The bike that inspired me

[Water Warrior 2]

I would really like to have a GZ and ride the Tail of the Dragon. The tight curves would be so much fun with a light flickable bike without the sport bike performance that will get you into trouble.

[geezer]

yeah i dont know about that, the pegs on this thing are already grinded down to the point now im rubbing the frame, i dont think my baby could do the dragon and come out in one piece :lol:

[Water Warrior 2]

You can corner better if you practice leaning your body on the bike. Moving your center of gravity into the corner will allow the bike to stay more upright and/or corner faster. Tried this on the Vstrom at higher speeds and it was quite surprising how well it cornered and held the road.

[mole2]

Originally Posted by Water Warrior

You can corner better if you practice leaning your body on the bike. Moving your center of gravity into the corner will allow the bike to stay more upright and/or corner faster. Tried this on the Vstrom at higher speeds and it was quite surprising how well it cornered and held the road.

Ok...please splain. From what you say you mean moving your arse to the low side in cornering (left hand corner, left side, correct? Or is it the reverse? I can't remember from the BRC course.

[geezer]

yes moving over to the side your turning and tucking your head down low and moving your knee out does help, this is what i do on my gz and my fzr. it moves the center gravity over to help keep the bike as upright as ppossible using your own body to turn the bike and not the lean angle. moving over to the other direction causes the opposite affect making the bike have to lean farther over to turn.

[Water Warrior 2]

What Geezer said. In a left curve lean forward and try to kiss the left mirror. Right curve kiss the right mirror. It works.

[mole2]

Thanks guys. Will give it a try.

[alanmcorcoran]

I see pro racers do this routinely but I assumed it was to keep the bike leaned over. As far I've read, the only thing that makes the bike turn is the disparity in the wheel tracking and that's caused entirely due to counter steering. Countersteering, in the absence of leaning, will dump the bike. More countersteer, more leaning required. When you go around a curve, centrifugal forces are pushing the bike up (and thus, causing you to go straight, which you don't want.) what the weight shift does is help you counter the centrifugal force so that A) you can keep the bike leaned over, esp at higher speeds and b) maintain an aggressive counter steer. When I see road porn shots of guys hard cornering it usually shows both the knee touching the ground as well as a very aggressive countersteer.

Although the weight shift is involved in hard cornering technique, the countersteer is the thing that actually causes the bike to turn.

Or has this been disproven?

[Water Warrior 2]

Both counter steering and weight shift work hand in hand. If you surprise yourself with too much weight shift the bike will really turn too much. Easy fix though, just apply more throttle and ride.
A very good write up on counter steering and weight shift is in Proficient Motorcycling. Where else ?? :2tup:

[jazzhunt]

Wow, what an excellent discussion Thanks for sharing that. I think what Geezer said and Water Warrior's summary "...kiss the mirror..." is the most concise description I have ever come across - it makes it very clear. Now, if I can find an instructor that clear and informative I'll be very happy :2tup: Is there still a debate about counter-steering or is it generally accepted? It always seemed like sensible physics to me but I'm not (yet) a rider so it's not right for me to argue one way or the other.