Counter Steering
How Hard Should I Push
During my 20+ years as a motorcycle coach, counter steering has been the riding technique that has created the most confusion.
What is this mythical counter steering? How does it work?
In this article, we’ll explore counter steering in layperson terms.
What is counter steering on a motorcycle?
Firstly, it is useful to perhaps state the obvious: a motorcycle must lean to go around a corner.
The definition of counter steering is pushing on the inside handlebar to lean your motorcycle into a corner.
Simply push left to lean the bike to the left for a left-hand corner and push right for a right-hand corner.
Your handlebars and front wheel initially point in the opposite direction of travel, which is counter or opposite to steering a car, hence the name.
Due to the motorcycle’s dynamics, counter steering generally works at speeds above walking pace and is the primary method of steering a motorcycle.
How do you understand counter steering?
To truly understand how the physics of counter steering works requires engineering knowledge of motorcycle dynamics such as trail, centripetal forces, gyroscopic precession, etc.; this is where confusion arises.
But that’s okay because the physics is confusing - even for an engineer.
Most riders simply overthink counter steering because they are non-engineers trying to understand engineering.
