2Wheeltips

    What was the first thing you thought of when you heard the words “counter steering”?  I remember what ran through my mind; is that even possible?  What a counter intuitive thing to try and figure out.  You want me to go barreling down the highway and turn the bike by “counter steering?”  So I did a little research into this mysterious technique and honestly, I got more confused with every article, explanation, and video.  To my amazement I found that the ability to perform counter steering properly was pretty much written off as something that comes naturally.  The general consensus was if you can ride a bicycle down a hill, then you already know how to do it. 

I’m sorry, but that’s not going to fly, especially experiencing some close calls of my own and after speaking with a few newer riders, listening to their definition of counter steering and watching some of my friends lean their 800 pound cruisers through the turns.  Even at the Motorcycle Safety Foundation classes, they preach that you should look, lean and roll on the throttle as you take the turns, but what does that mean? 

As I gained my experiences riding, I found myself pushing the envelope a little more as time progressed by upping my speed in the turns and tried just leaning the bike more.  I simply did this because that’s what all of my instructors had been telling me.  But to just lean the bike didn’t improve my cornering ability; it just made the bike lean more in a wide arc that usually resulted in me having to slow down through the turn or worse, crossing the center line.  For me, this was completely unacceptable.  I needed to find out what I was doing wrong, I didn’t like making the same mistakes over and over, I wanted to improve my riding skills, and become a safer rider at the same time. 

The answer came to me like a bolt of lightning during a practice session in a parking lot while trying to do some slow speed turns.   I began forcing my bike to lean more by pushing hard on the grip down on the side I was trying to turn the bike.  In other words, it was like I was trying to push the bike to the ground to get it to lean over.  It takes a lot of time to master [this technique] and is part of the progression in Ride Like A Pro, but this was the answer I was looking for. It was the “lean” and the counter steer all in one.  As I turned my bike in sharp turns, I was actually performing the equivalent of a counter steer and my bike was making sharp turns so tight I was surprising myself.  The simplicity of making the bike do the work, without having to use the weight of my body to get the bike to roll and turn to the left and right was a huge find. 

The proof came when I took the bike out and began riding through some nice curved roads.  I slowed the bike to a comfortable entry speed and looked through the turn.  I rolled on the throttle and pushed the bike under me without leaning my whole body with the bike by pressing down on the grip in the direction of the turn.  I realized that I was extremely comfortable throughout the entire turn and looked for more situations to try out my new found technique.  The beauty of my new find was that the curves and turns were less threatening to me.  I was also surprised to discover that I seemed to have a lot more lean in reserve than before learning this, and the turns that would scare me before, were easy to navigate.

If you can, imagine yourself straddling a bicycle standing upright with your feet flat on the ground.  Now picture yourself lightly pulling up on the left grip while pressing down on the right grip causing the bike to lean. The only difference between that and counter steering is that your press is down and forward in the direction of the turn.  The harder you press, the tighter you will turn.  One thing to keep in mind is that while performing these techniques, keep your muscles nice and loose, as it enables you to perform them so much more smoothly because remember, “Smooth = Cool”.   A death grip on the handlebars will do nothing but impair your ability to react quickly and fatigue you a lot faster than normal.  You want to keep your eyes level with the horizon (tilt your head to do this), which is one reason why simply leaning your body doesn’t work so well because it’s nearly impossible to keep your eyes level with the roadway while leaned all the way over.  I found that trying to keep my spine perpendicular with the road surface or my shoulders parallel allows me to work the bike beneath me, again, allowing the bike to do the work. 

Once you have found what works for you with counter steering, you’ll find that you are less fatigued when riding the windy roads, and even lane changes become easier.  You can snap your bike to different lines and avoid obstacles that much more efficiently.  Learning to counter steer correctly makes riding much more enjoyable.  It will also improve your ability to ride safely.  I hope this answers the question of what counter steering really is. So get out there and work on your counter steering.

One of the biggest questions a new rider faces is what type of motorcycle to buy. Many new riders will buy a bike similar to the one used in their motorcycle training class only to outgrow the bike within 6 months when their skills improve. eBay, newspapers and magazines are littered with these types of bikes. You also don’t want to go to the other extreme by buying a huge 800 lb. cruiser or a 150 hp+ sport bike that you don’t have the skills to control. Lots of beginners give up on riding because they are intimidated by the size, power and speed of a bike that is far beyond what they can handle.

The key is to purchase a bike that matches the style of riding you anticipate doing over the next two years and has the features, size, power and speed that you can enjoy as your skills improve. Your height and weight also matter. The bike needs of a 6’2”, 200 lb. man are not the same as those of a 5’1”, 100 lb. woman. One will need more size and power while the other will need lower seat height, ease of control and lighter weight.

Before buying, you should know what type of riding you plan to do. Motorcycles that are good for commuting back and forth to work may not be the best bikes for riding cross country or zooming around twisting back roads with friends. So, pick the bike that best suits your needs. Below is a list of common motorcycles you will see at your dealer.
 
Cruiser

1. Easy to control and maneuver
2. Generally have lower seat heights than other types of bikes
3. Varied in weight and length but tend to be relatively heavy 
4. Seating position on cruisers is upright with feet positioned forward
5. Well suited for carrying a passenger, luggage, and saddlebags
6. Excellent for short as well as longer rides and is the choice of most new riders

Standard

1. Easy to control and maneuver
2. Lighter in weight than most cruisers and have a standard seating position where the rider is in an upright position with feet directly under the hips  
3. Tend to have a higher seat height than cruisers
4. Well suited for short rides and longer rides and is a good choice for new riders.

Sport Bike/Racing Bike/”Crotch Rocket”

1. Fast, powerful, light, nimble bikes that can exceed 120mph with ease
2. Have high seating positions and limited storage capacity
3. Racing seating position with the legs back and the rider over the gas tank and handlebars
4. Not suited for long rides; can be very uncomfortable after 1 hour of street riding
5. Much more expensive to insure than other types of bikes
6. Although very popular, is not a good choice for new riders

Tourer

1. Big, heavy bikes used for long rides with the option of comfortably taking a passenger
2. Often equipped with a fairing, CB, GPS, AC, heat, iPod, DVD and other creature comforts needed for long rides
3. Expensive
4. Not a good choice for new riders

Sport-Touring Bike

1. Cross between a sport bike and a touring bike
2. Upright seating position with feet underneath the hips
3. Usually have a fairing and some other creature comforts needed for long rides
4. Usually have a high seating position
5. Well suited for carrying a passenger and luggage on long rides
6. Like touring bikes, sport-touring bikes are not a good choice for new riders

Scooters

1. Light, nimble and easy to control
2. Generally smaller than motorcycles and come with automatic transmissions
3. Larger scooters have considerable storage and can even carry a passenger comfortably at highway speeds
4. Good choice for new riders or those who cannot operate a clutch

Before making your choice, shop around and don’t get stuck on one brand of bike. There are at least 13 major manufacturers to choose from and the price for similar bikes varies considerably. It is very common for similar bikes from different manufacturers to vary by $7,000.00 or more.

New or used?
For obvious reasons, a new bike is always an excellent choice, but used bikes can be as well. A good used bike in great condition can be the perfect first bike; you will be surprised at the number of very low mileage used bikes out there. The sellers are usually riders who are trading up to larger bikes, or have decided that riding is not for them. Depending on the make, it is easy to find a 3 - 4 year old bike with less than 3000 miles on it for half of the cost of a new bike. But, before you purchase a used bike, you should have it checked by an experienced mechanic to make sure that it is properly maintained and isn’t damaged.

How powerful?
Bikes come with engines of various sizes and power.  Most bike engines are rated by the “cc” (cubic centimeter). The higher the cc spec of the engine, the more powerful the bike. For cruisers a good choice for a new rider is in the 750cc - 1000cc range. For sport bikes, 600cc’s is the maximum for a new rider. Standards in the 400cc - 800cc range are a good choice. You want to get a bike that you will not outgrow in 6 - 9 months and yet is not so powerful that it is intimidating to you.


Picking your first motorcycle is a very exciting experience.  Be practical!  Don’t let yourself fall for a bike that may not be good for a novice rider.  There are many bikes out there to pick from, new and used.  Your first bike is just that:  your first bike.  Make sure that it is the right one for YOU to learn on!