Another neat trick to learn is to look through the turn. In other words look where you want the bike to go. You'll find with practice your turning skills will get better and better.

 

I ride in Quebec..., I think we import our roads from Afganistan here.

On a 1 mile road, like when I was in Longeuil tonight, I might countersteer 15 or 20 times to go around potholes, gravel, raised sewers, sunken sewers, dead skunks, road patches, etc....

I do this to save my back & my bike.

 

EDIT: weird, double post?!?

 

Hell folks, it is just physics and ya can't beat the laws of physics.

 

Personally the whole handlebar thing is counter intuitive. Running down a straight two lane traffic without any traffic nearby run in the left track of the right lane. Change lanes by going to the right track of the right lane to the left track of the left lane and back to the right track of the left lane. Do that quick enough and you'll be counter-steering into and out of the lane change. Actually into the outside tracks is a bit further than you need, but if you play around a bit you'll find you change lanes a lot faster than starting towards the other lane.

What's happening is when you turn the handlebars the bike starts falling the opposite direction. That works against you trying to turn. So instead of fighting it you use it. You use to get the bike started leaning in the direction you want to go and then you go with it. Coming out of the turn you use it to stand the bike back up.

You've likely done it and done it often. You've also likely failed to do it when you should. If you've ever seen a crack, pothole or debris on the road, tried to avoid it and ended up running right over it then that's the result of failing to countersteer. The bike is leaning one way, you're steering the other and the result is you go straight. You likely do it everytime you take a curve without thinking about it. You go a little wide and then zoom through the curve.

What I don't like about the push the handlebar description is it can get people to do stupid things. Don't think about pushing the handlebars, steer a little left first to go right and steer a little right to go left. Yes, you steer by pushing and pulling the handlebars, but thinking of where you want the bike to go is less likely to end up with a serious screwup. You just want to go a little wide before taking the curve.

 

That could also be called target fixation - if you look at it you'll hit it!

 

Used to do it all the time living on a dirt road and I was a lot younger.Today,without being on a track it is hard to do with all the insane traffic everywhere.

 

some one call BS is NOT a biker...trust me....if he can ride, he will counter steering....although he didnt realize it...

 

I totally agree with what you said, but I don't agree with this linked article. He says,

"If a biker wants to turn to the right, he first throws the bike off balance by a well-timed jolt to the handlebars, momentarily pointing the front wheel slightly to the left."

It's neither a jolt nor momentary. It's a smooth action and you sustain the countersteer throughout the curve. Here's a pic of a bike turning right and you can see the slight bias of the front wheel to the left.

 

Instead of using the term "push," use "press," when describing the action of consciously countersteering. It sounds less forcefull, and is more correct, as it does not take much of a "press" to do it. It's also the term the MSF uses. The "press" causes the bike to lean--it's the lean that causes the turn.

As a previous poster said, you can also gently pull on the other handlebar at the same time, and even have a more controlled countersteer. With conscious countersteering, you can easily swerve the yellow lines on a highway at 50 mph on most bikes.