Motorcycle Mastery

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Continuing on covering the basics before moving onto more advanced topics, I’d like today to talk about steering.

On first inspection, steering would seem to be the most simplest of things. After all, most of us have ridden a bicycle haven’t we? You just point the handlebars in the direction you want to go, right? Well, it turns out that the whole theory of what it takes us to turn on two wheels can be quite complicated.

While I have no intention of bogging you down with tons of dry theory, I’d like to give you enough to understand what is actually happening when you make a turn on your motorcycle, and introduce you to a concept which sparks a lot of debate among the motorcycle community. That concept is:

Counter-Steering

Counter-Steering is a buzz phrase we tend to hear often among the motorcycle community. Some riders spend their entire life riding — and have never heard of it. Some espouse the merits of active attention to it, and some claim it’s a myth!

First, let me get this out of the way: Counter-steering is not a myth. If you’re turning at anything over, say, 10 MPH, you already are counter- steering whether you know it or not. This then begs the question: “Well, if I’m doing it anyway, do I really need to pay any attention to the subject?” My answer would be: “Yes. It will really help.” Let’s get into some basic theory:

Have you ever wondered why the profile of your tyres are round, and not square like a car’s? Well, it’s how we turn.

Take a look at this cone. What would happen if we were to push it?

Clearly, it would spin to the left, and describe a circle. This is called the Cone Effect.

Now, look at the following diagram showing how our tyres act like a cone when the machine is leaning over: The actual physics behind this is quite complex, but, for our purposes, it is sufficient to know that the cone effect is what causes our bike to turn when leant over.

While we are in the turn, we don’t fall over because the force of gravity — which is pulling us downwards, is counteracted by the centrifugal force generated by the turn itself — which is pushing us outwards and upwards.

You are actually simulating an inverted pendulum, with the fulcrum being the tyre. The two forces (gravity and centrifugal force) are balanced and maintained throughout the curve.

It will be seen that if you were to increase speed, the centrifugal force would increase, and have the effect of standing the motorcycle up. If you were to decrease speed, then the centrifugal force would decrease and allow the gravity to pull you towards the ground.

Because of this effect, when in a curve, one can largely “steer” by the throttle. If I find that the curve is tightening, I can ease off the throttle a little, and the motorcycle will lean more. If the curve is straightening out, then gently increasing the throttle will widen the curve you are taking.

So, having established that we need to lean our motorcycle in one direction or another to turn — and the mechanics involved with it, how is that lean effected?

That is where counter-steering comes in.

If you ever want some brief notoriety, try this statement on your friends: “When you want to turn left on a motorcycle, you turn the handlebars right.” That statement is usually met with sufficiently bemused looks. It is, of course, a dramatic over-simplification, yet, in essence, it is correct. Take a look at the following diagram.

Where are the wheels in relation to our centre of gravity? They are to the right of it. Of course, this makes sense because, as we have just covered, a bike turns left by leaning left. How do we lean left (think of it in terms of getting the wheels to the right of the centre of gravity)? We momentarily steer right. It makes sense when we think of it that way, no?

And what are you doing when you straighten up from a curve? You’re also counter-steering. When in a left turn, applying gentle forward pressure to the right side of the handle bar will cause the bike to sit up again.

Now, all this dry theory is quite interesting, but does it have a use (aside from the brief notoriety mentioned above)? Well, yes, it does. It does, because knowing this gives us a sure-fire way to make a quick turn should we need to in an emergency situation.

Try this: the next time you are out riding, ride in a straight line, and gently apply some forward pressure on the left-hand side of your handlebars. You will find that the bike will lean to the left — and therefore start to turn left. Forward pressure on the right-hand side of the bars will cause the bike to lean right — and begin to turn right. You are, of course, automatically doing this anyway, but begin to pay attention to it. Knowing this, becoming aware of it, and actively practising its application, enables you to quickly change direction when needed.

While you are out riding, begin to pay attention to your counter-steering when changing direction. Make yourself consciously aware of that forward pressure on your bars as you turn — and do it often. The reason I am stressing this is that I want counter-steering to be ingrained in your mind as the de-facto way to effect a turn. This is because, in an emergency situation, the mind defaults to its most basic, default methods. I want that default method to be counter-steering because it is the quickest way to effect a turn. After thirty-five years of riding, I still practise conscious counter-steering while out riding.

One scenario in which having counter-steering ingrained in your mind like this will be immeasurably useful is when you have to avoid something in the road. Many people, upon seeing an obstacle in the road, tend to try to lean the bike to avoid the obstacle. They almost achieve a lean while still going in a straight line! What they are actually doing is leaning their bodies, but keeping the bike upright. The effect is no turn! I have seen it, and I have been aware of it in my own riding. This is not satisfactory. However, if your first instinct (ingrained by lots of conscious practice) is to apply pressure to the bars when a quick turn is required, you will be initiating the turn at the earliest possible time, and stand much more chance of avoiding that obstacle.

Push left — Turn Left. Push Right — Turn Right.

The other advantage to being aware of counter-steering — and actively using it, is that it is free “power steering”. No longer do you have to feel that you are at the mercy of a heavy machine, because it’s not you hauling the thing over in a bend, and hauling it straight again. Your gentle application of counter-steering is what’s doing it. The machine’s weight is really not an issue.

So, that covers steering, and more exactly, the whole, contentious subject of counter-steering. Enjoy your command of the machine!