallel to the ground and you'll find that keeping that habit allows for more effective steering.

Agreed, pushing forward is what your trying to achieve, I kept away from describing it in that way just in case a very inexperienced rider did so and gave it a hard "shove" forward with disastrous results 😄, pushing downward still works but excerpts a more controlled forward motion, but yes a slight forward movement of the bar causes the countersteer.

Maybe you haven't seen too many Brand Noobians. They're so scared and tense on the bike that "shoving" isn't likely to be a problem, usually it's the opposite; they're timid and often fight their steering. Experienced riders do it too; put unwanted opposite input into the other bar when attempting to steer. Poor, ineffective steering is the #1 reason for single vehicle accidents in motorcycling. Steering is not a skill to be trifled with.

That's true, I've done it myself!, about 20 years ago I took a VTR1000 out on a test ride, approached an road island a bit fast and all of a sudden it won't lean!, panic!, I remember an old triumph rider telling me about countersteer, push the bar, it drops straight in, so yes I was basically fighting the steering up until that point, did a similar thing a few years ago on the infamous snake pass in the U.K. On my CBR900 Fireblade , too fast into a corner, drifting onto the wrong side of the road, thought I either force it down here or I'm going straight into that oncoming car, wrestled it down to the point where I thought it would lowside, of course it didn't, it's just having the confidence to haul it over, a less experienced rider would have panicked and stood it up, that said a more experienced rider wouldn't have got himself in that position in the first place ! 😄

Keith code covers this all very well in 'Twist Of The Wrist'. You can get it as a book, or watch it on youtube.

Handy for noobs, as it explains a lot of the physics of riding a motorcycle with practical demonstrations that are easy to understand.

Agreed!

I'd say target fixation becomes an issue at this point as well. The more you become fixated, the less countersteer/lean you apply, and the less lean applied, the more likely you head towards the hazard. I had a moment a year or two ago where I was going too fast into a bend on a country road, I was inadvertently keeping the bike somewhat straight whilst trying to brake hard. Fortunately I realised just how fixated I had become and droped my shoulder to lean it in. I got away with it that time but it definitely served as a timely reminder about these things.

this is very good info for new riders. its NOT instinctive to new people unless you already new it. Even then its scary. you KNOW you need to, but its scary to do it.

I will add that the best riding schools will also tell you to pull up on the other bar. The explaination is that if you push away, you are pushing yourself back onto the center or high side of the bike, when you need your head and shoulders on the low side of it. Pulling up on the outer alleviates some or all of this.

explained on the Cailfornia Superbike School, UK edition in one of the shows.

That's what I was going to say :). Also, I'm a coach with eh California Superbike School and have worked with Keith Code for the past 15 years so if you have any further questions about the school or any of the techniques we teach then please, fire away :)!!

Misti

Enjoyed watching and learning a few things from Keith Code Vids on youtube over the winter.