Quote:
Originally Posted by Misti
...When you started to lean "more than the bike" you were probably unconsciously pressing more forward on the handlebar and were allowing the bike to fall into the turn with less resistance so then it felt as if you weren't counter steering at all.
What you could do is find a big parking lot or secluded area and work on your countersteering. Experiment with pressing DOWN on the bars vs FORWARD on the bars and with leaning AWAY from the turn as opposed to leaning WITH the turn and see how each of them feel.
You want to get into a habit of consciously COUNTERSTEERING the bike as opposed to just feeling like you are shifting your body weight or leaning into the turn because that is what is going to help you be more precise with your steering actions and will help you get your bike turned quickly.
I hope that clarifies the first part (the countersteering part) of your OP.
The second part was about leaning "more than the bike" and I want to just touch base on why it is important to at least lean with the bike, or lean "more than." how does this help with cornering and why?
Misti
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thank you for taking the time to give your input, especially when you have a family to take care of.
you are probably right (and i think a couple others may have suggested something similar) that when i was putting in the extra body lean i was countersteering about the same as before but it didnt feel like it.
i think i usually push forward on the bar but sometimes as the bike leans it does feel a little like pushing down. maybe because i never tuck in, i always sit fairly upright. or maybe because i am being a "bad passenger" as you mention -- i know i still do that sometimes.
when i am taking a corner i think i usually know that i am pushing the bar, but after the fact i dont remember doing it. in july i took the 2nd MSF course (BRC2) and part of it was swerving around an obstacle at almost 20 mph. there is no way to do this without countersteering, and yet i dont remember thinking about it. i think i just did it. this is what i mean when i talk about building reflexes.
thanks for the suggestions about things to look for when i am just "playing" with the bike, which i do enjoy doing sometimes. and while i lust for a little more power (i rode an f4i a couple weeks ago and it was *awesome*) i know that the light weight & forgivingness of the ninjette are what i need at this point.
i think i know what you mean when you mention leaning "with the bike". there is something that feels good about just sitting in the seat and keeping your body in line with the bike as it goes thru the curve. maybe it is a little like a coordinated turn in an aircraft, where the ball stays in the middle and the weight vector is straight down thru your seat.
but as to your last question about how & why it helps with cornering, im not sure.
thanks again.