Steering help By curiousgeorge (Read 614 times)

[curiousgeorge]

Ok so I have heard that when going at medium to high speeds you need to counter steer. This really confuses me. Can someone explain this to me better. It confuses me because people say you need to turn right to go left and vice versa. Is this true? why can't i just turn right and go right? could someone help me with this issue cause i am getting my 50cc jonway agility tomorrow of friday and I don't want to crash it.

[justbuggin]

you need to lean to the left as you go right and vise-versa use very little turn with the handlebars as you lean to the outside of the turn you are putting more weight on the tires so they have better grip to the road i would recommend you take a rider safty course for more help and to better understand how to ride safe good luck to you

[curiousgeorge]

Aug 23, 2012 1:39:21 GMT -6 justbuggin said:

you need to lean to the left as you go right and vise-versa use very little turn with the handlebars as you lean to the outside of the turn you are putting more weight on the tires so they have better grip to the road i would recommend you take a rider safty course for more help and to better understand how to ride safe good luck to you

Thanks! Is it similar to steering on a mini bike and dirt bike? because that's basically what i do to turn when I ride them.

[Bashan]

Counter steering is a result of the gyroscopic effects from the spin of the wheel. That's why it doesn't happen at low speeds.

If you've ever played with large gyroscopes in a science lab you'd instantly see why it occurs. The inertia forces affect the wheel in three dimensions when the front fork turns at the angle of the rake. It forces the top of the wheel to push opposite the pull on the handlebar due to the mass of the wheel flying up at the back of the wheel, that forces you into a lean:

Gyroscopic effect on front wheel of a bike. Applying a torque (in green) about the lean axis results in a reaction torque (in blue) about the steer axis.

The rake angle is really what makes it hinky on a bike. Rich

[Moat]

If you already ride a bicycle, dirtbike or minibike - you are already using countersteering... whether you realize it or not.

At it's core, countersteering is really simple. Ride along, barely touching the handlebars - you will notice if you push forward with your right hand (the same as turning the handlebars to the left), the bike will fall to the right - and you will turn right. Simple!

If you want to learn more about how and why it works that way, read here - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Countersteering

Pay no attention to justbuggin's dangerous advice. Leaning with your body to initiate a turn takes much more time than simply pushing/pulling on the handlebars (let alone leaning the wrong way - to the outside of the turn, as justbuggin suggests... ). In an emergency, swerving as quickly as possible to avoid something can save your life. I'd recommend you practice swift maneuvering/swerving in an empty parking lot... as well as emergency braking, using the front brake to it's maximum.

Good luck, and have fun!

Bob

[Moat]

Aug 23, 2012 4:47:36 GMT -6 Bashan said:

Counter steering is a result of the gyroscopic effects from the spin of the wheel.

Rich - gyroscopic precession is only a smaller part of countersteering... especially on small-wheeled scooters, where the wheel's gyroscopic forces are so low (compared to a motorcycle). The main action of countersteering is simply that the bike is turned "out from under itself", and it falls over (flops) into the lean that's required to balance throughout the curved track of a corner. Simple!

[jct842]

I never realized I was counter steering untill it was pointed out some years ago. I first started riding in 1958 and just did it with out realizing what I was doing but just did it! I still don't think about it, it just is part of riding you do instinctively.

[curiousgeorge]

thanks for your help guys, I am gonna take out my bike today and try to be conscious of my counter steering because it seems i have been doing it all along without realizing it! I think i just got confused when i saw someone say turn right to go left.