push steering or counter steering..

[Lion_Lady]

So im taking a bike class and they said my counter steering sucks so i got dismissed from that class which sucked!! i couldnt do it because i dont know how and was scared that the bike might tip over.. i really wanna ride a bike but i gotta know how to counter steer. any1 had the same problem? i read the info on it and it said its really hard to fall when ur trying to counter steer inless u do it on purpose.. feed backs tha nks!

Okay. Back up, please. WHERE are you located? Which basic riders course were you taking (Riders Edge or the MSF version of the BRC or WHAT?) As a Rider Coach, I'm curious to know who/where these instructors were who seemed pretty clueless... unless there was a communication problem.

P

[dahviet]

im a begginner rider.. sooo yeah .. i really want to ride a bike and all but ima really try to counter steer the next time i go to these class and i think if i get dismissed again im not taking the class again.. but yeah im located in san francisco.. please dont hate me if your the rider coach there.. i mean i would love someone to spend alittle time for me to let me try it out.. i think ima trust the bike this time.. and hope i dont fall. because they didnt really give me instructions.. they just told me you wanna turn right then push right.. and im wondering if i push right , speed, then balance it. or what.. really confused.. but thanks

[Nibblet99]

im a begginner rider.. sooo yeah .. i really want to ride a bike and all but ima really try to counter steer the next time i go to these class and i think if i get dismissed again im not taking the class again.. but yeah im located in san francisco.. please dont hate me if your the rider coach there.. i mean i would love someone to spend alittle time for me to let me try it out.. i think ima trust the bike this time.. and hope i dont fall. because they didnt really give me instructions.. they just told me you wanna turn right then push right.. and im wondering if i push right , speed, then balance it. or what.. really confused.. but thanks

No one's going to hate you for it. Everyone's just wondering why the instructors you paid your hard earned money to, were unable to tell you what you were doing wrong, and actually TEACH you to do it the right way.

I really think you should find a different MSF instructor. Its the Basic Riders Course, they're supposed to teach you from zero knowledge to being safe on the road. If they couldn't do that and just dismissed you, there seems to be something wrong with their training.

I've never heard of anyone being dismissed from a course of any kind, that they've paid for, just because they were having a little trouble.

[dahviet]

that being said i wished you were an instructor here.. i kinda hope when i come back to the riding course i dont get the same rider coach. cus id get robbed.. they just took my money.. even though i was the youngest guy in the class.. wish me luck tho guys.. any more advice? thanks alot!

[tropicalhotdog]

As I discussed on some other threads a couple months ago, my fiance got kicked out of the BRC because she'd never ridden before and was having trouble shifting. So it does in fact happen. This was in Stone Ridge, NY. She then took a 2 hour private lesson and then went back and passed the course though.

Also Dahviet, I'll let Lion Lady who knows far more than I do about riding clarify this, but when you say you were going really slow and they wanted you to countersteer, I think you might be confusing counterbalancing and countersteering. When you're doing the real slow maneuvers, you're counterbalancing to keep the bike from tipping -- if you're making a real slow left turn, you're leaning your body to the right while keeping your head turned and eyes focused where you want the bike to go. If you're looking down, down you'll go. Countersteering is how you get the bike to turn when you're at speed (what speed and how hard you have to countersteer depends on your bike). It really won't be long before it feels natural to you.

I found that Hough's book, Proficient Motorcycling, was hugely helpful in learning how steer and control the bike. He explains, very clearly, why you need to countersteer and how the design of the bike and the underlying physics work. Great book.

[dahviet]

yeah i know counter balacning.. but thing is he made me stop and try to countersteer on the right turn. he said push right go right. i wished i could take extra lesson so i can pass this course... but i dont think they have any in sf.

[shane-o]

yeah i know counter balacning.. but thing is he made me stop and try to countersteer on the right turn. he said push right go right. i wished i could take extra lesson so i can pass this course... but i dont think they have any in sf.

I dont know why people get hung up on counter steering, you dont need to teach it, its a natural thing to do, and any one who has ridden bicycles has used counter steering. If you need to go left you will input into the bars pressure to turn left, who cares whether it requires you to press the right bar to go right or press the left bar to go right, as long as you go in the direction you need to, who gives a dodo what its called...just do it !!! and call it riding..puck counter steering!!!!

And on a side note, you have to be traveling at a certain speed, usually above 20kmh in order for counter steering to come into effect, below that speed if you push the left bar you will turn right like a quad bike.

[dahviet]

hey i got my class pass and it says dnf reason: r1- r2 and last exercise complted is 7. written score is 41 if you know what that mean... thats for the rider coach..

[jonnythan]

hey i got my class pass and it says dnf reason: r1- r2 and last exercise complted is 7. written score is 41 if you know what that mean... thats for the rider coach..

41 out of 100? On the MSF written test?

[dahviet]

its 41 out of a hundred then right? because remember again i got dismissed... thats what the class pass said..