Part of the reaction & the movement of the bike is due to your body reaction that is unconscious and normal attempting to maintaining balance. Most people do unconsciously without even knowing they are doing it. my .02

REALBOB 08 FLHTCU

 

You do it, you don't know it but you do.........
If you knowingly use it, it greatly improves handling and control.

Mark

 

The other posts are correct, push left bar go left, push right bar go right. The speed at which this technique becomes effective varies slightly from one bike to another but above 20 mph counter-steering is the preferred method of changing direction. Now, the harder you push to initiate the turn the quicker the bike will react. After you have established the desired line for your turn you can reduce the amount of pressure you applied to initiate the turn. Practice quick left/right changes in direction out of traffic until you become proficient.

Anyone who tells this technique doesn't work doesn't know what they're doing. This technique saved my life and that of my wife!! Her comment after the incident was that she had no idea we could change direction so quickly without losing control!!

For your own good you should also practice maximum braking. Mastering these techniques is not a substitute for defensive riding. However, in an emergency, they may just save your life and the life of your passenger. I have avoided "cagers" who did outright stupid things that would have caught any rider by surprise using maximum braking so hard I wound up sitting on the tank while my wife was sitting on the front part of the seat.

Below approximately 10 mph there is another technique called "counter-weighting" that will add stability to your low speed turns. The MSF courses, beginner and advanced, used to teach all of this and is highly recommended to riders of all skill levels.

Good luck!!

 

Yeah, nothing false about it. I saw an article about this guy who welded the handlebars straight and then asked people who disagreed about countersteering to turn the bike while riding it. They could lean and make a very slight adjustment, but not really turn. Countersteering is extremely necessary.

 

Another way of putting it is that you apply pressure to the handlebar to effect the "curve" in the direction you want to go. Applying pressure commensurate with the rapidity of the "curve" is a learned skill. In flying, we speak of control pressure as opposed to control movement. Same thing applies to motorcycles.

At parking lot speeds or in slow U turns, the front wheel tends to fall into the turn, so you need opposite control pressure to maintain the turn.

 

Great info shared here. They discussed this in motorcycle rider program and didn't make any sense in the beginning. Another thing I learned from a rally car racing/motorcycle instructor was using slight rear brake to tighten up turns at high speed.

 

You obviously know a lotta clueless folks. It's not something that would be subject to debate. Everyone that rides a bike countersteers - even if they don't know they are doing it - even if they don't believe they are doing it - even if they think it is BS. A lot of stupid people in a group doesn't change reality.

Anyone that rides can certainly feel how pushing on the right grip will lean the bike right and get you curving to the right. As you're in the curve, if you push more on the right grip, you will lean further. As you come out of the curve, pushing on the left grip will stand the bike back up.

Of course, you can look at it the opposite was - pulling on the left grip (rather than pushing on the right) will lean you right. Pulling more will get you more lean. It's just easier to remember - push right, lean right, go right, push left, lean left, go left.

A quick search found this video which gives you a slowmo shot of countersteering in action.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C848R9xWrjc

Many years ago, it was believed a motorcycle rider caused a bike to lean by first leaning his/her body. You leaned, the bike leaned - you turned or negotiated a curve.

However, when cameras were mounted, the researchers noticed something odd. In analyzing the films, they noted the bike leaned *before* the rider. This told them the leaning of the rider was obviously not the cause of the bike laying over. Those same films allowed them to see something - the front tire turning just a bit in the opposite direction, before laying over into the turn. Countersteering.

If you have any doubts, consider this - there are only 3 options for how the bike may turn

- you can turn the front wheel in the direction you wish to turn ... if you've ever tried this, even on a bicycle, at any speed, you know how well that works (and if you don't, it doesn't - you go over the bars)

- You can lean your body and try to cause the bike to lay over ... at any speed over maybe 15 or 20 miles per hour, you'll find the bike wants very much to stay straight up due to the gyroscope effect. You'll be able to, perhaps, get the bike to shift from one side of your lane to the other a bit, but you won't get it to lay over enough to negotiate any significant curve, and definitely not a turn

- Or... you can countersteer. You can even leave your body completely upright while doing so. You can even lean in the *opposite* direction.

For negotiating a curve or turn at any speed - all bike riders do it. As an accident avoidance technique - it takes some practice. You *can* over do it and end up dumping your bike.

The MSF course includes a countersteering as accident avoidance technique exercise.

 

The important thing about counter-steering is how QUICKLY it makes you change direction. You can change direction without consciously doing it, even though you do do it subconsciously. But it's slower.

But when you do it intentionally, the bike turns INSTANTLY.

Try it. It's amazing.

It's also amazing that someone would suggest it's BS.

 

It works at any speed, but it is not the best choice under about 15-20 MPH.

 

A very little bit, and very gently!