Re: Countersteering

 


All motorcycles can and do initiate turns by means of countersteering. There
are no exceptions. A Honda 125 dirt bike and a Boss Hog both steer the very
same way.


You can steer any motorcycle by shifting your weight, just as you can with a
bicycle: same exact principal. But you won't get either quick or accurate
steering that way, and since the bike promptly slows down as soon as you
take your right hand off the throttle, it's not very practical, either.

Riders who're going for maximum speed in the turns -on pavement- lean off to
the inside of the corner all right, but it's not to turn the bike; it's to
allow the bike to remain as upright as possible while cornering, which keeps
the hard parts from scraping the pavement, and keeps more of the tire's
tread on the ground.

 

But not shaft drive bikes, which don't counter-steer at all.


--
BMW K1100LT  750SS  CB400F  CD250  CB125  SL125
GAGARPHOF#30 GHPOTHUF#1 BOTAFOT#60 ANORAK#06 YTC#3
BOF#30 WUSS#5  The bells, the bells.....

 
Anybody furnish a technical explanation of why a shaft drive bike can't be
steered using countersteering?  I find it hard to believe given the
underlying principles.  If the aerodynamics of the bike are the same, and
the tire profile is the same, and the weight distribution on the bike frame
is <relatively> the same, how can it NOT work identically?

The only shaft drive 'bike' I've ever driven was a circa 1983 Yamaha moped,
top speed of 35 mph.

Dave S.

 

Why worry about it? Assertions that shaft drive bikes won't wheelie or
countersteer
are symptoms that the KY Jelly Krew is getting bored and that they
need to talk about Monty Python movies again.

Say. Where is the bedwetting Keefer, anyway?

 

Shafties can cause drivers of low riders to fall out laughing.  Sit next to
one at a stoplight, then while holding the front brake, give it a little gas
and goose the clutch in and out....