Ducati Sporting Club UK > General > Idle Chat > Countersteering

[Nigel C]

Read about this in Bike magazine and it is very interesting putting it into operation ! now although we do it subconsciously every time we ride a bike it wasn't until i read this article that i have been consciously countersteering on purpose it can be hard work and you need to concentrate like mad taking a light grip on the bars and pushing the righthand bar in righthanders and the left hand bar in lefthanders .
and it works look at the exit and nudge the bar !! been doing it for three days now and iv'e never taken turns so fast before if you start to run a bit wide just push the bar harder .

buy the latest copy of bike and read the article and try it i'm glad i did

and before all you css etc guys say "yeah we do it all the time on the track" i don't ride on the track (yet)

[pedro]

its all a learning game mate,no one just jumps on a bike & "masters it". the only way you learn is by doing what you are doing..happy rideing

[Loz]

For the longest time, I never knew what "countersteer" was either. After it was explained to me, I discovered I had been consciously using it for quite some time (just never had a name for it).
Pushing down hard on the pegs works well too, although for some reason that worked better on my old XJ900 than it does on my Duc. The major difference between them was that the XJ turned a damn sight quicker (skinny tyres).

I'm self-taught (read, "clueless") in terms of the techniques of "hard" riding - I'm really looking forward to the Brands Trackday on 23 June, hoping to learn quite a bit there.

[Nigel C]

Pedro i've been learning for more than 20 years then

[electricsheep]

Now you have discovered the joys of countersteering, go to California Superbike School (if you get the chance) and get more info on countersteering and a few other key techniques and you will be amazed at the improvements

Rob

[bradders]

been trying it recently but found I have nearly binned the bike because I am concentrating so much on pushing the bar. Used to pull instead and found that worked really well - is there any reason why push is better than pull??

[Loz]

Is it easier to stop pushing than to stop pulling? Maybe that's it!

[electricsheep]

I have been told that by pushing (rather that pulling) it tends to cause you to drop your shoulder to the inside of the corner, therefore helping with body position

Rob

[bradders]

body position is probably worse than c/steering for me, maybe thats why I prefer pulling as I do not drop my shoulder into the turn?

think I 'll just find some big, quiet r/bouts and practice...

[Nigel C]

bradders by Bike and read the article there is a full explanation , and electric sheep is right dropping your shoulder puts weight on the bar and helps it to turn