Total Motorcycle Community Forums

counter steering - just remember, press left, go left. press right, go right. don't worry about the lean, it will take care of itself...

Countersteering? Look where you want to go. Lean on the hand the direction you want to turn automatically. Look right, lean right, go right. Look left, lean left, go left.

Slow
Look
Press
Lean
Roll

Slow to an appropriate speed before the turn.
Look at the turn and locate your exit point.
Press on the bars the direction you want to turn.
Lean into the turn.
Roll on the throttle.

Repeat after me....
Slow
Look
Press
Lean
Roll

Slow
Look
Press
Lean
Roll

Slow
Look
Press
Lean
Roll

SilentComposer wrote:I ride my bike to my train station a lot(I know it has little to do with motorcycling but at least it's a form of two wheel balancing) and I have some experience with manual transmission cars.

I've ridden BMX bikes and BMX freestyle and mountain bikes all my life.

The physics of motorcycles are nothing like bicycles except when coasting on a bicycle in a straight line. Manuvering 30lbs. of metal and rubber with the force of your body is NOTHING like manuvering 400lbs. of metal and rubber with the force of an internal combustion engine.

Never think they are all that similar. You can get into big trouble really fast if you think its a bicycle with an engine. Trust me. I speak from experience and have the hospital bills to prove it.

according to the msf, there are four basic steps in turning a motorcycle: slow, look, press and roll.

slow - to the appropriate speed before the turn

look - turn your head, look where you want the motorcycle to go

press - to initiate motorcycle lean, press forward on the handgrip in the direction of the turn

roll - roll on the throttle throughout the turn

don't worry about the lean, it will take care of itself...

Dragonhawk wrote:

SilentComposer wrote:I ride my bike to my train station a lot(I know it has little to do with motorcycling but at least it's a form of two wheel balancing) and I have some experience with manual transmission cars.

I've ridden BMX bikes and BMX freestyle and mountain bikes all my life.

The physics of motorcycles are nothing like bicycles except when coasting on a bicycle in a straight line. Manuvering 30lbs. of metal and rubber with the force of your body is NOTHING like manuvering 400lbs. of metal and rubber with the force of an internal combustion engine.

Never think they are all that similar. You can get into big trouble really fast if you think its a bicycle with an engine. Trust me. I speak from experience and have the hospital bills to prove it.

you ride bmx freestyle? Do you ride extreme mountain biking or just regular mountain biking.

yeah biking doesnt help for anything in motorcycling, except its easier to drive a motorcycle in a straight line than a bike.

according to the msf, there are four basic steps in turning a motorcycle: slow, look, press and roll.

Thanks for the correction Anarchy. It was from memory. My instructors taught the "lean" when I took it almost 2 years ago.

SilentComposer wrote: I ride my bike to my train station a lot(I know it has little to do with motorcycling but at least it's a form of two wheel balancing) and I have some experience with manual transmission cars.

Okay. Since you ride a BICYCLE, you already KNOW how to countersteer.
Don't sweat it. Folks get all wound up about countersteering when anyone who has put some miles on a bicycle already knows how... they just don't know what its called.

Having experience with a stick shift car will put you way ahead of many others as well.

SilentComposer wrote: Did anyone else have trouble or fail the MSF?

If you pass the written test, and don't totally blow the entire riding test, you'll pass the BRC. HOWEVER, it is possible to pass the class and not qualify for the automatic "M" endorsement on your license.

But thats what I did the first time I took the BRC. I passed the class, but messed up on one of the riding excercises enough that I failed to get my "M" - I even failed the riding retest the following weekend. BUT I bought an ugly little beater bike and rode it for 6 months...

I took the class again and passed with flying colors. I've now logged over 30K miles in 4 1/2 years of riding.

P

Dohun wrote:you ride bmx freestyle? Do you ride extreme mountain biking or just regular mountain biking.

Regular. The extreme stuff is way too gnarly for me. No way I'm trying 12 foot acid drops in the woods and stuff. That's so sick.

I don't freestyle much anymore. (Which reminds me, I need new brakepads on my 91' Haro Master.) But I skate skateparks pretty much anytime I'm not motorcycling. Motorcycles and skateboards is about all I do on my weekends.

my comrade! i've ridden mountain bikes more than i've wanted to; i rode several different bikes to school and back every day 5 years in a row, i've had 4 different bikes stolen and i haven't bought a new one after my last one.
From the combination of the biking and my 1 year of experience on my moped, i'm not worried about the counter-steering at all; the only thing that scares me is the shifting, as i've never driven a stick-shift.