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Juliet -> Corner fast ... don't crash! (Important update page 4 .. body steer) (3/26/2008 6:45:22 AM)
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Hello guys,
I am writing this post because I've seen so many crashing posts and you guys expressing all these fears that I thought we needed something positive to help us all ride better ...
(mods feel free to make this a sticky if you want - I just think this stuff is REALLY important and can save lives and needs to stay)
Also if you know this stuff already please don't be insulted, some newbies and some bikers who should know it .. actually don't! That's Scary!
I am talking about counter steering ... my dad told me when I was 16 that I could have a bike so long as I let him teach me how to ride properly .. this is the one thing he taught me that has really been simply the best thing.
So without further delay let's get started :-) ...
When asked how a bike corners a lot of people say a rather vague "well you just kinda lean it over mate" ... well that's hardly a comprehensive answer is it, it may be what happens as a result of counter steering but it's not how a bike corners...
One more thing .. you already do counter steering by instinct, you do it subconsciously .. everyone can ride a bike, yes?
When you consciously counter steer then the effects are awesome :-) ...
Counter steering is using the gyroscopic effect of the front wheel to make a bike lean into turns ... try it on a perfectly straight clear road ... as you go along, apply a slight torque on the bars to the right, the bike will kick over to the left and vice versa...
At very slow speeds we steer a motorcycle by turning the handlebar in the direction we wish to go. We can only do that at speeds of less than about 5 - 10 MPH. At any higher speed we do the exact opposite, whether we realize it or not.
For example... assuming we want to turn to the right, we actually TRY to turn the handlebar left.
This results in the front wheel leaning to the right and, as a result of the lean of the wheel, a turn to the right.
This is counter-steering.
If you are familiar with a gyroscope then it's easy to understand counter-steering - at least to understand how it starts to work.
The phenomenon is called Gyroscopic Precession.
This is what happens ... when a lateral force is applied to the axis of a spinning gyroscope. The spinning gyroscope translates the force vector ninety degrees off the direction of spin. Thus, if we try to turn our front wheel to the left, the force we use appears as a lateral force forward against the axle on the right side and this is translated into a force that tries to lean the wheel to the right.
Similarly, trying to turn the wheel to the right results in the wheel trying to lean to the left. On a bike your handlebar input is immediately translated by gyroscopic precession into a lean in the opposite direction. Since your front wheel is attached to the bike's frame, the body of the bike also attempts to lean. It is the lean of the BIKE that overwhelms the handlebar effort and drags the front wheel over with it - gyroscopic precession merely starts the process and soon becomes inconsequential in the outcome.
One more thing to realise and I have proved this to myself by setting up pointers ... one on my steering head, the other on my frame... once you have the bike leaning over from the initial counter steer then the bike naturally tracks with the bend, the pointers will indeed show that the bike is now steering through the bed, they will be offset, it's only slight..especially on a long sweeper but it's there ...
Try it yourself :-)
BE SAFE!
Jules
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