Motorcycle Riders - You're Leaning the Wrong Way 

"...physics is like politics. It puts real effort into fighting imaginary forces." One of the smartest and funniest lines I have heard in a LONG time!!!

“A life changing moment when one runs out of tire” The peg shaped scar on my foot felt that

I'm a cyclist in a city and have learnt to counterlean on my own accord. Never bothered to understand why I felt my bike was so much more agile and stable this way. Thanks for the vid!

One thing you didn’t mention is about suspension. The suspension is telescopic and can only act in one direction so if the bike is leant over and you hit a bump, it’s possible that your suspension won’t soak up the bump because it’s leaning too far away from the direction that your wheel wants to move. This can result in loss of traction mid corner. All techniques are useful in some situation.

I've been riding over 30 years and use all three. I find it depends on the situation, road quality, and speed.

"physics is like politicians, it puts real effort into fighting imaginary forces" Straight comedy genius! 😂

I don't even own a motorcycle, but these videos are so well made I just watch them as entertainment! Plus, you'd be surprised how well some of the advice crosses over to MTB and even driving in general

Counter leaning will increase your lean angle compared to the alternatives, which is important to keep in mind if you don't have much ground clearance. It's a lot easier to scrape pegs while counterleaning...

I was taught counter leaning in my rider's course and it felt weird at first, but once I got the hang of it, it made total sense and the bike just does what it's designed to do. The only way you get in trouble is not trusting the bike to do its thing.

1:10 - "physics is like politics puts real effort to fight imaginary forces" 😂😂😂😂🤣🤣👍 Hilarious 🤣

Thank you.i thought im wrong in doing counter leaning every time i ride my bike but today i know this is the best way to prevent accident

When I started riding motorbikes, nobody told me what to do so I watched others and mimicked them leaning both their bike and their body as if they were on a race track. But I was on public roads, at 'reasonable speeds', so mimicking them made me feel that this motorcycling 'thing' is 'right on the edge'. One day I leaned my bike but for some unknown reason remained upright. That felt really good. I've been practicing counterleaning while countersteering for a couple of years and now I'm riding the winding river gorge nearby at 60mph for most of the way (the exceptions being 90 degree turns). Then I found this video which has confirmed that what I accidentally found myself doing is, in fact, the recommended skill. It all depends on speed. Thank you very much for this excellent instructional video. I recommend it to everyone who will listen.

I just lean how I feel I need, from counter lean, to neutral to lean... just depends on the road condition, type of turns, depends. On the wet, I usually use my body to lean, and keep the motorcycle straight, to avoid slipping.

“See when I lean down like this my view is only left, like Vox.” 😂

when passing my motorbike license, we learned to counter lean at low speed, and lean at high speed. it felt pretty right, more nimble and agile maneuvering in busy streets, more stable when doing high speed curve on the freeway.

I just started ebiking at high speeds and I just started doing this intuitively and wow, I fell in love with how beautifully balanced turning became, almost like dancing with forces of motion. I totally understand why people ride motorcycles now.

"How does the same problem with the same rules have three different solutions?" - It doesn't Damm if its not some great writing

I think you need to lean differently for low speed turning and high speed turning. In low speeds, the bike has a tendency to fall in the direction of turn, so you lean the opposite side to prevent it from falling. In high speeds, the bike resists the turn due to angular momentum so you lean in the direction of turn to prevent the bike from standing up. Somebody with Physics knowledge might even come up with a simple formula to calculate the speed at which this switch happens.

One of my favorite aspects of your videos, are not just that they're educational, but highly entertaining! Don't know how it took so long to find this channel!

Wow! I'm 60 and been on bikes since I was 6 and have been doing this instinctively. this was a great video and very well done and presented.

"when I'm tucking down here my view is only left, like vox" unbelievably savage pun!

physics: how many scraping parts do you want? motorcycle policeman: yes

Thank you for thanking the time explaining it. Helped a lot for me as a newbie rider, despite 22 years of motorcycle licence, but never drived a motorcycle before.

You guys are doing a great job. Ryan, the editing, the script, perfect !

One thing I wish you had mentioned is that the bike's suspension travels in line with the the tires. This is important: the more upright the bike, the better the suspension can work. The more you lean it over, the more bumps are smacking the tire "sideways" and the more unstable the bike will become.

So glad us motorcycle riders have fortnine on our side. If there is a battle of wits among bikers and rest, we can count on fortnine to lead us 😁

i do mountainbiking so i have another explanation for the counterlean during motocross, because its the same in mtb. we don't actually counterlean but rather we lean only the bike, so we ride on the cornering nobs of our offroad tires, and we stay straight so we push them right down into the ground

as a 16year old , on a 50cc , this has changed a lot of my perspective on what to focus on when cornering , awesome vid

"like vox" LOL

This is easily becoming one of my favorite channels. The production, information, and humor is incredible.

i really really love ur channel. that smile and the comforting approach is top notch. i feel so secure and happy watching because i feel like yes ur here to teach me something and increase my knowledge and not here to show off your knowledge and be little those who are getting started. i used to think i was doing it wrong but i dont have a sport bike yet, i ride an aprilia sr 160 and a road bike cycle and in that i counter lean :)

I just can't stop watching and re-watching again. You are just amazing! Thank you for such an informative and quality issues!

The way I was taught to corner on dirt was to visualize putting your weight over the contact patch of the tire when on a slippery or loose surface so there is extra force straight down onto where your tire is actually biting . I immediately felt more comfortable on the twisty gravel roads after having it explained like that.

As an engineering student I love watching these videos. Physics mixed with humour, I love it!

Just recently found this channel. One of the best around!

This video is gold. I’ve long been looking for a video that genuinely explained counterbalance for adv / dirt riders.

Lol all the street rossis are gonna be pissed after watching this.

I intuitively started counter leaning when I started riding an enduro. The higher the center of gravity, the more profound the the increased stability becomes. Great presentation as usual!

These videos are the finest-edited pieces on the internet. Gorgeous videography.

This was amazing, thanks for sharing! Will definitely try to improve. I’ve been always leaning in the latest weeks, but now will counterlean a lot more for safety measures

5:51 “If I am tucking down here my view is only left, like Vox” 🤣🤣🤣

5:47 - "see if I am tucking down here , my view is only left , like vox " 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

This channel, entertaining, informative, some good dry humor, please don't stop the vids!

Great video! Absolutely love your humor, i.e. "lean left, like Vox," Brilliant!

I did the RCMP North Van skills test last week and when I was dipping on my leans which was fine on the change lanes, but when it got to the tighter turns, I started putting a foot down. I immediately got pulled over to the side by an officer in a monster touring bike. Showed me how to lean properly and then I killed it on the course.

I remember being taught how to lean in my MSF course. Over 5 years of experience later I've wondered why it never felt right, and why counter leaning always does. Thanks for making sense of a mystery for me 🙏

Really appreciate the amount of efforts and research put into making of this video. Amazing content and video quality.

Another Quality Video showing me that at 72 soon, I can still learn. A Friend uses the word "Revelations" meaning EVENTUALLY and SUDDENLY finding something out that Others have LONG known. Your Videos are full of these little Gems. I am very pleased to have found your Channel. .

I find that pace is the major factor for me. If I’m commuting or just cruising around, I’ll stay upright and counterbalance. If I’m riding a little more aggressively in the twisties or track, I hang off. There’s no “better” method for me. Master both for different situations and let your technique and style be fluid and reflect a well rounded Moto education.

Mike on Bikes did an excellent video on this, performing laps on a supermoto while only leaning normally and others while counter-leaning. I recommend checking it out if you want to look at some actual data analysis on it.

This channel is brilliant. Physics, Bikes, Humour.

Good video. Counterleaning is real world. Learned on bicycle and most well appreciated in a slow turning course.

My god the production value has gotten good on these videos. I don’t even own a motorcycle and I keep catching myself rewatching these.

I just finished motorcycle school and they taught us always to counter balance at lower speeds (under 30, or just in the city in general) but to lean with the bike when taking a corner at higher speeds.

Superb! You're getting exceptionally good at this stuff.

I Just love this guy!!! The way things are explained is simply superb!!!

Leaning and counterleaning are just two different tools in the box: And we should train both methods. Neither is objectively "right". In a parking lot or in tight traffic (or on your dirtbike in the trees), counterleaning is the way to go for all of the reasons in the video. In a fast turn, counterleaning just INCREASES lean angle and moves mass toward the outside of the turn. This is the opposite of what a rider wants. Leaning puts more mass near the center of the turn, the lean angle decreases, traction is maintained, and vision through the turn is usually improved. Pushing the bike down and counterleaning in this situation is risky because you will reach the limit of traction and the limit of lean sooner for a given speed. Riders unnecessarily lowside like this all the time.

I love how almost all the videos end up by " THIS is scientifically better... But whatever, I'll do what I want anyway "

Love spotting the shooting locations across the lower mainland. Great content!

I watched this video about a year ago and I feel like it moved my riding skill forward as much as 1,000 road miles.

I've always leaned at higher speeds, and counter balanced at lower speeds generally. Though, it does depend on your particular application in that instance as always.

Passed my riding test today, thanks to your counter lean idea it was effortless. Thanks a ton.

This video is not just informative. It's so satisfying to watch that I've watched it MULTIPLE TIMES!! 😂

There is no right and wrong way. Only the wrong way for that specific situation.

I’m sad to say, I think I’ve watched every single Fortnine clip available. Haven’t owned a bike in 10yrs and physically can’t own one again but anticipation of these clips is like getting a new issue of Two Wheels back in the day. Simply sublime works gang. Thanks.

Leaning/hanging into a turn to offset some lean angle helps do a few positive things: 1. keep from hitting the lower-traction edge of the tire. 2. Keeps better ground clearance to keep parts from scraping. 3. Keeps your head/eyes looking into the corner. But it has no effect on lateral acceleration and traction stress on the tire, as many believe. Counter-leaning is a technique for low-speed quick-turn agility.

been working on my cornering mountain biking and stumbled on this video. i may not have a motor, but this was a helpful explanation of the counterleaning technique ive been learning for the trails. thanks!

Thanks for putting that last bit in. I was starting to think I had a possessed bike or something. If I counter-steer, I can't lean as much to get around a corner; I scrape pegs. I learned that leaning with the bike allows it to stay upright more for tighter turning. It's how I have my Harley taking the Tail of the Dragon at near sportbike speeds. I first started riding the Harley with countersteer and found my pegs scraping at a mere 20-degree turn going 55mph. Once I got used to the heavier bike, leaning before the bike became second-nature and I can play on hairpins.

Good stuff! I stand (lean) with your final comments. As a counter balance dirt biker, it's fun to lean to the inside when riding the dirt bikes on pavement sections and stay off the worn edges of the knobbies....and play moto GP. ;-)

I was taught this way - ‘To push the bike away from me through a corner’’ and stay up right or even lean the other way. Appears to work for a reason, nice that Ryan has put it all in perspective now.

This is what makes riding so exciting! Lots of choices as you ride. Never boring.

You are truly the Einstein of the motorcycling world. Keep it up, we the motorcycle enthusiast are watching, and learning from all them videos 👍👍😎

The amount of reactions and video responses to this video from other youtubers is pretty amazing! It goes to show how good Ryan and FortNine develop their content! Good job!

In gymkhana they taught me this: in long speedy curves you lean, in ultra-short turns you counter-lean. If you counter-lean in a long curve, you may push your bike down beyond the point of grip loss, that's a fall. If you try to lean in a short turn where you bike's front wheel 'walks' around the almost stationary rear wheel, then you don't have enough speed to keep you upright. That's a fall, too.

Great to see the guys improvement in presentation. First videos were a bit gringe but he didn't give up and now seems to be one of the most viewed motorcycle channels with interesting info.

Love that channel. Kinda my first comment on the theme I like. My point is it’s too complex and include so many details: Dynamics of braking right before turning + turning traction + surface state and changing grip spots for each tyre + tons of tech moments starting from oil and tyre temperature to humidity and what kind of chilli pepper you ate day ago. Bringing all in one makes you a Jedi who needs to fire a bomb into the heart of the Death Star.

Really difficult topic to explain because it is more on the feel and instincts of a rider. For me this is my simplified analysis on this topic based on my experience: - slow corner approach = counter balance - average speed approach = neutral - fast aproach = lean af - evasive maneuvers = counter balance --- but still depends on situation, terrain, and the bike 😆🤷

hi, I have just seen this video and having spent a lot of time as a Motorcycle instructor in the UK, where new riders have to Pass a multitude of tests including a Mod 1 high speed handling test, this form of riding is taught to new riders because it is the only safe way of controlling the bike and to be able to safely pass the tight U-turn and emergency avoidance section of the test. Also most instructors knew it is the only way to keep both the rider and the bike balanced without compromising vision and safety. Try turning your bike around (u-turn) on a single lane UK or European road without moving your position to the outside of the bikes lean angle and you will probably not make it. Different road widths and conditions are a factor in how a motorbike rider was trained, but the method in this video is spot on. Our country lanes are much narrower and have tighter turns than almost all racing circuits, but trying to corner like you are on a GP bike almost always puts you in the weeds or in al lot of cases in the UK off the side of a mountain (Lakes or Scotland etc) or in a ditch or river. - Most riders will run out of tyre (friction and grip) because the road surface is not as sticky as a race track, nor are the tyres designed for the bumps and undulations of a country road. Also by counter-leaning, you are also inducing counter steering without realising it which helps the control of the bike. - E.g. to counter lean through a corner, the bike leans for example to the right. Now to counter lean your body, you naturally extend your right arm (by adjusting your shoulder position usually) which pushes your body over to the opposite direction to the bikes lean angle. This without you realising it adds in a small amount of counter steering at the bars and you will find yourself rounding corners more fluidly. But one of the greatest advantages to counter leaning as outlined in the video is VISION, which is what you need while riding on public roads. One last point which can be missed - If you have a rider who is wary of leaning the bike because he/she feels like they are falling when the bike leans - Get them to counter lean - This fools the inner ear into thinking everything is under control because the head is mostly upright and the rider has a more level view of the road. The sense of falling diminishes and the rider becomes more confident. In the UK we only have about 1.4 million motorbikes on the road at any one time (1% of road users) but we cover 4.4 BILLION miles with an average rider trip rate of 438 trips per year - Basically at least one trip a day per rider. But accidents are still on the high side, and in 2020 there were 285 killed. Sounds bad, but it is out of a pool of 1.4 million doing 4.4 billion miles. In the USA 14% of riders are killed which is extremely high. Which seems at odds with the generally slower speeds, wider roads and more cruiser style of bike in comparison to the Hyper and sports bike option a lot of UK and European riders choose. Adventure bikes,. tourers and cruisers are starting to come into favour, but its the latter that has been the most popular in these parts for quite some time. But - Anything to reduce these figures for all riders in every country is a help. and counter leaning with the induced counter steering it brings as well as improved vision is a step in the right direction. Great Video

Thank you, Joffrey Lannister for your cool and life saving tip. I knew you would turn up better as you grow up.

Lovely !,. Beautifully explained and compiled !... Nice work !!

I started counter leaning intuitively after trying different methods, it feels much more stable and you get a clearer view through the corner

Slam on earth faster than a Chinese Rocket. Ryan never fail to entertain.

I've been counter-leaning for years but I started watching videos of track bikes & thought I was supposed to learn how to hang off the bike & drag my knees. That actually slowed me down a little & felt awkward. I don't have access to a race track so I'm happy to go back to counter-leaning.

I ve watched this video a few times, love the info and logic in it. Now I can't help but notice that's its also the funniest and full of innuendo... :)) love your work and how you explain the motorcycle world. Big up & thanks.

Damn, I've done those subconsciously. I'm leaning when I'm at high speed, and counterlean when at low speed or for sudden movement.

Circumstantial is the word I love when it comes to debating on this issue. :D

Two years on and this is still an Absolute Masterpiece

This guy is so dang smart. He even sports a Casio F-91W, a true sign of a big brain.

song is Vaporize by Squiid (it’s on Spotify

Bought a supermoto recently and I have been practicing my counter leaning after having made it a habit of leaning in. Great information Ryan, you explained it with simplicity and clarity

This dude could make a video about anything and I'd enjoy watching it, dude's hilarious 😂

Thanks for the great into!! Recently bought a big old 1998 Harley Road King Classic and the heavy frame has really changed how I drive and I take corners a lot slower than I probably should but this counterweight idea should help me out greatly. I will have to take it out and practice doing this soon!!

The shot at 4:53 has to be, by far, the best footage about the mechanics of countersteering that ever existed (or the one I can remember anyway).

Getting back into motorcycles after a while, it was nice to see this video. I know how important leaning and counterbalance is. Thanks for explaining how it "works" and the different methods.

Best moto channel yet. Keep it up!

Just found your channel loving these videos 🎉❤

I think I’ve watched all of Ryans videos 18 times by now. They’re like mini documentaries.

Fan freakin tastic sir! Instead of "always" or "never" the real answer is very often "it depends". I LOVE the physics explanation videos you do.

just love this channel

“… will slam you to earth faster than a chinese rocket” got me good 😂😂😂😂