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Post by 2strokd on Nov 16, 2012 15:35:06 GMT -5
bbold...I thought it was crazy too, but then I googled it and saw a few videos. It's all about the center of gravity. Once you understand it and try it, it's kinda fun. Let's say you are making a right turn, you just pull the left handle for an instant, then turn right...you'll immediately go into a nice lean and make the turn easily because you changed the center of gravity with that little "left" movement. I went to an empty parking lot and did figure 8's for an hour  :thumb: Thats what im talking about :cheers: Fun too huh :riding: |
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bbold
Scoot Member
Posts: 62
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Post by bbold on Nov 17, 2012 3:31:55 GMT -5
haha! Weird. I'll give it a try tomorrow if it doesn't rain here.
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Post by ososlow on Nov 18, 2012 18:08:37 GMT -5
:stumped: so how are you guys that are not countersteering turning once you get up to speed?
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Post by pinkscoot on Sept 13, 2020 18:11:51 GMT -5
I decided to resurrect this old thread because lately I have been practicing counter steering. When I go get coffee I take the back way with some great twists and turns. Traffic is light and its perfect to practice. I find the 250 Vespa loves to be counter steered while the Velocifero takes a very light touch to take the turns. When counter steering I'm able to really increase my speed. Google it and there is a wealth of information out there.
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Post by aeroxbud on Sept 13, 2020 18:29:06 GMT -5
Wow, holy back from the dead thread! 😂
I never consciously used it much on the scooter. But since moving to a city. It's great for throwing the bike one way then the other through a series of roundabouts. 😁
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Post by 90GTVert on Sept 13, 2020 19:05:04 GMT -5
Since we're in an 8 year old thread about steering, might as well add putting your weight forward on turns. Not so important for bikes where the weight is fairly well distributed, but some scoots are super light up front. I find that it helps at speed to move to the front of the seat. Definitely improves handling for me. Not the kind of thing you need to do if you're taking leisurely rides on good surfaces though. You can also change body positioning to help you turn. For very low speed maneuvers, where you're not countersteering, it may be beneficial to move your weight to the outside of the turn. So if you're making a slow tight left turn or turnaround, like in a parking lot, move your body to the right to counterbalance and improve stability. If you're going fast in a turn, then it may help to put your weight to the inside of the turn. So if you are coming up on a left curve at speed, it may decrease the bike's lean angle and improve cornering if your weight moves left of the seat. Watch a MotoGP onboard ( EXAMPLE) and you'll see that concept in action. Use any info at your own risk. Please don't go out and crash or fall off of your scooter getting aggressive with this stuff. I do think it's useful to try to learn to turn a little better at speed for any rider though. If you ever come up on a turn faster than you wanted to be going, maybe it will help to reduce panic and rely on skill. I have panic braked coming up on turns and nearly ate it, then realized I could have just leaned it and carried on. Related : www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/news-and-views/advice/biking-tips/rider-skills-what-to-do-if-you-go-into-a-corner-too-fastEDIT : While I'm here, you can see a few examples of some skills practices that you can easily do in a parking lot. I bought soccer cones ( amazon) for this stuff long ago. Cheap, light and stackable. |
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Post by Lucass2T on Sept 14, 2020 5:31:29 GMT -5
Isn't this something that should just come natural?
I mean, you can read all you want about riding positions and all but in the end it's all about getting on, riding it and building up experience. You'll find our for yourself what works and what doesn't.
Same with skateboarding, by reading how to do it you won't become any better. It's feeling with the board and experience.
When I bought my very first motorcycle at 17y/o (which was a Honda cr500) I didn't have any experience. I only had ridden one or two 50cc mopeds before. You'll have to learn yourself and develop feeling with the bike.
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Post by 90GTVert on Sept 14, 2020 8:17:46 GMT -5
Isn't this something that should just come natural? I mean, you can read all you want about riding positions and all but in the end it's all about getting on, riding it and building up experience. You'll find our for yourself what works and what doesn't. Same with skateboarding, by reading how to do it you won't become any better. It's feeling with the board and experience. When I bought my very first motorcycle at 17y/o (which was a Honda cr500) I didn't have any experience. I only had ridden one or two 50cc mopeds before. You'll have to learn yourself and develop feeling with the bike. IMO it depends on the person. I think we all learn in different ways. Countersteering naturally occurs, but learning to use it never happened for me until it was brought to my attention. I can also honestly say that I would never think on my own to move my weight to one side to take a turn at speed. When I first started riding, I thought more like; stay centered on the seat or lean the other way so this thing doesn't fall over at speed. I had seen racers hanging off the bike, but I used to think they were just trying to drag a knee as some sort of gauge and didn't really get the concept. Learning about things and then trying to experiment with them on my own is what worked for me. I got my first scooter in my 20s. I had no fear and a basically equal amount of skill. Before that I spent time on midbikes and raced friends in parking lots. We liked to drag footpegs and make sparks going around turns and thought that's as fast as you could get. I crashed one of those on a turn and low sided and banged myself up a little. Didn't teach me anything. Rear tire was a little slack so I blamed that. Got on my first scooter and tried to take a very tight 90 degree turn at full speed (~45MPH) and bounced off of the asphalt. Another example; my father used to ride with me a little bit. When he first rode he ran off of the road because he didn't understand how to steer a 2 wheeler. He all but crashed, trying to brake and going straight off into grass. He had been OK turning onto roads and with gradual bends, but the first real turn didn't go well. I guess when he saw the turn coming and though about it, he tried to steer what seemed right and that didn't work and he didn't know that you really have to lean. I talked to him about turning and we rode slower for a bit. Then he lead us down a road with a couple of tight turns. He was on my old SunL that wouldn't go much over 30-35MPH, but panicked on the first turn and ran off into a soy bean field and broke his ribs. Once he healed and wanted to ride again, I made him come out to a parking lot with me and do a bunch of practice before we went on the road. Some people have a gift I guess and things come naturally to them. I'm not one of those people and I'm sure I'm not the only one. Learning through trips to the hospital kinda sucks. |
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Post by Lucass2T on Sept 14, 2020 8:50:45 GMT -5
I guess I might be biased since I live in bicycle country no.1 and been riding bicycles before I could read.
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Post by aeroxbud on Sept 14, 2020 9:21:20 GMT -5
I guess I was lucky riding motorcycles from an early age off road. It gives you most of the skills you need. But having the bike stand up when braking hard from 80mph, and trying to go round a corner. Was not one of them.  |
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Post by badmotorscooter on Sept 14, 2020 13:53:55 GMT -5
When I first learned about countersteering years ago I quickly figured out I was already doing it. If I consciously made it an effort it just seem to screw me up. When making quick avoidance maneuvers you pretty much have to use it or risk hitting something. Sharp parking lot turns and such too.
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Post by CrankingWithCG on Sept 14, 2020 21:42:41 GMT -5
I counter steer when I'm riding hard, but on my 150, I mostly turn with my weight and butt for some reason. Maybe a bit of both?
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Post by badmotorscooter on Sept 15, 2020 19:32:05 GMT -5
I went on a beautiful 25 mile round trip into town (75f). And yes, I was thinking about the countersteering thing.
It was a little difficult to do, but I managed to ride normally and wrap my mind around how I was actually steering without changing anything.
I found I was doing three things in varying degrees.
1. countersteering by pushing on the handlebars on the side I wanted to turn towards.
2. actually pulling on the opposite side of the handlebar to initiate a faster countersteer turn when needed.
3. using my body weight to make a turn.
I was mostly doing all three things in conjunction. I then tested body weight lean by itself and was surprised to see how well it worked when riding a 176 pound scooter. I'm sure this would have much less effect on a 600+ pound motorcycle.
I then practiced some avoidance maneuvers by dodging marks on the pavement. You an do amazing things on a small scooter, but one still needs to practice and stay sharp.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 16, 2020 16:30:28 GMT -5
I hear on shifting forward in the seat. I've found that I tend slide closer to the tank when making turns at speed or accelerating out of a corner.
I wasn't really aware that I was doing that until the one time I didn't. Ended up going waaay wide left turn and onto the grass. Fortunately I didn't bail. Wasn't flying, just cruising along but I didn't time it right and I didn't get into the lean.
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Post by collinsd84 on Sept 19, 2020 16:12:03 GMT -5
Just a little push on the handle facing where I want to turn,
and my weight is all it takes on my LX 50. Me heavy, scooter light ? Maybe.
Looking the direction I want to go helps.
Slow down, look, break lightly, and roll on the throttle.
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