A video from the Cambridge Science Centre demonstrating how physics can be applied to steering and countersteering using a model motorcycle. Visit us at www.cambridgesc...
I didnt get how countersteering worked. But after i got my first bike, i realized how it worked. Very hard to understand from an explanation, but very easy to understand when doing it
Seriously. It's very mildly complicated physics, but hop on a bike, get to speed, and try turning the handlebars. You go the opposite way you intend. It's that basic.
Surely it's all riders that do this rather than most? It's the standard way to turn isn't it? Even if you don't know you're doing it. The only other ways to turn are to to just turn the bars in the direction you wanna go, but that only works at very low speed. Or to lean bike without initiating countersteering first, which is more advanced and more for racing, trials etc.
Most motorcycle fatalities are New Riders who instinctively think by turning away from the object they are trying to avoid will move them away. Which actually sends them toward it. So not every rider does it in a panic situation. The last thing that enters a Rookies mind is aim for what I’m trying to avoid to get away from it.
The description at 2:32 was critical for me. Counter-steer then LET the bike turn. Relaxing on the bars allows the bike to naturally "fall" into the turn.
It is really important to release the counter steer to get the maximum steer in the direction you want. This is after us8ng counter steer to get you into the desired lean angle. Unfortunately this video only tells half the story which is why it is so simple to understand. I was going to make a digital protractor attached to a bike so we could see the actual amount of steer and in which direction throughout a turn to finally put this subject to bed. I am amazed that no one has done it yet.
@@steve24822 It depends on the bike, though. If the bike has a taller center of gravity and less aggressive steering geometry, it is as you say. You countertweak the bar, momentarily, then you relax (or even help whip the bars into the turn if you did a super aggro counter tweak), then once on your arc/radius, you generally have to reapply and hold a bit of counter force to maintain that arc under any bit of throttle. But on the more modern super sport crotch rockets, the steering can be so quick that you never have to "let go" of the countersteer. The bike instantly rolls and achieves a new equilibrium throughout the entire process. It's all happening at once. As soon as you start to apply counterpressure, the bike instantly leans and changes arc (taking the fork with it, into the turn) and you continue this continual process degree by degree (very rapidly, mind you) until you reach the radius you want. Instead of dialing in one big bite at a time, you are ordering and eating and digesting tiny nibbles of your turn, a la carte, until you're there... cuz it happens that fast. On this quick-steering crotch rocket, the only time you will feel any separation between the different parts of the process is maybe in a very tight switchback at around 30 mph. Depending on your motorcycle's geometry, you can have a very different experience from another rider. This super quick steering doesn't mean the bike can turn any harder or tighter or go any faster. Or avoid a pothole any better. But is does allow for a bit more gradual and continous course corrections mid-turn and is generally regarded as enabling potentially better lap times. It is no fun to ride, though. Distinctly feeling the different parts of the turn is very rewarding.
ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-odJJXhg79j8.html this video right here is long but it’s the only video you will ever have to watch to teach you how to ride. It’s older and corny but the facts and knowledge involved is amazing I always refer back to this video and watch sections of it all the time after rides because you have to build that muscle memory and perfect all these basic skills and I guess advanced as well but perfecting the skills taught in this video will make you an amazing rider if you take the time to actually properly learn and practice this stuff. Anyone can become a good rider practicing bad habits. Make sure you are practicing the right thing and you will be amazed on how good will become.
ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-odJJXhg79j8.html this video right here is long but it’s the only video you will ever have to watch on how to ride. I recommend watching the first few parts and practicing that then move on with the other stuff. I always refer back to this video to help make sure I’m riding and practicing proper technique to the best of my ability. Please take the time to watch this I promise you won’t regret it. Let me know what you think if you end up checking it out.
Wow, when I had created this video 6 years with my ex-husband in our living room as we were coming up with the initial concept of the Cambridge Science Centre, I never expected it to be so widely received and appreciated. Thank you, everyone, for your kind feedback! And many thanks to the people at CamRider Motorcycle School for helping us with the details.
This is still the best explanation I've come across for countersteering. Would it be ok with you if I referenced your video in a future video I plan on doing?
This is by far the BEST explanation ever!! All everyone ever says is to turn in the opposite way that you want to go, and that just did not make sense to me. What this has explained is that turning your wheel in the opposite direction "is only a momentary event" to get the bike to lean. Once you are in the turn your wheel is no longer being turned away, it's now following that path of the direction you are going, please do not overlook that part of what was said. Bravo .. I now get it.
Yes, it is the lean created by the centripetal force of the counter-steer the turns you in that direction. This is why if you start a turn by a hard lean followed by turning in that direction there is no counter steer effect. Counter-steer is most powerful when you are completely upright. It is the only way to avoid suddenly appearing obstacles.
Dwayne Washington --> You are Wrong Sir... When you are in a turn/corner, the rider Must 'maintain' that push on the grip (wheel turned slightly in the opposite direction) to keep the bike in the lean... if you let up pushing on the grip, the gyroscopic effect of the spinning wheels will then pull the bike upright. Not good in the middle of a turn...
You are partially right Ducati dude. The thing is if you are in a corner you can just lean with your body in the corner and make your weight to create the counter steer you need without pressing the handlebar. Of course if you have to tighten the corner just press on the inside handlebar some more and adjust your position accordingly .
@@Ducati_Dude I guess you have a bike, so try your experiment; Don't blame me when you crash. Sorry, I don't mean that!. Honestly though I can go around a a corner (say a slip road to a motorway) and once at a set lean angle can take my hands off the bars (ok, assume const. throttle) and maintain a constant radius - no steering input needed.
It's nice to have a scientific explanation of this phenomenon that encompasses all facets. Most videos pertaining to the subject treat it like its paranormal or unexplainable.
ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-PgUOOwnZcDU.html University video - short and best science explanation of how countersteering works. It supports what MotoJitsu is saying in this video
I've watched so many videos about counter steering trying to understand it and, unlike the other videos, this actually makes sense. All of the other videos just said, "oh it sounds but backwards but this is how it works trust me just do it," and they barely even explained how to do it. It's just a 2-3 minute video saying, "turn it left and it goes right"
Here's an easy way to get you head around it. Get hold of a bicycle and walk it along steering only by holding the seat - you've probably already done this. To get it to turn, you exaggerate the lean until the handlebars flop down to the right position. You might be a bit naughty and ride your motorcycle with you hands of the bars using the same technique to steer. Countersteering is doing the same thing to the bars but by pushing.
Basic Weeb It is easier to understand like this for me. "Push right, go right. Push left go left". Then it is not opposite or counterintuitive. It is what I have been doing for years, but I didn't know I was doing it until I saw one of these videos. I wasn't sure I was doing it until I practiced it and it did exactly what I expected and I did it at speed and it felt natural. It is the only way to make turns at speed for me. It only takes a small push to get the bike to lean, but the harder the push, the tighter and more the lean you get. If you want a tight 'Laguna Seca' turn you push hard and slow, and get the knee out to take the turn.
Poor guy during my motorcycle exam took this the wrong way and thought he better turn left to go right while going slow lol He dumped the bike and they failed him on the spot.
"this is what keeps a moving bike upright" WRONG!!! Everything in this video is 100% accurate except this. A bike is stable not because of the rotating wheels, but because of the pivot of the handlebars. If you weld the steering so it can't move, the bike will fall over quickly. Counter-rotating wheel mass has proven this fact. A bike will still ride fine with wheels of ZERO weight. Good video besides that...
Counter steering becomes a natural process with experience. Only by practicing, can one learn the muscle memory required in cornering a bike properly on any turn at high or liw speed. That's the problem, the vast number of of bike owners, don't ride often enough to warrent the practice they need to establish previous let alone the new muscle memory required in any turning conditions they may face. On average, a new bike owners will buy a bike, opt in on a group ride and while riding two up, attempt to keep up to vetern riders. A very bad idea. I was an avid rider in my youth, got involved with raising a family and quit for 20 years. Although I had hundreds of hours and thousands of mikes of riding experience in the past, under my belt. My first ride home from the dealer, frightened me the most. The muscle memory required in turning regardless of speed and or conditions was all but gone. It took longer than I would like to admit riding like a complete newbie on lonely curvy roads and empty parking lots at slow speeds before my regaining the muscle memory I once had.
William Guy Thilgen Jr. I think because of how fun the whole experience of riding is (especially for a new rider) it's easy to forget how much time we spent practicing when we first started. I've been riding two years now and just got my full unrestricted license (UK) so we were itching to get my girlfriend on pillion and go on a ride together. On our first ride we only went around the estate (or block), but we spent ages doing it, getting used to how it handles (and for her, learning how to ride pillion and getting comfortable with it). Only then did I remember how many countless hours I'd spent in the saddle before being confident and well versed in the motions/controls enough to leave for more busy and faster roads! Like you say, it's all muscle memory, and once you have it it's very easy to forget how long it took to obtain the skills that you use in controlling the bike. Glad you've got back into it and are enjoying it again, ride free and stay safe.
William Guy Thilgen Jr. I don't think it was just the muscle memory also you haven't been on a bike for 20 years and speed on a motorcycle is totally different than a car. On a motorcycle we have so many more sensory overloads than driving a car which causes fear too. So I can see how riding home from the dealership would cause trouble if you haven't experience motorcycle speed in 20 years.
Please, you must tell the little lady that she needs to get her own motorcycle. Tell her you can still be friends, but that you think it's important for her to learn riding skills, indepentently. Tell her how much fun you have riding. Then, tell her of the inherent dangers of riding double. Please don't ride double. If the little lady wants to ride, please tell her to get her own bike. It's imperative you do so. I've been driving for many years. Please, don't crash while doubling.
It's for just htis reason that I believe people should have to re-do their drivers license test either every five years or every ten years. Simply because if you get a license and then dont drive for 30 years and you are going to drive...do you really know how to drive?
I learned how to ride with a bicycle. I always went as fast as possible as a kid and learned counter steering on accident. I remember being so confused at the msf then realizing ive been doing it the whole time😂😂
You were going great until 2:12 - it is gyroscopic procession that causes the front wheel to lean and it is the gyroscopic force working with frame geometry and frame integrity that cause the rear of the bike to follow and thus steer the bike.
The fact that it takes a video like this to correctly explain the concept, though many motorcyclists have tried, says a lot about the motorcycle community, unfortunately.
Thank you for actually making sense of this concept. I've seen countless videos on this topic that don't seem to get pass vaguely explaining the topic as "Push left to go right. Push right to go left".
Gyroscopic precession is what you actually feel when you press on the bars. It's why there is such an instantaneous and direct response, regardless of suspension, tyre bend, pressure and any other 'soft' components; the torque on the bars acts on the wheel/gyro hub without going through soft connections It's also why you can slide both wheels and still maintain a bank angle without immediately crashing. Centripetal force turns the bike but gyroscopic precession steers it, if that makes sense
Justin Esdaile What do you think what would happen when you change wheel to a ski? How much gyro effect you feel after that? The bike still turn like before.
Think about this; When you first learn to walk as a toddler, you learn how to balance yourself on two legs standing upright. Cool. Then when you are about 4 years old, Dad comes along and puts you on a small 2 wheel bicycle and gives you a gentle shove forward. The damn machine doesn't want to cooperate. After crashing 10 or 20 times, your young brain finally puts the problem into perspective and you begin to shift your body weight and handlebar in the proper direction to remain upright ( more or less ). Voila! You can ride a 2 wheeler without those pesky training wheels.Its somewhat counter intuitive to our sense of balance, which is why we have some trouble mastering it, but It stays with you the rest of your life.
How come every single bicycle rider is able to steer their bike without knowing a thing about counter steering? Not to mention the hundreds of drunk tourists on mopeds who successfully navigate around their particular Caribbean Island. I'm not saying the principles he's describing are wrong, but just that it's intuitive and you need to know nothing about counter steering in order to do it properly.
this video is poorly done, the creator does not appear to know how to ride a motorcycle the beginning with a toy on a record player turntable is pointless, and has nothing to do with how motorcycles corner and steer, the tires are not in contact with the ground they are not spinning, and the designed nature of a motorcycle to self balance is not present. A motorcycle will never-ever be thrown sideways out of a curve like your toy on a record player- it is physically impossible and the rider does not have to exactly match the lean to compensate for the centripetal forces on the motorcycle, the bike does it by design and does it by itself you miss all of this completely your description of how a turn is initiated is also incorrect: you do not start a left turn by pushing the handlebars into a "right turn" which creates centripetal forces that leans the bike left - that is completely false. Turning a motorcycle at speed is simple. The machine is designed to make it simple, stable and easy and best of all precise. At speed the motorcycle is self balancing. To turn left you apply a forward push to the left grip. This disturbs the self balancing of the bike, causing it to lean to the left, the steering head and front wheel turns to the left, against the force you are applying, and the bike leans and turns left. The harder you push the harder the bike leans and turns. You stop pushing and the bike stands up straight and goes straight again on your new heading, all by itself. Its that simple. If you had a motorcycle and knew how to ride you could verify this for yourself, then come back and delete this video full of nonsense! Replace it with a video that is 10 seconds long that shows what I was able to say in 5 sentences.
I still don't get it after watching 3 times. Could be explained better, esp the part about the unstable right hand turn that allows a quicker left hand turn. Not clear at all.
It took 7 videos, 50 minutes of wasted watching and endless RU-vid searches but finally, a video that makes total sense. Step 0 at 2:04 is the game-changer that others seemed to have trouble explaining, however, watch the entire video before 2.04 to understand why. Thank you for a very concise and practical video.
scientificly not really/completely correct but I think it does its job... 🤔 Buut my autism tells me that a video why has "the physics of" in the title should get the physics right .... completely right ... actually this is tryhard nitpicking what in doing right now but idk.
I have seen countless videos on countersteering and have heard many people try and explain it and most people struggle to get the idea across clearly. This was a very good explanation/demonstration.
FINALLY... someone made it simpler to understand. I've watched clips from 5 - 9 FRIGGIN minutes on countersteering, and this man has made it easy to understand in less than THREE (3) minutes!!! Wow!!!
There's an internet meme going around saying that countersteering is using gyroscopic precession to enter the turn. I think your explanation is much more cogent. Turning handlebars would induce a gyroscopic tilt, not a wheel turn. The demos of turning wheels with a gravitational force uses a different direction of applied torque. And gyroscopic effects on a bike tend to make it travel in a straight line with self righting properties, it resists turning either way.
This is wrong explaination, you are not smarter than bike instructors, who cannot explain it right. I will shoot my own video, so you and all instructors can finally understand it. It is so funny!
The narrator says: "if you just lean into the curve the bike will respond too slowly". What on earth is "leaning into the curve"? Example: we now have robot "ridden" bikes. They only operate the handlebars. When programming the bike to steer and remain upright, in what way would you differentiate between a "lean into the curve" and the counter-steering you describe? If you want to program the robobike to initiate even the mildest lean to the left, you'd have to instruct it to give a mild steering adjustment to the right. In other words there is absolutely no way to distinguish between a "lean into the curve" and counter-steering. They are obviously the same thing, just different in severity and much more noticeable to the rider.
I've never found all the discussion about "countersteering" to be of any use at all. I rode bikes for years. One develops a natural feel for what is necessary. Intellectualizing about something that has become intuitive is counterproductive. The mind works far quicker than words.
Russell Parratt RU-vid is bigger than life now. Agree? If not there just how many videos have all of us seen on maybe just steering? Gear? Bikes? It is ENDLESS...!. And as you mentioned you haven’t given it much thought because you naturally did this when you and I learned way back...when? For me it was 1968. Today’s young men or woman have to draw on this menagerie of info. And THEN take it back too school/work for example, where their peers chastise part of what they talk about. Then they may told. Just follow us. We’ll teach you (possibly wrong) the way. When I started riding there was no motorcycle safety class. There wasn’t even a class M motorcycle DL!. All you needed was the car license. My how our world has gotten so precise and full of itself!
@@stevenc8140 youtube is only bigger than life for those with nothing better to do..... where are you? in 1968 motorcycle endorsement was required in Pennsylvania....maybe your world is full of itself
david jones that’s because while we are riding with shorts and no helmets with a great looking woman on the back. In the California sunshine with 80 degrees after going to the beach in December. You guys in Penn are doing your imitation dance like Eskimos and riding snow mobiles with ice fishing. That or trying to break down and then get lost in one of the Penn turnpike (exactly what is a turnpike?) tunnels that one goes in and two come out! NEXT!
The explanation is sound however it still doesn't tell riders what they really need to know about counter steer which is that you don't learn to counter steer it is intuitive and if you ever rode a bicycle then you already know how to counter steer without even thinking about it. What riders need to learn is to NOT counter the counter steering effect when going into a corner. When riders go into a corner that is too fast for their experience level they panic, the next thing they do is grip the bars tightly and attempt to steer the bars in the direction of the corner like they would turn the wheel of a car to steer, in doing do they counter the counter steering effect which causes the bike to stand up not lean into the corner as it should and the result is they don't just run wide they run right off the road. They need to learn not to panic and to relax their grip and let counter steering occur and not fight against it causing the bike to have even less chance of taking the corner. Anyone seeing this may conclude it was target fixation but in fact its far more likely to be panic steering into the corner that causes the bike to stand up not lean over. This is a mistake that can see you dead pretty easily so its a lesson worth learning..Don't panic and fight the bars and oppose the counter steering and end up hitting a tree, relax and let the counter steering work so you take the corner.
My old man taught me the eaisest way to understand it (at least it a for me): to corner left, push left, corner right, push right. (On the bars, obviously!) 😂 Worked for me
I don’t think this video is completely correct. Yes, pushing left will initiate a left hand turn, but you have to keep pressure on the left grip. It doesn’t then “reset” and start turning like a car. Try it out in a parking lot. Put a little pressure on the left grip. You’ll slowly lean and turn left. Now press a little harder.. you’ll lean more and turn sharper.
vinnyj22 You are absolutely right fella. Make the bike steer a circle, it is exactly as you describe. Hold the circle and look down at your bars, the front wheel is indeed facing into the turn.
CambridgeScienceCtr At 1:04, the narrator says that the gyroscopic effect keeps the bike upright. This is incorrect. The steering dynamics of the bike keeps it upright. When the bike falls over, the steering dynamics makes the front wheel turn in the direction of the lean, keeping the contact patch of the tires under the bikes center of gravity. The gyroscopic effect does help with keeping the bike stable, but a bike would never be rideable if you removed the steering dynamics. The whole consept of self balancing "safety bikes", which modern bicycles first was called, is the angled front fork which turns the wheel in the direction of the lean. Read this research about it: www.phys.lsu.edu/faculty/gonzalez/Teaching/Phys7221/vol59no9p51_56.pdf You should correct this in an annotation or in the description.
Every angry d-bag on bike videos is going to completely miss the "releasing pressure on the grip" and "naturally stable left hand turn." I wish I had a free tank of gas for every loudmouth who insists they're counter steering the whole way through a turn.
aluisious There is a lot of confusion around this but, under most circumstances, most bikes have a slight tendency to stand back up which must be countered by a bit of CS pressure so you do in fact "CS the whole way through the turn". This emphatically does not mean that you keep the bars pointing left throughout a right-hand turn, though.
Looks like a very effective technique for quick turning I don't remember trying it before. The explanation is easy to follow. I can imagine now doing this and understanding each step what happens to the bike. So basically it allows you to lean fast, but you need to make sure you have enough grip at the wheels.
I watch at least 5 7minutes++ videos from top youtubers using their high end bike to explain this thing, but this 3mins video with toy bike actually enough for me to understand.
02:28 So basically a weight shift? Kinda like the car technique for getting into a drift/slide called the scandinavian flick, turn one direction and then aggressively turn to the other to shift the weight of the car to make it lose grip/traction. Except with motorcycles it's not an aggressive move, because unlike cars, motorcycles have that natural force behavior due to being on 2 wheels. Great video, really well explained. I understood everything I was meant to, I just wrote this comment because this counter-steering technique reminded me of the drifting technique. :)
Thank you, this just proves my theory ^^ I'm so proud of my self, I've been doing some work on "the back of the envelope" how to calculate the angle of the motorcycle to the horizontal and came up with a formula tan(theta)=rg/v^2 which seems to work, but doesnt take into account any air resistance, or anything complex as that, thank you for posting this video
This is like something you do since you where like 4 years old and learned to bicycle. Then you are doing the same when you are riding your motorbike. Then somebody sais that you need to know how to counter steer. WHAT NOW? I have do what now? Coutersteering is counter intuitive if you have always been steering by counter steering. Good video explaining how it works. Now I can explain it to people who never tried a motorbike before.
This video explains several of the factors of physics regarding what is happening in a turn on a motorcycle. What is missing is the physics of pushing the bar the direction you want to go. How does that pressure affect the Motorcycle to force it to lean in the proper direction. Action/reaction from hand force forward on the bars intrigues me as Keith Code demonstrates for a moment in time the bars turn the “wrong” way and then “counter-steer” to turn, dive into, or lean the proper direction kicks in. “Splain it to me, Lucy!”
When riding a bicycle or motorcycle at a slow pace, “turning” out the handlebars/wheel results in the vehicle moving in the direction you point the front tire. When turning a Motorcycle through tight cures and at a rapid rate of speed, the front tire does not hardly change direction at all, as fairing mounted cameras will attest to. All of your explanations I believe are correct. What I am most curious of, is the relationship physics of force action/reaction plays once your hand pushes on the bar the same side as you wish the direction of the Motorcycle to go in.
From what I read, it is centrifugal force that makes the bike lean outward against the turn and it is centripetal force that keeps it from "flying out" of the turn. Not sure which expert is correct.
This is correct and explains why steering right initiate a curve on the left, but doesn’t explain why in a long curve (imagine a circle with a bike going around and around) with a constant leaning angle, you still need to countersteer. In other words: it’s not the full picture
Dunno about that, motorcycles are just a mode of transportation. For me its just a way to get from point A to point B as cheaply as possible. Anything more and you're just riding around wasting gas with no purpose at all. And if you didn't know, the worlds oil supply is finite and running out. So quit screwing around joyriding. And when you pull up to those assholes filling their tanks on their SUVs at the gas station, key their fucking car for being douchebags, they are raising the price.
GZA Nope, you have the second part wrong. You steer (slightly) the the left to turn right and keep the pressure on until you reach the desired lean angle, at which point you just maintain the pressure throughout the bend. The front wheel self aligns to the turn, you do not physically change the wheel direction. Hope this helps.
I agree with all the others that say this is the first time they actually understand how it works now and so simply explained, the watch word here must be "ask an expert"!
Sorry, I don't mean to be rude, but... Ah, your missing the most important part! That's is, counter-steering is an example of a TORQUE APPLIED TO A ROTATING MASS, causing that mass to change it's equilibrium as long as that torque is applied. Period. It's the lateral torque of the front axle that causes the instability of the the front wheel. As the front wheel seeks it's new equilibrium which is angled (see video link) the front forks follow this angle to the side. The front end is now 'pulling' the bike over to its side. That's what causes the instability and the bike leaning over, of course at this point there's considerations of gravity, speed angle of lean that need to balanced to maintain radius of turn, or increase, or decrease. Yes, once a turn is initiated there are centripetal forces, yes there's a balance of speed and angle of mass and equilibrium. BUT that's all after the fact. In my opinion you should not be starting your demonstration with centripetal forces and how they balance, that's all after the fact. 1) Start at the ~0:50 stability demo; 2) EXPLAIN TORQUE input. 3) move on to instability, balance of forces to maintain the turn.... Please review: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-XPUuF_dECVI.html
Still don’t understand why the wheel turns the opposite direction. Or why applying pressure to the inside handle is required. I know it’s true, but can’t see the effect of the gyro.
TO ALL MOTORCYCLISTS: Please calm down, while riding. Make sure you have control of your machine(s). I do not ever want to see someone spill their bike in real life. I see plenty of crash videos on here. Practice, practice, practice. And, never assume an "overly lax" position on the bike. Do not assume a "lazy seating position" on the bike. Sit up straight in the saddle. It will make you a different rider, than all the others. Yes, you will look and feel like a nerd. But you must do it. Yes, even I do it. ("i must sit so i feel like a nerd"? ok, if it keeps me safe)
Hmm my brother tried this,,, happened just like what happened to lightning McQueen, he put a right signal and turned left(following on an other bike),,, I'm like why😒 and he showed me this video😂😂. I'm like okay bro i get it now😂. He tried it for an other 7weeks... And I did it I'm my second try lol...
I took a 10mph 90° right turn slipped into neutral instead of 2nd, bike fell right and spat me on the road. Another time, 10 years ago, I approached a right turn too enthusiastically at 30mph but found I couldn't steer into the corner, the bike kept going onto the kerb. If I had nudged the right hand grip forwards the bike would've turned right.
I have been trying to get my ahead around the physics of counter steering for a dozen videos now, and this is the first and ONLY one that helped me actually understand the physics involved and why it works. Thank you!!
Accidentally cam by the video a year later, and the explanation is still wrong. What he explains is low speed steering caused by changing the centre of gravity, and NOT counter steering. A typical case of the Dunning Kruger effect.
A few caveats not mentioned: this only works past a certain speed. At slow speed, you push right to go left. At higher speed, you push right to go right. Practice, practice, practice: more than a few riders have been killed because they didn’t understand or were unable to perform this maneuver. And keep practicing until it becomes natural and is ingrained in muscle memory. And DO NOT fixate on the object you are trying to avoid!
A beginning rider should not watch these types of videos. It is my belief that more problems are created by thinking during a dynamically occurring event than just reacting. The best advice for a beginning rider: get a 125cc dirt bike. Put on some tough, heavy clothes and and go out and crash at low speeds on soft ground. Repeat. Do power slides, burnouts, donuts, drifts, controlled skids, little jumps, small wheelies and a low speed obstacle course. Then move on to the largest street bike you can afford and realize its is stupid to have a such a big bike. Think about what type of use the bike will actually be performing and get that type of bike. ie: looking cool at Vespa meets or riding hard and fast to Gnome Alaska from Miami Beach. Then buy a new bike and realize it is stupid take all the depreciation loss. Buy a good used bike with a design you have thoroughly researched of a realistic displacement for your intended use. Never watch any You tube videos. Slick video for the generally interested, but ignorant viewer.
I rode for 50 years without noticing the first input is opposite the intended direction of travel..... It makes total sense though. Moving the tires to one side forces a lean to the other, which is what's referred to by motorcyclists as "throwing" the bike into a corner. However I can't possibly imagine someone negotiating traffic, and trying to "think through" a maneuver. Better to get a 125/250 and ride around in a pasture every day for a month or so. By then it should be all reaction and muscle memory...... Good Luck.....
*ALSO: A PROPERLY DESIGNED TWO WHEELER - WHEN STATIONARY AND LEANED OVER - WILL TURN IT'S FRONT WHEEL IN THE DIRECTION IT NEEDS TO TURN TO COUNTERACT THE LEAN (if it were rolling forwards) I COULD NOT RIDE A BICYCLE UNTIL MY BROTHER TOOK A BICYCLE AND ROLLED IT DOWN A HILL WITH NO RIDER ON IT - SEEING THAT, I INSTANTLY KNEW THE "SECRET" TO RIDING A TWO-WHEELER !!!*
This is the best video I've seen, explaining countersteering. I'd like to translate into Spanish, (Only Subtitles) so it can be understood for more people, and more useful. But I can't, because it's not allowed for the comunity to contribute. Would you allow me to do so? Tank you very much for the explanation, and in advance, if you let me do this.
But ... There are 6 movements possible with your hand on the left grip. Push out is not one of them. You can push in 3 directions: forward, in and down. You can pull in 3 directions: back, out and up. The only way I can understand this is, approaching an obstacle flick the handlebars slightly right. This causes the bike to try to fall over left and the bike begins to move left. So you have to return the handlebars to the neutral position to keep the bike from falling over after you miss the obstacle. Makes sense, but a slight miscalculation at any point will be disastrous. On the other hand, you can just plow into the pothole and hope your bike can take it. Probably the best thing to do is practice this in a parking lot at 15-20 mph until you get it down. In the MSF course you're told to just press left, go left. It's not presented like this at all in the course. That seems to be because this vid is concerned with a high speed swerve. The MSF course has nothing high speed in it.
Counter-steering rapidly induces a lean from a neutral position by using the weight of the bike to overcome the gyroscopic effect of the wheels. The bike, at speed, doesn't want to turn. You can use your body weight to initiate a turn by leaning, but this is slow because it doesn't have enough force to quickly overcome the gyroscopic effect. But if you, from a neutral position, push the right handlebar, the bike will turn slightly left and rapidly lean the bike to the right. It's actually quite simple.
Motorcycles are much more then just a mode of transportation... Riding in itself has purpose. The worlds oil supply is controlled and monitored closely, Big oil companies like to tell you its running out just to jack their prices... Its not because people choose to drive SUVs. -.- relax, you don't need to key everyones car at the gas station
This explains it better than he motorcycle handbook. I've known the this for a while but it's good for new riders to see why it happens. I recommend new riders find a long straight road with not potholes and practice this before they actually have to use it. It has saved me lots of wipe outs and accidents cause utahs roads aren't the greatest.
So it sounds like your center of gravity of the most important thing here. Imagine when you're driving and making a sharp turn and you have a cup of coffee in your hand. The coffee wants to spill out the opposite side of the turn. If you're turning right, the coffee inside the cup moves left and vise versa. If you tilt the cup, the coffee stays inside because the center of gravity shifts with the tilt. So, now replace the coffee with your body, and the cup with the motorcycle. It sounds like counter steering's main purpose is to allow you to lean the motorcycle in the quickest time possible. If you need to turn left quickly, you lean left and turn your handlebars RIGHT. The moment your center of gravity shifts to the left, quickly turn your handlebars LEFT to take maximum advantage of your center of gravity shifting. I am by no means an expert, but that is what I got from the video. I hope of experts can chime in if this is correct.
At 2.30 the video gets confusing. The model has the bike going into a right hand turn, which is initiated by the push on right hand bar. The video then exaggerates the turn of the front wheel leftwards and the bike model is shown leaning slightly left. Slow-motion filming of real ,counter-steering shows a quick and slight flick of the front wheel to the left before the bike swings right. But the exaggeration in the model is not helpful. Nor is it helpful that one looks at a screen with the bike coming towards one as the view from the front has left on the right side of the rider. One can swerve a bike round an obstacle by counter-steering even when remaining upright on the seat; the bike rolls under the rider. This was a racing technique back in the 1920s as evident in videos where the bike is leaning more than the rider during cornering. Beginning in1940s-1950s the racing rider remained aligned with the bike, both having the same lean; and in around 1972 the fashion for knee-scraping and leaning the body inside the turn came into play as bikes were ridden faster and tyres improved markedly allowing the bike to be cranked over beyond what seems sanity. It is nice to have an explanation based on physics; however, anyone coming into motorcycling from bicycles has learnt counter-steering without it having been turned into a compartmentalised "specialist" issue for the beginner to worry about when trying to understand how to get round corners without falling off. It has only just occurred to me that novice motorcyclists are coming into being without having ridden bicycles as children, hence the fuss about counter-steering.
I do Not want to be Too picky, anyway, but as this is a learning video so far there's some things which are a little inaccurate. e.g. about 0:20 "torque around the centre of gravity" which is wrong, in fact it's a torque THROUGH the centre of gravity around the "points" of friction in the contact area between tyres and ground. with the distance between contact area and centre of gravity projected to the vehicles high axis as the lever arm lenght, without wanting to get too specific. there's a lot of work in such small videos and the efford for them to be made has to be highly appreciated... keep it simple but stay accurate
I've been riding for 40 years and still ride. That's the most confusing way I've ever heard counter steering explained. Why describe a left hand turn as a failed right hand turn. But apparently actually helps some people wow. If counter steering is not intuitive for you then you are already at a high risk of crashing. Why because if a situation happens where immediate reaction is needed there may be no time to think about your counter steering move. Motorcycles aren't for everyone and that's why intuitive vs methodical counter steering becomes a perfect example of this.
Stop this gravity nonsense, it's called Inertia not gravity that is why everyone fails at explaining gravitational forces. Without Inertia "Gravity" falls apart. Basically humans are moving all the time using Inertia of their body in fractional movements to counter act falling down. All objects need to be moving or in their Inertial balance to not fall down. Remember Newton had no formulas for why the other Apples did not fall.
What a terrific illustration of what counter steering is all about. All good from where I sit...except for the assertion at 1:03 that angular momentum "is what keeps a rolling bike upright". I would argue that trail, built into the front wheel/steering geometry, is what keeps a bike upright at any speed. Simply put, trail geometry self corrects steering angle to keep a bike balanced (keeps the wheels under the center of gravity) whether turning, or going in a straight line. Gyroscopic effect, which increases with speed, resists any change in axis (and thus change in direction) of a spinning wheel. Gyroscopic effect is why changes in lean angle occur far more slowly at high speed than they do when initiating slow speed corners.
I still think countersteering is THE ONLY way to make a bike turn. When you lean you also countersteer, hence why you turn. Obviously the force that results is not huge so the bike won't turn that quickly. But nonetheless, you can't turn a bike by leaning...
I am a lecturer in dynamic laboratory at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. Students never admit that gyroscopic coupling is effective in balancing bicycles and motorcycles. what do I do??
This is an exceptionally poor, half arsed explanation. This explanation talks only about the front wheel acting as a gyroscope. There are many forces acting on the motorcycle to keep it stable and that cause it to steer,- and to be stable during cornering. It is the leaning, working in conjunction with chassis dynamics, that causes the bike to steer. There are five rider inputs that can be used to cause the bike to lean. To talk counter-steer is to talk of one of the five inputs. Due primarily to gyroscopic forces, a motorcycle changes its handling characteristics according to speed. For the same reason a riders inputs will vary according to the speed. Counter-steer is more important the faster you go (because gyroscopic forces increase exponentially) but the other rider inputs are still in play to steer the bike and to keep the bike stable generally or while turning.
I think saying the initially trying to turn right and the wheel will point to right IS AGAINST physics law for rotating mass!! I think the angular momentum changes in direction of torque is the underlining reason!!
On the first point, you said if you don't lean enough you'll rotate out and fall, but if you lean too much presumably gravity will overcome the turning effect in the opposite direction, so you'll fall over / lowside your bike? It's surely not possible to have the turning effect completely balanced?
