Counter-steering revisited

June 22, 8:34 AMDC Motorcycle Travel ExaminerMark Poesch

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At speed (above 25 MPH), which way do you turn the handle-bars on a motorcycle to turn right?  Try figuring this out while you're riding and the wrong answer will run you off the road!

I still clearly remember the Friday evening of my MSF Basic RiderCourse in June, three years ago – the first day of three days of training, we spent several hours that evening in classroom training.  With excitement and anticipation I listened to every word.  On the topic of steering, though, I was perplexed by the direction: "push left to go left -- push right to go right."  They must be mistaken... surely they mean something different than what I mean, when they say “push.”  Or perhaps they mean, push with the right hand to go left??  Very strange.

When my brother-in-law failed his motorcycle examination, missing exactly this question, I was glad that I had learned about counter-steering that Friday night in June and that we had the opportunity to talk about counter-steering before he got up to speed on his new bike.  (We also talked about the merits of training.)

If you follow the directions, it just works... above about 10 or 15 MPH: push [the inside handle-bar] left to go left – push right to go right.

Although it wasn't until months later, after I read an article from the Sport Rider magazine RidingSkills series, that I really got it -- their point was "counter-steering is like power-steering for your bike -- push into the turn, and your bike will turn in with far less effort.”  The next day I went out, sat bolt upright, and did nothing but push on the handlebars – I was amazed to feel how rapidly and easily the bike turned in – almost like… power steering.

More than a few times, I've had trouble in a turn, and every time, remembered the technique -- listening to my little voice say "push inside -- push harder" got me through the turn... whether it was 20, 40 or 80 MPH.

It's great to be able to steer without thinking – just flow with the bike and the road.  But, when the turn is tighter than anticipated, debris or holes force a mid-turn adjustment, or you’re running through the turn faster than you realized, it’s essential to be able to fall back on basic, well-practiced skills.  Push-inside to turn.  Push harder.

I first talked about counter-steering back in January, in an article inspired by my realization years ago that we have far more than five senses:

• Riding with your sixth sense

In this article, I speculated that the rider crashed in the turn in front of our house because 1) he was new to the bike, and 2) had insufficient training to realize that the bike’s failure to turn was due to his failure to properly control the bike.  Houston Motorcycle Examiner, Cash Anthony discusses an example of a rider who experienced exactly that scenario, and provides her riding partner’s take on how to understand counter-steering:

• Counter-steering: a precise explanation of how it feels and works

The emphasis on out-tracking over gyroscopic effect as the reason the bike turns is illuminating.

The advice is right on the mark – and critical – to anyone who wants to hold a tight turn.  Because panic in a turn will get  you killed.  In particular, braking will sit the bike up and cause you to run out of the turn – I’ve done it, riding toward a canyon wall!.  If you’re fighting to hold a tight turn, braking will cause exactly  the effect you don’t want.

For riders who have a solid understanding of counter-steering, but still find themselves fighting the bike in the turn sometimes, check out these articles:

• Counter-steering revisited: Redux - how it works
• Lee Park’s Ten Steps to Total Control

Motorcycle Examiner Ken Bingenheimer recently wrote about Motorcycle control in high winds, highlighting the same advice that Total Control author Lee Parks provides in his book.  Just be careful to practice this technique in a controlled environment to be sure you’re ready for the change.

And for more lessons from the track, read the new Houston Sport Bike Examiner's:

• Riders, start your track days