Total Motorcycle Community Forums

The caster angle at the front forks also has a lot to do with keeping the front wheel going straight.

jstark47 wrote:..and who says ya can't learn things on the internet? Now I know what Occam's razor is ..... (I had to go look it up)

Somewhat off-topic, but I find it funny, ironic even, that the wiki for that "Occam's Razor" is actually rather wordy and complex. (I had to look it up too.....)

OK, back to the topic..........

Jadien wrote:

jstark47 wrote:..and who says ya can't learn things on the internet? Now I know what Occam's razor is ..... (I had to go look it up)

Somewhat off-topic, but I find it funny, ironic even, that the wiki for that "Occam's Razor" is actually rather wordy and complex. (I had to look it up too.....)

OK, back to the topic..........

Somewhat of an oxymoron would you not agree.

blah blah blah

jus go out an ride, forget the science, in the end bikes are like cars in a way, that is, you dont have to understand how they work to be able to enjoy the experience of riding one


Throw honey and sugar on me then release the lesbians

Wow, this was such a good thread. It was deep, technical, scientific and then in the end, it all came out to.. Just don't worry about it, go out and ride. So while I was getting a good education, it also made me feel to not think so much about it, just go ride

CrotchRocket wrote:Wow, this was such a good thread. It was deep, technical, scientific and then in the end, it all came out to.. Just don't worry about it, go out and ride. So while I was getting a good education, it also made me feel to not think so much about it, just go ride

Im not saying not to understand the physical forces at play in bike movements, Im just saying that new riders would be better served expending time and energy in learning to control their bikes in traffic environments which doesnt require explicit knowledge about gyroscopic forces.

Im concerned that new riders will be overwhelmed by this kind of indepth knowledge at the risk of their developing handling skills, you dont need to understand countersteering to ride, becuase you will instinctively countersteer while riding whether you realise your doing it or not, its not something that requires teaching its an automatic occurance, if you want to go left you input into the bars what ever it takes to turn left and you will do it without thinking about it

shane-o wrote:you will instinctively countersteer while riding whether you realise your doing it or not, its not something that requires teaching its an automatic occurance, if you want to go left you input into the bars what ever it takes to turn left and you will do it without thinking about it

This isn't quite true. It's true if you learned to ride a bike, but if you haven't, it isn't second nature. This is why riding a bike takes a period of time to learn.

Just thought I'd nitpick.

lunchmeat wrote:

shane-o wrote:you will instinctively countersteer while riding whether you realise your doing it or not, its not something that requires teaching its an automatic occurance, if you want to go left you input into the bars what ever it takes to turn left and you will do it without thinking about it

This isn't quite true. It's true if you learned to ride a bike, but if you haven't, it isn't second nature. This is why riding a bike takes a period of time to learn.

Just thought I'd nitpick.

Well to nit pick right along side of you...


I know a few people that never owned or rode a bicycle, but took to a motorcycle very quickly and intuitively.

dr_bar wrote:

lunchmeat wrote:

shane-o wrote:you will instinctively countersteer while riding whether you realise your doing it or not, its not something that requires teaching its an automatic occurance, if you want to go left you input into the bars what ever it takes to turn left and you will do it without thinking about it

This isn't quite true. It's true if you learned to ride a bike, but if you haven't, it isn't second nature. This is why riding a bike takes a period of time to learn.

Just thought I'd nitpick.

Well to nit pick right along side of you...


I know a few people that never owned or rode a bicycle, but took to a motorcycle very quickly and intuitively.

Well now, it looks like the nits are truly pickin' tonight.

I learned to ride a bicycle at the age of six, long before I learned to ride a motorcycle, and I can tell you, going round corners on my pedal bike came as naturally to me as brain surgery. Ouch! It was a painful process of trial and error, mostly error.

Countersteering? I've got an alternative theory. I can't prove it, but see what you think.

Sit on a stationary bike, hold onto the bars and lean to the left. What happens? The distance between you and the right handlebar lengthens, and the distance between you and the left handlebar shortens. Lean to the left and you just can't help turning the bars to the right. Countersteering is neither conscious nor unconscious, neither intuitive or learned; for most of us it is an accidental by-product of learning to lean into a turn coupled with the seating geometry of the bike. It just happens. Ommmmm!

But... learning how and when to actively countersteer is a different matter. Learning that considerably increased the enjoyment I got out of my bike.

shane-o wrote:Throw honey and sugar on me then release the lesbians

best line in a while......

Anyone else find that first post a little...wordy?