Counter-steering...fact or fiction?

I will say this to those who are reading this and are thinking HMMM I'm gonna go try that! Take it easy! Get on a straight, open highway (preferably four lanes so that you have at least two to play in) and get as far to one side as you comfortably can. I picked the far left side of the left lane. This isn't crazy stuff here, it's just a very easy way to change directions, so finesse is key: If you want to go to the right, then you press the right grip. The details of that simple statement are more... uh, detailed LOL but sitting still on your bike, move the bars full left and full right. The bars operate in a plane. You could imagine the bars resting on a large plate or disc and when you turn, the bars just scrape around on the plate, like a steering wheel in a car. That's the key- when you "press right to go right" you should be pressing the bar along its arc of travel. Many people press DOWN. Like down toward the ground. That isn't what we mean, although on some units it may transfer enough energy to actually help you turn. The best way to REALLY see it for yourself is to use it turning left- get to the far right of the right lane, then open your left hand so that your palm is hitting the grip, then press the grip along the bar's arc of travel, NOT REAL HARD EITHER! The bike will go WOOOOP over to the left easier than you can imagine. I say "do it easy" because (and I'm not naming names, but his initials are TIM GILMORE) I've had people run off the road because they put as much energy into pressing the bar as they did turning the old-fashioned way. Most of the advice you read here will make riding EASIER, not harder, so be gentle on your first forays into this.

For you experienced types, try this one: get heeled way over in turn, and countersteer OUT of the turn. This works the best in switchbacks so you come out, up and over in a thrilling WHOOSH that, done aggressively, can pull your front tire off the ground! Makes for a neat tire chirp and minor headshake so build up to it. Also remember that the opposite of "press right" is "pull left"- so if you're thinking that way, pulling on the left bar will "pull the bike over on you" like you're pulling the sheets back after the wife yanked em off you. Try that method too. Getting both of these methods to be habit will GREATLY increase your manueverability (and therefore your safety). Lastly, "standing up"- actually lifting your butt off the seat and having all your weight on the pegs or footboards will put all of your weight closer to the bike's axis of rotation which will reduce your bike's vertical inertia. What that means is you'll steer even quicker. You only stand enough to put daylight down there- like you'd do when you cross railroad tracks or any big bump. OKAY THAT"S ENOUGH I got work to do! (Sorry- I know many of my posts take off in a loooong rant).

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