John Sears
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03/06/97 |
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Countersteering is a complex subject and understanding the various
principals involved are beyond the ability of many experienced riders, much
less a beginner. That is why MSF instructors rather than explaining it, as
you state they do, encourage students to experience it on the riding range.
Unfortunately people who come to this tip for an explanation of why
countersteer works are likely to leave more confused and still not having
the right answer. You ramble on (25 paragraphs worth to be exact) with explanations of gyroscopic precession, motorcycle steering geometry and camber thrust (First introduced to me as camber steering at an Americade seminar presented by Kevin Cameron of Cycle World Magazine.) all this is useful information and each a potential subject for discussion but unimportant in a practical discussion of countersteer. Simply put countersteering is the simple act of pressing on the handlebar in the direction that you wish to turn. This causes the front tire to turn away from the direction of the intended turn. As the motorcycle continues to travel forward the contact patch begins to move away from the original path of travel and away from the direction of the desired turn. This results in the motorcycle rotating around it's center of gravity causing it to lean toward the turn. At this point you might in your discussion you might have considered the subjects you discussed as separate discussions and as part of an overall analysis of the principals that allow motorcycles to turn. I suggest that you, and anyone else who doubt the validity of my explanation or might want to read a really good analysis of countersteering, ask around and locate a copy of Motorcycle Consumer News (MCN), January 1995 and read the Proficient Motorcycling Column for that month, which is titled "Balance" The issues of MCN from January '95 to May '95 address, all the subjects you covered in this tip, and some that you probably haven't considered yet, in detail, with illustrations and I might add CORRECTLY. If you can't locate a friend that subscribes to MCN or your friend is unwilling, as I would be, to part with those back issues of MCN, they may still be available by contacting:
Ian Smith Information No, I don't work for MCN or Ian Smith. So, what is my motivation for giving this Opposing Opinion? A friend of mine came to me last November with some printouts of your tips. He though that some of the information was wrong, misleading and in some cases misinformed unsubstantiated opinion. He was right but at that point I couldn't get very excited over it. More recently some of these tips began to appear in a newsletter that my friend and I get so it has become personal. It also turned out that the tips had been updated so I thought it would be a good time to examine some of the tips again. Though my friend and I might be able to differentiate between correct information, incorrect information and opinion, less experienced or novice riders are likely to miss these finer points. Fortunately or unfortunately as the case may be, the internet is wide open. You are as unable to control the audience of your tips and techniques as I am to prevent you from publishing them. Though there is some value to what you share here, it carries with it the potential for disaster. What surprises me most is that you list on your resume that you have worked as an expert witness and that Elaine is an attorney in private practice. With this type of background I am amazed that you choose to expose yourself to potential lawsuits by posting this type of information in this forum. I sincerely encourage you to consider fully the affect of your tips on inquisitive but inexperienced riders and that you more critically analyze the accuracy and potential damage from continuing to share this material.
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