Great video, followed by some rather ignorant and biased comments, in the end my intentions are not to offend anyone here, but rather provide input for a more complete explanation of how counter-steering works, and thus a more fruitful discussion on the topic.
First things first - Counter-steering,
is real, its not a myth a pseudoscience or rocket science, whether you want to face it or not thats entirely up to you, the idea here is for you to learn or understand exactly how it works and use it to your advantage, as it is a riding skill that although many perform regularly while riding, not all know how exactly it works, and how to
consciously and voluntarily do it or not.
I will also add that although i respect everyone here with more years riding than others, (including myself), the notion of my shit stinks and i know more because i am older and therefore wiser is really sad, and will not help you in this particular discussion, or in learning new riding skills for that matter. Needless to say, how some very seasoned old riding dogs can watch that video and say that counter-steering doesn't exist, is really beyond me, and i truly hope you have a better grasp at this technique so that you stay on twos for many more seasons to come for your own sake and your family's.
Things change over time and if you think that everything that was taught to you some time ago stands true and effective today then i feel for you, keep doing most of your breaking with your rear brake and please enlighten us about the all knowing flat-earth society, who still believe in 2015 that the earth isn't round.
Every motorcycle handles differently, and by that i'm talking about the type of riding it was ideally meant for, that is to say a dirtbike will handle very differently than a Goldwing, different frame configuration, different suspension geometry, will yield a bike with a specific riding method in mind.
A chopper is a beautiful bike sure, but the geometry of its frame and suspension is designed for looks mainly, and a more
comfortable long ride, rather than purpose-developed, such as that on a SuperTenere
I'm no physicist of any kind, but it doesnt take a genius to understand that although counter-steering applies differently to different types of bikes,
Somewhere between 0~15 MHP(again depending on the bike, weight, rider balance, tires, and grip), your turning on the bike goes from turning handle bars right to turn right(such as making a u turn pulling out of gas station) to literally pull your left handle bar towards you(right handle bar away from you towards the front) in order to successfully turn right.
Now most will say,
"thats silly and it doesnt make any sense, i just lean my bodyweight and push the handle bars down to the desired direction of turn, and thats how i turn my bike"
Yess but no, sometimes leaning the bike will not provide enough turning angle for you to make the turn you need to make(like what happened to the guy that hit the fire truck) and panic, along with not knowing how counter-steering works, drove him straight into the truck. I used to
almost religiously lean my bike for turning, but one too many close calls, in addition to understanding how counter steering works on my own after scratching my head for months, convinced me that this is indeed the most
effective and most importantly
reliable method of turning my bike,
at all speeds.
Others then went to say that the second video of the squid on the green Kawi ZX636R was just him going too fast and that there is no way to effectively ride that turn safely since he was going faster than the flow of traffic,
FALSE
his a lack counter-steering understanding got him into that truck, combined with panic and wrong target fixation, that turn could be taken at higher speeds no problem, says I who rides a YZF-R1, a much more powerful and trickier to handle bike.
Sure both riders were indeed taking turns at speeds past their skill level, however that is
not what caused the accidents, not knowing how to properly implement counter-steer is what they were missing on both cases.
Many will still argue that this isnt a very ideal method for turning, and to those i ask why is it that the most skilled riders out there, who take all sorts of arched turns, at speeds in excess of 100MPH apply counter-steering along with proper body positioning to take turns, and to that i say,
because leaning can only get you so far
This picture of William Dunlop racing at the World of Man TT(if you look closely youll actually notice how on this left turn, his front tire is actually pointed right), clearly shows the counter-steering technique, while most of us on this forum will not be going this fast much less turning at these angles in our 40+ year old XS650's, in case you had any doubts you get the idea.
The reason for counter-steering and the bike turning the opposite way of which its front wheel is turned, is because at speeds higher than ~15MPH, the center of gravity pushes the momentum of the bike outside between the interaction of the 2 wheels if that makes any sense.
I will admit that my XS is a different monster than my R6 and my R1, and though i've honestly only ridden it for no more than 20 miles, i have ridden friend's cruisers and this method still proves valid, will i lean it to the point where im scraping the pegs and lowside because of that, thats a whole other topic, but heck thats why i got my XS in the first place, to build me a fun bike that doesn't ask me to be on the throttle all the time for it to put a grin on my face
Ride safe fellas and stay on twos
