Conscious Countersteering

[Smash Allen]

Smash, if you're nearsighted and not wearing corrective lenses, start by putting on your goddamn glasses. :laughing

Lest this sound too simple, a rider is only as good as his visual skills. A lot of riding barriers live there.

:laughing I will make sure to wear my glasses from now on. I have tried soft contact lenses but they fog up when I stop blinking.

My glasses have a fairly low brim which interferes with my line of sight, like turn 5a Thunderhill east. I would have to sit up higher, but maybe that’s not a big of deal as I imagine. Perhaps nasal strips would raise the brim enough...

 

[sanjuro]

I didnt say weight shift is not important for cornering. I said its not important important (not required) for changing lean angle. there will never be any corner where u must shift your weight to get the bike to reach some lean angle. weight shift's effect on the motorcycle's lean angle is tiny. for most riders, that effect can be ignored.

weight shift is important for cornering because it increases the effective lean angle of the motorcycle & rider combo. the motorcycle's lean angle is mostly set by the bar input. the lean angle of the motorcycle/rider combo is then determined by the moto's lean angle, how far the rider is hanging off, and their relative masses and positions.

these 2 concepts apply to all riders of all skill levels.

as an expert track rider, its one of my goals to minimize bar inputs, not add more.

Thanks, good advice.

 

[rcgldr]

I will make sure to wear my glasses from now on. I have tried soft contact lenses but they fog up when I stop blinking.

If you think you could get used to and tolerate them, gas permeable (hard) contact lenses generally result in better vision than glasses or soft contact lenses. They increment in 1/8 diopter instead of 1/4, they rest on a thin layer of fluid on your cornea (minimal size distortion), and they're perfectly spherical, usually enough to compensate for any cornea related astigmatism. It's not uncommon to end up with 20/15 vision with gas perm contact lenses. I started off with traditional hard lenses back in the late 1970's, but switched to gas perms a few years later. The main issue is getting dust in your eyes when wearing hard lenses.

 

[rcgldr]

countersteer - inside arm, outside arm

In my case, I use both arms about the same for countersteering, pulling with one, pushing with the other and I try minimize using the handlebars to support myself. I never raced, and only did a few track days in my decades of riding, so I don't know what adjustments I would need to make in my riding style to optimize lap times.

 

[Smash Allen]

If gas permeable lenses stay clear when dry (after not blinking for a minute or two) then I will definitely give them a go. I know I could get used to them, but the first time they fog on me would be the last time I used them on track. Do they react differently than soft lenses in this regard?

Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[rcgldr]

If gas permeable lenses stay clear when dry (after not blinking for a minute or two) then I will definitely give them a go.

They will stay clear. The main issue is the fluid between cornea and contact, not fluid on the outside of the lens. Unless you have a "dry eye" issue, gas perm contacts should be fine.

 

[Smash Allen]

Going to get an eye exam and fitted for gp lenses for next year, thanks :ride

 

[rcgldr]

if the front tire stayed pointing where it does at maximum countersteering, ud fall over. that much is obvious. there are some turns where the tire reaches a very small negative steering angle at steady state, ie it points outwards a tiny bit.

I hope I'm clarifying this, the front tire might be steered outwards relative to the frame of a bike, but not outwards relative to the path that the contact patch of the front tire is following.

Due to deformation (flex) in the contact patches, the actual path of the contact patches is a bit to the outside of the ideal path that would result if there was no deformation at the contact patches (the actual turn radius is a bit larger then the ideal turn radius if no deformation occurred), so both front and rear tire tires are oriented a bit inwards from the path they follow.

 

[stangmx13]

I hope I'm clarifying this, the front tire might be steered outwards relative to the frame of a bike, but not outwards relative to the path that the contact patch of the front tire is following.

Due to deformation (flex) in the contact patches, the actual path of the contact patches is a bit to the outside of the ideal path that would result if there was no deformation at the contact patches (the actual turn radius is a bit larger then the ideal turn radius if no deformation occurred), so both front and rear tire tires are oriented a bit inwards from the path they follow.

I don’t fully understand. I’ll look into it.