Bloody cyclists always get in the way!

[simonm]

looks like it was the bikers fault the cyclists were near to the verge, unlike the pack of a dozen or so that were 2 and 3 abreast on the road from Cawood to Ryther last week, however I managed to get past on a tight left hander without hitting any of them, it must of been my lucky day....................... and theirs................lol.

   Definitely the cyclists.  Sheesh, gettouttathewaygoddamnitI'mbiggerthanyou !

[VNA - BMW Wank]

300 hours community service and a five year ban for killing his second cyclist;

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-22397918

[nsr500v4]

The man obviously is not fit to be allowed on the road in any way shape or form. The law is a complete ass

[VNA - BMW Wank]

looks like an inexperienced biker ,he travels from centre of road to the edge to get the cyclists. Road position totally wrong to see through the bend and he seems not to have the confidence to hit a greater lean angle and hit the throttle to duck round them.

You know, you look at it and think, that fella doesn't have control of his motorcycle. 

I passed my test in 1987, so I've no idea what is involved today.  Must ask some of the young lads at work.  But do they actually teach folks how to steer their bike yet?  And I have to admit I was riding about for quite some time with no real idea of how to turn my bike.  It was only by chance I read an article in the early 90's in, I think, Motorcycle News and Sport, on how you actually make a bike turn.  And I'll bet folks are still debating, as they have done on the net for years, as to how you actually make a bike change direction.

So the accident is the fellas fault.  But then again, if he had training, and that training was not adequate......well I kinda sympathise with him. 

So somebody please please tell me that you have to have training before you go on the road, and part of the course is to teach you how to change direction whenever you fancy.  That video footage looks like a classic - I need to change direction aaaagh why isn't it turning - bang. 

[Skippernick]

Buts thats alright because he was suffering from stress, i'll remember to use that if i ever need too in court.
When i get in charge he'll have his winkle cut off as punishment.


This is in relation to above BBC article.

[Grahamm]

300 hours community service and a five year ban for killing his second cyclist;

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-22397918

And the Sheriff effectively blamed the *cyclist* by saying that not wearing a helmet "contributed to her death"!

No, some prick who should never have been let back in charge of a vehicle contributed to her death and a slap on the wrist Community Sentence and a 5 year ban is a foccing mockery of justice!

He should be facing a 5 year jail term and a life ban on driving!

[nsr500v4]

300 hours community service and a five year ban for killing his second cyclist;

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-22397918

And the Sheriff effectively blamed the *cyclist* by saying that not wearing a helmet "contributed to her death"!

No, some prick who should never have been let back in charge of a vehicle contributed to her death and a slap on the wrist Community Sentence and a 5 year ban is a foccing mockery of justice!

He should be facing a 5 year jail term and a life ban on driving!

Should have been manslaughter charge too

[Dead Eye]

I passed my test in September 2011 - and I have to admit that I wasn't given a full understanding of how to steer a motorcycle. If it wasn't for my sheer curiosity in to how anything and everything works I probably still wouldn't know. I began to understand it much better after going through Twist of the Wrist II around last July / August

[Grahamm]

I passed my test in September 2011 - and I have to admit that I wasn't given a full understanding of how to steer a motorcycle. If it wasn't for my sheer curiosity in to how anything and everything works I probably still wouldn't know.

That's very true.

As mentioned elsewhere, even when you *know* about countersteering and the fact that the bike can turn better than you think, actually being able to *do* it in a crisis situation is another matter entirely

[simonm]

I passed my test in September 2011 - and I have to admit that I wasn't given a full understanding of how to steer a motorcycle. If it wasn't for my sheer curiosity in to how anything and everything works I probably still wouldn't know. I began to understand it much better after going through Twist of the Wrist II around last July / August

Amen to that brother.  The test's do not prepare you for grit, ice, snow, counter steering, rear wheel braking, fixation, hump back bridges, excessive speed with the wrong entry point and gear going in to a down hill banked corner or any of the other many issues there are with riding as a newb.  Only experience and track days do that.

[simonm]

I passed my test in September 2011 - and I have to admit that I wasn't given a full understanding of how to steer a motorcycle. If it wasn't for my sheer curiosity in to how anything and everything works I probably still wouldn't know.

That's very true.

As mentioned elsewhere, even when you *know* about countersteering and the fact that the bike can turn better than you think, actually being able to *do* it in a crisis situation is another matter entirely

The mere physics of countersteering freak me out when I think about them during cornering.  I have to turn my brain off and think about where I want to go, not that lamp post that is getting closer and I seem to be heading towards it....

[Dead Eye]

I find counter-steering really interesting (go figure) and the way that TotW showed it helped me to understand the forces at play and the physics behind it - all very interesting stuff

I've been putting it all in to practice and do fairly well for myself - I've been lucky in that I've never had any serious issues in controlling my machine. Hell, I've only gone down once and I was practically stationary and just lost my balance - freezing cold feet / legs + loose grit + a bit of bad balance had me on the floor looking like a pillock

[ChristoT]

I've done that... And done more dramatic too!!

Sent from my HTC Desire C using Tapatalk 2

[simonm]

I find counter-steering really interesting (go figure) and the way that TotW showed it helped me to understand the forces at play and the physics behind it - all very interesting stuff

I've been putting it all in to practice and do fairly well for myself - I've been lucky in that I've never had any serious issues in controlling my machine. Hell, I've only gone down once and I was practically stationary and just lost my balance - freezing cold feet / legs + loose grit + a bit of bad balance had me on the floor looking like a pillock

One of my older friends said to me, push right to go right.  Works a treat, I repeat it like a mantra....unless I'm going left.

[Razgruff]

I think that Counter steering gets explained wrong which confuses people, this pushing bars thing is wrong, the bars are somewhere to rest you hands,
and stop them flapping about in the wind 

I always understood countersteering as something you did in a car, when you flick the steering wheel the wrong way to kick the arse out to start what they call drifting now.

To me what they call countersteering on bikes these days, is counter weighing, steering the bike with your waist and hips, the bars aren't pushed left or right.
 One goes down giving the impression of being pushed because your elbow straightens and the other comes up giving the impression of being pulled because that elbow bends more.
I've followed a couple of people recently, I don't know if they are new bikers or fairweathers that haven't been out for a while, but you can see the stiffness in there bodies.
That tight neck raised shoulders. rod like back no flexablity in the body. if that did a bit of Weaving like GP racers do to warm their tyres up it would help them to loosen up the body and and get the feel for the bikes abilities again.

[simonm]

I think that Counter steering gets explained wrong which confuses people, this pushing bars thing is wrong, the bars are somewhere to rest you hands,
and stop them flapping about in the wind 

I always understood countersteering as something you did in a car, when you flick the steering wheel the wrong way to kick the arse out to start what they call drifting now.

To me what they call countersteering on bikes these days, is counter weighing, steering the bike with your waist and hips, the bars aren't pushed left or right.
 One goes down giving the impression of being pushed because your elbow straightens and the other comes up giving the impression of being pulled because that elbow bends more.
I've followed a couple of people recently, I don't know if they are new bikers or fairweathers that haven't been out for a while, but you can see the stiffness in there bodies.
That tight neck raised shoulders. rod like back no flexablity in the body. if that did a bit of Weaving like GP racers do to warm their tyres up it would help them to loosen up the body and and get the feel for the bikes abilities again.

I dunno dude.  I get my explanation of counter steering from "a twist of the wrist" via youtube  [size=78%].[/size]

[Grahamm]

To me what they call countersteering on bikes these days, is counter weighing, steering the bike with your waist and hips, the bars aren't pushed left or right

Presuming you aren't just trolling, next time you're out, find a long straight bit of road (motorway, dual carriageway etc) where there isn't much traffic about and with as little as possible pressure from your hands on the bars, try the following:

1) Try steering the bike with your waist and hips.

2) Gently push on the right bar and see which way the bike goes, then try with the left.

See what happens.

[noggythenog]

I think that Counter steering gets explained wrong which confuses people, this pushing bars thing is wrong, the bars are somewhere to rest you hands,
and stop them flapping about in the wind 

I always understood countersteering as something you did in a car, when you flick the steering wheel the wrong way to kick the arse out to start what they call drifting now.

To me what they call countersteering on bikes these days, is counter weighing, steering the bike with your waist and hips, the bars aren't pushed left or right.
 One goes down giving the impression of being pushed because your elbow straightens and the other comes up giving the impression of being pulled because that elbow bends more.
I've followed a couple of people recently, I don't know if they are new bikers or fairweathers that haven't been out for a while, but you can see the stiffness in there bodies.
That tight neck raised shoulders. rod like back no flexablity in the body. if that did a bit of Weaving like GP racers do to warm their tyres up it would help them to loosen up the body and and get the feel for the bikes abilities again.

Hey Mr Razgruff, interesting post indeed & i feel a classic example how much harder counter steering is to explain or imagine than it is to put into practice.I'm not having a go as i think you've brought up lots of good points even if we are a bit off from the original post but hey ho here's my tuppence worth .& yes it's long (im night shift )
Clearly you can corner & have been doing so for some time, i'm just experimenting with limited experience but with good results but everything i've researched & tried so far indicates that it's mostly about pushing the bars.

People will instinctively move their bodies & twist their hips & to some extent this will assist with cornering but the majority of the work is done with the Bars & moving the body actually only improves the push on the bars.

Perhaps a flick of the hips will initiate the turn of the bars in the opposite direction (Think stabilising a Kayak)  much the same but to a lesser degree (i'll need to try it out as grhamm suggests) but i doubt it could ever be as effective as pushing the bars & theres another interesting post on the site entitled 'why dont police riders hang off'' which also explains the bigger picture regarding body movement.

I like your comment about the bars being rests for the hands as what i've found so far is that holding on too tight to the grips whilst cornering like you say isnt good & hampers progress & stops the bike going where it wants to go.a looser grip and allowing a bit of 'wobble' so to speak & allowing the tyres to track naturally over the surface imperfections is working much better for me.

Posture wise, as you say, trying to loosen up also helps & i do now complete a few weaves back & forth once i'm out of the village (only Fazer in the village ) just to remind me how light the bike is as there's a tendency after hauling it from the shed & pushing it round the front to think it is still a heavy lump & it really isnt once you get going.
I do find this also reminds me of how quick the bike will turn in before i get to the first corner & therefore the first corner is usually done correctly & my confidence isnt dented before im even started on the ride.

I have a video of me riding last year before i'd sussed counter steering in my mind & my posture was very upright, not ideal i can't deny & partly due to me trying to save my old back injury but actually i was cornering pretty well with no hip or body twisting so was obviously counter steering in practice.

Again on my Kayak (sorry  ) i find that keeping loose allows me to go through choppy water much easier but i can still be upright whilst being loose.

One last thing that i've finally relented to which i think is related to counter steer is leaning over the tank.
I always thought it was another one of those Moto GP copycat moves & wasnt particularly bothered about wind blast unless doing high speed straight lining so i chose not to do it, certainly not for cornering.

Much to my surprise then on my last run when i tried it.The difference was quite dramatic & i was straight on the phone to my old man to discuss why it made such a difference.

So what we hypothesised in the end was that it was maybe to do with lowering the weight & centre of gravity bla bla bla which i didnt totally think was responsible but then it clicked...whilst hunkered over i was more in line with the bars instead of being above them.
This meant that when i counter steered round a corner all of the effort was going out forwards on the bars.When i am upright most of the weight is transferred downwards with the remainder going forwards.

In a nutshell, leaning over the tank made it easier to counter steer with the bars, i wasnt moving my body around all that much.My arms were also more bent & it was easier to keep a loose grip whilst counter steering.
 
can't wait to finish these shifts on Sunday & get out & test out my theory again, right or wrong it'll be fun trying.

[simonm]

To me what they call countersteering on bikes these days, is counter weighing, steering the bike with your waist and hips, the bars aren't pushed left or right

Presuming you aren't just trolling, next time you're out, find a long straight bit of road (motorway, dual carriageway etc) where there isn't much traffic about and with as little as possible pressure from your hands on the bars, try the following:

1) Try steering the bike with your waist and hips.

2) Gently push on the right bar and see which way the bike goes, then try with the left.

See what happens.

I thought the same re trolling but I may have said the same thing until I watched twist of the wrist.  Keith Code may be in the church of scientology but he really knows his motorbiking.  His history on Wikipedia is interesting too.

The police riders handbook to better motorcycling is also good but a video paints a thousand words and totw is plain awesome in spite of the acting which is hilarious.

[Dead Eye]

I think that Counter steering gets explained wrong which confuses people, this pushing bars thing is wrong, the bars are somewhere to rest you hands,
and stop them flapping about in the wind 

I always understood countersteering as something you did in a car, when you flick the steering wheel the wrong way to kick the arse out to start what they call drifting now.

To me what they call countersteering on bikes these days, is counter weighing, steering the bike with your waist and hips, the bars aren't pushed left or right.
 One goes down giving the impression of being pushed because your elbow straightens and the other comes up giving the impression of being pulled because that elbow bends more.
I've followed a couple of people recently, I don't know if they are new bikers or fairweathers that haven't been out for a while, but you can see the stiffness in there bodies.
That tight neck raised shoulders. rod like back no flexablity in the body. if that did a bit of Weaving like GP racers do to warm their tyres up it would help them to loosen up the body and and get the feel for the bikes abilities again.

One last thing that i've finally relented to which i think is related to counter steer is leaning over the tank.
I always thought it was another one of those Moto GP copycat moves & wasnt particularly bothered about wind blast unless doing high speed straight lining so i chose not to do it, certainly not for cornering.

Much to my surprise then on my last run when i tried it.The difference was quite dramatic & i was straight on the phone to my old man to discuss why it made such a difference.

So what we hypothesised in the end was that it was maybe to do with lowering the weight & centre of gravity bla bla bla which i didnt totally think was responsible but then it clicked...whilst hunkered over i was more in line with the bars instead of being above them.
This meant that when i counter steered round a corner all of the effort was going out forwards on the bars.When i am upright most of the weight is transferred downwards with the remainder going forwards.

In a nutshell, leaning over the tank made it easier to counter steer with the bars, i wasnt moving my body around all that much.My arms were also more bent & it was easier to keep a loose grip whilst counter steering.

This point is also highlighted in TotW - they go over the fact that sports bikes cause you to posture so that your forearms are parallel to the road which allows all of your input to be fully translated in to the handlebars for easy control

[Razgruff]

ME Troll  Never 

Just goes to prove my point about hard to explain,
Admittedly the handle bars rest thing may have been a little to glib.
When I first saw Counter Steering mentioned on here I envisioned Speedway style cornering, I just couldn't get my head around this pushing the bars opposite direction thing as it always gets explained. so I wandered off and did some research.

http://www.tonyfoale.com/

Tony Foales explanation was the one I found the best and he calls it Counter weighting.

People will instinctively move their bodies & twist their hips & to some extent this will assist with cornering but the majority of the work is done with the Bars & moving the body actually only improves the push on the bars.

This is true but people do not realise this. Tony explains this well, I don't know what the CBT is like now I did mine over 25 years ago, but remember when you had to salon thought the cones this is where riders should be picking the the idea and feel for countersteering I was taught by a Police rider all those years ago on the old BMF rider training scene and it was only years later after reading the Police Riders handbook that I realised that I had been taught a lot of what was in the book from day one of my training Couple of hours on a Weds evening and Sunday mornings.

Presuming you aren't just trolling, next time you're out, find a long straight bit of road (motorway, dual carriageway etc) where there isn't much traffic about and with as little as possible pressure from your hands on the bars, try the following:

1) Try steering the bike with your waist and hips.

2) Gently push on the right bar and see which way the bike goes, then try with the left.

See what happens.

At what speeds ? and do I shift my weight or do I read this literally and just push the bars without shifting weight ?

Like I said in my original reply, this explanation doesn't work for me, read what you have written literally and try it.
I prefer to say do some Wits/GP Racer weaving. then people don't focus on the one aspect of the steering process, and just try to weave and start to countersteer as they would naturally.

Trying to explain riding a bike by the written word is like trying to explain walking or swimming by the written word it, is very complicated.
Try putting one foot in front of the other to walk, without shifhting weight bending knees and ankles and moving your arms, yet everybody says walking is easy.
You just put one foot in front of the other ??????

[VNA - BMW Wank]

You can demonstrate it with a stationary bicycle.  Sit the bike straight up, turn the front wheel, now guess which way it will fall.  Then imagine it at speed.  In fact it works on a bicycle at speed, or at load speed in an exaggerated fashion - say when avoiding somebody who has just opened their car door on you.

In fact after realising in the early 90's how to make my bike turn direction, I also realised that I had first read about this and practised it, after reading the old cyclists bible Richard's Bicycle book in which he describes counter steering as a method to avoid collisions.

As for thinking about it, you do that for a few weeks maybe, then it's second nature.  You can push or pull, or both. 

The old way of making a bike turn is still counter steering.  They told you to lean, so what happens, you put more weight on one bar than the other.  Sit up, and what are you doing, putting weight on the other bar and the bike magically sits up.

Counter steering is the only way to make your bike turn direction.

[peterjca]

To me what they call countersteering on bikes these days, is counter weighing, steering the bike with your waist and hips, the bars aren't pushed left or right

Presuming you aren't just trolling, next time you're out, find a long straight bit of road (motorway, dual carriageway etc) where there isn't much traffic about and with as little as possible pressure from your hands on the bars, try the following:

1) Try steering the bike with your waist and hips.

2) Gently push on the right bar and see which way the bike goes, then try with the left.

See what happens.

Indeed. The TotW II DVD demonstrates this admirably for those that need to see the concept in action. (The DVD is £6.05 on amazon at the mo.)

[Grahamm]

Presuming you aren't just trolling, next time you're out, find a long straight bit of road (motorway, dual carriageway etc) where there isn't much traffic about and with as little as possible pressure from your hands on the bars, try the following:

1) Try steering the bike with your waist and hips.

2) Gently push on the right bar and see which way the bike goes, then try with the left.

See what happens.

At what speeds ? and do I shift my weight or do I read this literally and just push the bars without shifting weight ?

Speed: Anything over a walking pace. And yes, just a little push on the bar, fingertip pressure, no weight shift.

I think in the Twist of the Wrist video (or another one like it) there's a demo of a guy riding along, standing on the pegs and putting *all* of his weight on one side for virtually no result. He then does the same with just a little push on the bar: Big result!

Also check out Full Control for a comprehensive discussion of the subject.

[VNA - BMW Wank]

I did mine over 25 years ago, but remember when you had to salon thought the cones this is where riders should be picking the the idea and feel for countersteering

 When riding at low speed, like manoeuvring through the cones on the old part 1, you keep the bike upright and turn the wheel in the direction in which you wish to go.  This is low speed control. 
 
At what speed do you start to cunter steer?  I dunno, one doesn't think about positioning your bike when you are riding it, not once you have the hang of it anyway.  But 15mph, 20mph maybe 25mph, by that time you need to counter steer.
 And once at speed, with all the gyroscopic forces involved, the only way you will make the bike turn is to kick that front wheel out a wee bit.  Everything else you try is, unless you take your hands of the bars, still counter steering.  And I think we all know that if you try to get about without placing your hands on the bars you probably won't get far.
It's frustrating that when there is only one way to make a bike change direction, only one method of being in control, that it is still seen as something worthy of debate or even controversial to some.
Any of the young lads, or now young lassies at work getting into bikes, it's something I always mention to em.  Yup it sounds weird when you have just started riding, but I suggest they try what Grahamm has suggested.  It's easy, and of course you were doing it anyway.