Nice. This made me understand how counter steering really works. I've watched other videos but I still can't understand until I found this. I'll practice that on the mini race track.
I've been riding for many years, but fairly slow on dirt, gravel, mud, etc. But I started riding with a group much faster on pavement. I'd never heard of counter steering, I used direct steering at about 45 on a sweeping left turn and rode off to the right off the road, direct steering. I've recovered from the accident and will try this technique in a parking lot. Thanks for the very simple explanation. Jim
did exactly the same thing on my first street bike, a Honda CL175 back in 1978. Was fine riding around town and taking corners at 15 mph. The first sweeping 45mph right curve I came to I consciously steered into the turn, and the bike went right across the left lane with me nearly locking the brakes, and off the road on the shoulder. I was lucky there was no traffic coming the other way When I told my Harley co-workers what happened they all laughed at me and said COUNTER STEER!
Actually you learned countersteering the first moment you rode a bicycle and have practised that ever since. The only practical way to steer a two wheeled vehicle from walking speed and up, countersteer!
Couple of things: When you push the selected bar and the desired lean is achieved…. The rider stops pushing but maintains the existing pressure on the bar for the duration of the bend. After the initial push on the bar the front wheel doesn’t straighten, is steers into the bend without rider input. All the rider does is maintain pressure. Counter steering is the same for all bikes, sports, cruisers etc.
your words are confusing: pushing and pressure are the same thing think of it as if when you counter steer the pressure you are putting on the grip is translated to a giant invisible hand that is pushing on the side of your bike, leaning it over and forcing it to turn its the same as driving a car - you dont 'turn' the steering wheel at 70mph, you put a clockwise or CCW pressure on the wheel, the wheel pushes back against your hands, and you hold it all the way thru the turn... when you release the wheel the vehicle goes straight all by itself on a motorcycle its just in the opposite direction (counter)
@@kenwittlief255 Please don’t explain counter steering to me, I am well aware of what it is…. I’ve been doing it for 40+ years. The rider “pushes” the selected bar forward (push left grip to turn left, push right grip to turn right)and continues to increase the “push” until the desired lean is achieved. The rider then stops “pushing” and maintains a neutral pressure i.e. not “pushing” more but not easing pressure. The rider maintains this pressure for the duration of the bend. To straighten the bike he simply eases the pressure off and the bike stands up. What’s confusing?
@@softailfun your description is just fine. The mistake you are making is thinking you are MOVING the handlebars when you apply pressure to them (pushing the grip forward to any degree). Its a common misconception. When you are riding at speed you are looking where you want the motorcycle to go, you are not looking at the handlebars. At speed a motorcycle is self balancing. If you lock the throttle and take your hands off the grips it will stay vertical and keep going straight. You cant see it but what the front end and wheel are doing is making tiny corrections. If the bike is perturbed to the right by the wind, or a bump, or you shift your weight a bit, the handlebars turn (by themselves) to the right INTO the slight lean to the right, and the lean is canceled out. The handlebars return to center as the bike comes up straight. For people who really want to understand how countersteering works, when you put pressure on the right grip (PRESS RIGHT) you are upsetting that self balance. As soon as you apply any pressure, the front end wants to turn the handlebar against you, to the right, but you are impeding it, you are holding the bike off balance and it cant turn the handlebars as far to the right as it wants to, so the bike starts leaning and turning right (instead of going straight). But to be clear, the bike itself IS turning the handlebars to the right in a right curve, applying more pressure than YOU are. The harder you press, the more it presses back AND turns the handlebars to the right. Thats it - that is all countersteering is, intentionally disturbing the balance of the front end, so instead of going straight, it goes in a circle. The harder you disturb it (PRESS) the smaller the circle radius it will follow. But all these videos claiming the handlebars actually turn to the left when you push them, and the patch moves, and gyroscopes and rake and trail and rotational torque..... Its mis-leading because when you PRESS the right grip the bike does not go left a little bit - not at all - not 1 mm. It immediately starts drifting to the right. Riding a motorcycle is not like towing a long trailer with a truck, you do not have to move to the left to then swing around a curve or corner to the right. A motorcycle is incredibly precise, accurate and responsive. This is important because if you get your tires right up on the centerline, or the shoulder on the left side of the street, and press the right grip, the bike will move to the right instantly, and it will NOT cross the centerline or go off the shoulder. PRESS RIGHT - GO RIGHT (thats all there is to it). and for the record, Im not explaining counter steering to you, Im explaining it to everyone else. That chopper HD you have in your profile is raked out so far it does not represent the riding characteristics of a normal (stock) motorcycle.
@@kenwittlief255 So: Push right grip, go right Push left grip, go left. That’s all a rider really needs to know, but thanks for the book. Incidentally, that bike in the pic….. not mine. However, from experience on similar bikes counter steering works just fine.
@@kenwittlief255 Sorry, but I partly disagree. You push the right handlebar and the bike turns left. As a result it leans to the right. THEN you control the lean and the turn to the right.
Have my cbt booked in and have been watching vids how to rid ect for a good couple weeks this is the first iv heard and seen of counter steering and now i understand why new riders shouldnt get a 600 and this vid alone has made my decision for me. Very informative so glad i seen this Thanks :)
Now, let’s say you counter steer, for a long curve. You get your lean, and ride through the curve. Now, at the end of the turn/curve… do you counter steer? (Curve to the left, counter steer to the right… bike leans to the left… you allow the bike to ride the “lean” through the curve. While you’re leaned Left, do you again counter steer (to the Right), to straighten up?
how do you do slow sharp directional turns? whenever i do directional steering at slowspeeds to do the slow and sharp turns, it feels awkward for me and it feels like im turning little by little instead of a smooth and full sharp turn.
Hmm well once you make the turn with your handlebars you just leave them there. You don’t keep moving them. And the bike will continue turning in whatever direction the handlebars are. If you need a tighter turn. Turn the handlebars more and keep them in place. And then to help with balance, put more of your weight on the outside foot peg (opposite of the way you’re turning) and shift some of your body that way too. Only at slow speeds.
@@aaronperez8055 this and you actually have to lean the bike over. It’s scary to lean the bike over at low speeds because you really feel the weight but the more you lean the sharper the turn will be.
1. LOOK where you want the motorcycle to go. Look THRU the turn to the point where you will go straight again. KEEP you eyes on that exit spot. If you are turning 180° twist your shoulders and head around and look behind you where you will end up. If you look at the street infront of the tire, or you look at the handlebars or anywhere else you will drop the bike. It has to do with how your body balances itself with the fluid in your ears - keep your head UP and LOOK as if you aiming the bike with your eyeballs, and keep aiming all the way thru the turn. 2. sit up vertical in slow turns. Do NOT lean with the bike, let the bike lean under you as you turn but you remain perpendicular to the horizon 3. Use the friction zone in the turn, dont let the clutch out all the way. The amount of pull you allow from the engine to the back wheel will increase or decrease the radius of the turn. If you are having trouble holding the friction zone steady with a little throttle, try getting up to 15 mph and pull in the clutch and coast thru the turn, till you get the feel of the bike turning under you. 4. If you need to turn sharp from a stop just turn the handle bars halfway in the direction you want to go, and friction zone the clutch till the bike pulls and gets moving, then pick up your feet. If you turn the bars all the way and the bike leans too far, you wont have any turn left and you will have to give it more clutch and throttle to keep the bike from leaning further (falling into the turn) 5. No matter what, DONT BRAKE in a tight turn, the bike will fall over in the direction you are turning. Make sure your line is clear and commit all the way thru it. If you have to inch your way out of a tight spot there is no shame in dragging your feet at 1mph, or duck walking the bike to get it out of a tight spot. If you have to stop half way thru a turn, straighten the bike first then brake hard.
Thanks sir. Others youtuber video i don't understand. But your video A to Z explain. And one thing best important of (push handelbar on forward 😍) thanks again
you are applying motorcycle techniques to a bicycle that weights 10% of your body weight compared to a motorcycle that weighs more than twice your weight, with wheels and tires that are 30 to 40 lbs EACH get your mountain bike up to 40mph and try taking a sharp curve
@@kenwittlief255 Because nobody said it only applied in certain cases. I could be 90 lbs and riding a 100 lb bicycle or 400 pounds riding a 200 pound motorcycle.
As long as you are riding on a two wheeled vehicle bicycle or a Gold Wing, you countersteer from walking speed and up. There is no other practical way of steering a bike.
does everyone do counter steering or is it optional? i never knew that, is it possible to steer normal and is it on every bike like scooters supermoto etc..
After a certain speed, it is impossible to make a bike turn without counter-steering, no matter how much you body-steer or whatever. Everyone does it unconsciously.
@@ascension2789 Wrong! The bike would lean into the clockwise bend more. Think counter steering ffs. Push right (counter clockwise), lean right (which would be a clock wise bend).
@@softailfun my perspective was he was pushing the steering clockwise in the turn (lean left) then shifted to pushing counter clockwise (pushing right while leaning left) mates
@@ascension2789 You’re making no sense. This clockwise anti-clockwise by the original comment is all very misleading, but! A clockwise bend is leaning to the right, so if he applies anti-clockwise (pushes right grip forward) on his steering he will lean more into the right hand bend. Then you mention pushing right while leaning left! What the hell is all that about. If you’re leaning left your pushing left ffs! I’m presuming that you do in fact ride… and that you realise that a rider never actively steers into a bend.
A lot of people don’t know when there taking a a corner at mid speed let’s say 20mph, they’re actually counter steering automatically. They just don’t know it 😆
Once you learn about positive steering the Ninja 400 is so cool you get frost bite sitting on the bike. 🥷🥷 Positive steering will start at 15mph on any bike even on a push bike.
@@softailfun the people who teach it call it positive steering. When you understand the science behind it (I don’t) the teaching books state: The front wheel tilts left until its axis of spin lines up with the combined Torque acting on the front wheel: Torque T3 This makes the bike lean with Camber θ to the vertical. The initial action of pushing away on the handlebars and the resulting lean is known as 'Positive Steering' QED 😂 and you did ask.
If I would agree with you we would both be wrong! If you try riding a push bike you won’t get positive steering under 11 mph ( have just tried it) the bike will turn the way you are pushing. Over 11 mph your bike will turn the opposite way ie positive steering. ……..
This is all taught in the motorcycle safety course. This is good info, but only 40% of riders even have their motorcycle endorsement... Quite honestly half of the riders out there have no idea how to ride properly. Take it from me,. Muscle and skeleton recovery operations is what I do.
Nice. This made me understand how counter steering really works. I've watched other videos but I still can't understand until I found this. I'll practice that on the mini race track.
Until now, it's the best explaining video. In last year, i searched all TH-cam for that.
The best demonstration of counter steering in TH-cam!
thank you! doing it, i can see that it works but i never fully understood. this is exactly the explanation i needed during my MSF course process ❤
I've been riding for many years, but fairly slow on dirt, gravel, mud, etc. But I started riding with a group much faster on pavement. I'd never heard of counter steering, I used direct steering at about 45 on a sweeping left turn and rode off to the right off the road, direct steering. I've recovered from the accident and will try this technique in a parking lot. Thanks for the very simple explanation.
Jim
did exactly the same thing on my first street bike, a Honda CL175 back in 1978. Was fine riding around town and taking corners at 15 mph. The first sweeping 45mph right curve I came to I consciously steered into the turn, and the bike went right across the left lane with me nearly locking the brakes, and off the road on the shoulder.
I was lucky there was no traffic coming the other way
When I told my Harley co-workers what happened they all laughed at me and said COUNTER STEER!
Actually you learned countersteering the first moment you rode a bicycle and have practised that ever since. The only practical way to steer a two wheeled vehicle from walking speed and up, countersteer!
Couple of things:
When you push the selected bar and the desired lean is achieved…. The rider stops pushing but maintains the existing pressure on the bar for the duration of the bend.
After the initial push on the bar the front wheel doesn’t straighten, is steers into the bend without rider input. All the rider does is maintain pressure.
Counter steering is the same for all bikes, sports, cruisers etc.
your words are confusing: pushing and pressure are the same thing
think of it as if when you counter steer the pressure you are putting on the grip is translated to a giant invisible hand that is pushing on the side of your bike, leaning it over and forcing it to turn
its the same as driving a car - you dont 'turn' the steering wheel at 70mph, you put a clockwise or CCW pressure on the wheel, the wheel pushes back against your hands, and you hold it all the way thru the turn... when you release the wheel the vehicle goes straight all by itself
on a motorcycle its just in the opposite direction (counter)
@@kenwittlief255
Please don’t explain counter steering to me, I am well aware of what it is…. I’ve been doing it for 40+ years.
The rider “pushes” the selected bar forward (push left grip to turn left, push right grip to turn right)and continues to increase the “push” until the desired lean is achieved. The rider then stops “pushing” and maintains a neutral pressure i.e. not “pushing” more but not easing pressure. The rider maintains this pressure for the duration of the bend. To straighten the bike he simply eases the pressure off and the bike stands up. What’s confusing?
@@softailfun your description is just fine. The mistake you are making is thinking you are MOVING the handlebars when you apply pressure to them (pushing the grip forward to any degree). Its a common misconception.
When you are riding at speed you are looking where you want the motorcycle to go, you are not looking at the handlebars.
At speed a motorcycle is self balancing. If you lock the throttle and take your hands off the grips it will stay vertical and keep going straight. You cant see it but what the front end and wheel are doing is making tiny corrections. If the bike is perturbed to the right by the wind, or a bump, or you shift your weight a bit, the handlebars turn (by themselves) to the right INTO the slight lean to the right, and the lean is canceled out. The handlebars return to center as the bike comes up straight.
For people who really want to understand how countersteering works, when you put pressure on the right grip (PRESS RIGHT) you are upsetting that self balance. As soon as you apply any pressure, the front end wants to turn the handlebar against you, to the right, but you are impeding it, you are holding the bike off balance and it cant turn the handlebars as far to the right as it wants to, so the bike starts leaning and turning right (instead of going straight). But to be clear, the bike itself IS turning the handlebars to the right in a right curve, applying more pressure than YOU are. The harder you press, the more it presses back AND turns the handlebars to the right.
Thats it - that is all countersteering is, intentionally disturbing the balance of the front end, so instead of going straight, it goes in a circle. The harder you disturb it (PRESS) the smaller the circle radius it will follow.
But all these videos claiming the handlebars actually turn to the left when you push them, and the patch moves, and gyroscopes and rake and trail and rotational torque..... Its mis-leading because when you PRESS the right grip the bike does not go left a little bit - not at all - not 1 mm. It immediately starts drifting to the right. Riding a motorcycle is not like towing a long trailer with a truck, you do not have to move to the left to then swing around a curve or corner to the right. A motorcycle is incredibly precise, accurate and responsive. This is important because if you get your tires right up on the centerline, or the shoulder on the left side of the street, and press the right grip, the bike will move to the right instantly, and it will NOT cross the centerline or go off the shoulder.
PRESS RIGHT - GO RIGHT (thats all there is to it).
and for the record, Im not explaining counter steering to you, Im explaining it to everyone else. That chopper HD you have in your profile is raked out so far it does not represent the riding characteristics of a normal (stock) motorcycle.
@@kenwittlief255
So:
Push right grip, go right
Push left grip, go left.
That’s all a rider really needs to know, but thanks for the book. Incidentally, that bike in the pic….. not mine. However, from experience on similar bikes counter steering works just fine.
@@kenwittlief255 Sorry, but I partly disagree. You push the right handlebar and the bike turns left. As a result it leans to the right. THEN you control the lean and the turn to the right.
I've watched dozens of videos about counter steering yours was the only one that actually made understand how to do it thx man
Have my cbt booked in and have been watching vids how to rid ect for a good couple weeks this is the first iv heard and seen of counter steering and now i understand why new riders shouldnt get a 600 and this vid alone has made my decision for me.
Very informative so glad i seen this
Thanks :)
Hey, how did it go? Are you on the road yet? I'm a fellow newbie rider and loving it.
Simply explained, very understandable without being too complicated. Excellent video. Will you be making more videos?
This actually helped I’m looking at my first bike a ninja 400 and this was my biggest fear
Thank you this is life saving video. I really needed repeat demo on the handle bars in this exact way.
EXCELLENT visuals, at diff speeds!
Well explained. You would make a very good teacher.
Thank you. This was what I'm looking for. What would happen if I don't counter steer in high speeds.
So counter steer to initiate lean and then direct steer to follow thru ?
We was doing this back in the day as kids on bikes!!! Didn't know it was called counter steering 🤣
I thought the exact same thing when I started riding haha
Counter steering works very well at slow speeds too. Especially when you need to make a U-turn. Makes your turn radius much smaller.
This hurts my brain like turning the handle bar to the right makes you go left 😅
Now, let’s say you counter steer, for a long curve. You get your lean, and ride through the curve. Now, at the end of the turn/curve… do you counter steer?
(Curve to the left, counter steer to the right… bike leans to the left… you allow the bike to ride the “lean” through the curve. While you’re leaned Left, do you again counter steer (to the Right), to straighten up?
At the end of the turn you simply turn a litle harder into the turn and increase the speed. The bike will stand up.
how do you do slow sharp directional turns? whenever i do directional steering at slowspeeds to do the slow and sharp turns, it feels awkward for me and it feels like im turning little by little instead of a smooth and full sharp turn.
Hmm well once you make the turn with your handlebars you just leave them there. You don’t keep moving them. And the bike will continue turning in whatever direction the handlebars are. If you need a tighter turn. Turn the handlebars more and keep them in place. And then to help with balance, put more of your weight on the outside foot peg (opposite of the way you’re turning) and shift some of your body that way too. Only at slow speeds.
Clutch control, homie. Leave it at 50% until you complete the turn. You’re not gonna burn a wet clutch.
@@aaronperez8055 this and you actually have to lean the bike over. It’s scary to lean the bike over at low speeds because you really feel the weight but the more you lean the sharper the turn will be.
Add a little rear brake and keep it in the friction zone. MCRider has some good videos about low speed turns.
1. LOOK where you want the motorcycle to go. Look THRU the turn to the point where you will go straight again. KEEP you eyes on that exit spot. If you are turning 180° twist your shoulders and head around and look behind you where you will end up. If you look at the street infront of the tire, or you look at the handlebars or anywhere else you will drop the bike. It has to do with how your body balances itself with the fluid in your ears - keep your head UP and LOOK as if you aiming the bike with your eyeballs, and keep aiming all the way thru the turn.
2. sit up vertical in slow turns. Do NOT lean with the bike, let the bike lean under you as you turn but you remain perpendicular to the horizon
3. Use the friction zone in the turn, dont let the clutch out all the way. The amount of pull you allow from the engine to the back wheel will increase or decrease the radius of the turn. If you are having trouble holding the friction zone steady with a little throttle, try getting up to 15 mph and pull in the clutch and coast thru the turn, till you get the feel of the bike turning under you.
4. If you need to turn sharp from a stop just turn the handle bars halfway in the direction you want to go, and friction zone the clutch till the bike pulls and gets moving, then pick up your feet. If you turn the bars all the way and the bike leans too far, you wont have any turn left and you will have to give it more clutch and throttle to keep the bike from leaning further (falling into the turn)
5. No matter what, DONT BRAKE in a tight turn, the bike will fall over in the direction you are turning. Make sure your line is clear and commit all the way thru it. If you have to inch your way out of a tight spot there is no shame in dragging your feet at 1mph, or duck walking the bike to get it out of a tight spot. If you have to stop half way thru a turn, straighten the bike first then brake hard.
Thanks sir. Others youtuber video i don't understand. But your video A to Z explain. And one thing best important of (push handelbar on forward 😍) thanks again
This is a great video bro. well done
How do you like the smoked windscreen? Trying to decide between smoked for looks or clear for functionality.
I recommend go for looks. You rarely ever actually look through the windscreen. Even in full tuck on a 400 you’re still too upright to really use it.
I tried this riding my MTB down a dirt trail doing just over 20 and direct steering still seems to work better. What am I doing wrong?
you are applying motorcycle techniques to a bicycle that weights 10% of your body weight
compared to a motorcycle that weighs more than twice your weight, with wheels and tires that are 30 to 40 lbs EACH
get your mountain bike up to 40mph and try taking a sharp curve
@@kenwittlief255 Because nobody said it only applied in certain cases. I could be 90 lbs and riding a 100 lb bicycle or 400 pounds riding a 200 pound motorcycle.
As long as you are riding on a two wheeled vehicle bicycle or a Gold Wing, you countersteer from walking speed and up. There is no other practical way of steering a bike.
does everyone do counter steering or is it optional? i never knew that, is it possible to steer normal and is it on every bike like scooters supermoto etc..
Yes it works on every bike. No it’s not optional, counter steering is how you steer a bike…… even if some riders don’t realise that is how they steer.
After a certain speed, it is impossible to make a bike turn without counter-steering, no matter how much you body-steer or whatever. Everyone does it unconsciously.
You countersteer any bicycle or motor bike from walking speed and up.
So what would happen if I’m leaning on a turn going clockwise then push the steering counter clockwise
The bike will lean into your turn even more!
I think the opposing force will shift the bike to stand straight, and then lean towards the other way
@@ascension2789
Wrong! The bike would lean into the clockwise bend more. Think counter steering ffs. Push right (counter clockwise), lean right (which would be a clock wise bend).
@@softailfun my perspective was he was pushing the steering clockwise in the turn (lean left) then shifted to pushing counter clockwise (pushing right while leaning left) mates
@@ascension2789
You’re making no sense. This clockwise anti-clockwise by the original comment is all very misleading, but!
A clockwise bend is leaning to the right, so if he applies anti-clockwise (pushes right grip forward) on his steering he will lean more into the right hand bend.
Then you mention pushing right while leaning left! What the hell is all that about. If you’re leaning left your pushing left ffs!
I’m presuming that you do in fact ride… and that you realise that a rider never actively steers into a bend.
Thanks
This is the only reason to not get a bike?😢
A lot of people don’t know when there taking a a corner at mid speed let’s say 20mph, they’re actually counter steering automatically. They just don’t know it 😆
Another thing most people don't realize is that have counter-steered before if they have ridden a bicycle
@@yashshah6328 yeah I’ve ridden a bike when I was small, so it’s how I’ve learn how to lean counter an balance.
I hate the way most youtubers explain countersteering. Making it sound like rocket science.
Wait so you have to think backwards left is right and right is left 😂
Once you learn about positive steering the Ninja 400 is so cool you get frost bite sitting on the bike. 🥷🥷
Positive steering will start at 15mph on any bike even on a push bike.
You mean counter steering surely?
@@softailfun the people who teach it call it positive steering. When you understand the science behind it (I don’t) the teaching books state: The front wheel tilts left until its axis of spin lines up with the combined Torque acting on the front wheel: Torque T3 This makes the bike lean with Camber θ to the vertical. The initial action of pushing away on the handlebars and the resulting lean is known as 'Positive Steering' QED 😂 and you did ask.
If I would agree with you we would both be wrong! If you try riding a push bike you won’t get positive steering under 11 mph ( have just tried it) the bike will turn the way you are pushing. Over 11 mph your bike will turn the opposite way ie positive steering. ……..
This is all taught in the motorcycle safety course. This is good info, but only 40% of riders even have their motorcycle endorsement... Quite honestly half of the riders out there have no idea how to ride properly. Take it from me,. Muscle and skeleton recovery operations is what I do.
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
👍🤙