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Re: Counter steering

Posted: Wed May 28, 2008 10:40 pm
by Jamz
To stop having things on this thread hijacked by tyre pressure stuff, new thread here:

http://zxrworld.co.uk/zxr400oc/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=6197

Re: Counter steering

Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 8:04 am
by superman
your better off just practicing your counter steering you can do it at any speed really but next time you go round a slight bend just edge the bar in the opposite direction until you feel comfy with it. im on BT020's an have got me toes down on a number of occasions. its all about practice.

Re: Counter steering

Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 8:16 pm
by kermit the frog
"Ballsout Racing", u explained it very well i now exactly what your saying, im do some trck days when ive got a few more quid to spend lol. does anybody know about this slipperclutch on the zxr's??? also does anyone properly know how to back it into a corner??

bridgestone gave me those tyre pressures for the road so i think il stick with them as i dnt know wat im doing wen it comes to very technical stuff.
cheers to all.

Re: Counter steering

Posted: Fri May 30, 2008 8:39 am
by deviant
kermit the frog wrote:does anybody know about this slipperclutch on the zxr's???
as far as we can tell, they're not fitted to all bikes, with newer bikes less likely to have them. Zimm is the fountain of knowledge on this one.

Those that have ridden bikes with and without them seem to think that they do next to nothing other than make the clutch rattle even more.
kermit the frog wrote: also does anyone properly know how to back it into a corner??
Brake harder so the back goes light, change down quickly, and you'll find the back end starts to wander all over the place. Backing it in is just refining that so the back end steps out in the way you want it to.

I take no responsibility for what might happen if you try this, and would also point out that it's probably not going to make you any faster.


oh and definitely do a trackday. you might find it difficult to do just one though!

Re: Counter steering

Posted: Fri May 30, 2008 9:19 am
by Jamz
kermit the frog wrote:"Ballsout Racing", u explained it very well i now exactly what your saying, im do some trck days when ive got a few more quid to spend lol. does anybody know about this slipperclutch on the zxr's??? also does anyone properly know how to back it into a corner??

bridgestone gave me those tyre pressures for the road so i think il stick with them as i dnt know wat im doing wen it comes to very technical stuff.
cheers to all.

I backed it into corners a few times on the ZXR - best one was right alongside some packed bus in Stirchley :smt004 - but I must admit they were more by accident than trying.

It should be quicker into tight corners because it tightens your line and you can get the power down earlier on the way out.

It's worth pointing out that as Deviant says - DON'T DO IT ON THE ROADS!

Most people won't even attempt this on a racetrack, and you're highly likely to come a cropper. :smt018

If it happens by accident then cool - but you won't even catch a mental case like me actually trying to do it.

Re: Counter steering

Posted: Fri May 30, 2008 11:54 am
by Ballsout Racing

Re: Counter steering

Posted: Sat May 31, 2008 6:23 pm
by kermit the frog
i havnt tried practicing countersterring yet but i went on a ride today and ive been over even further, we where on the A449 between ledburry and ross-on-wye its a quality road would defo recomend it. anyway i said before that id had the fornt tyre all the way over well now it is properly scrubbed all the way over, i mean its gone grainy as if its wearing at the edges, i only had this in the shoulder part of the tyre before and i am now thinking that i defo need to countersteer incase i run out of tyre. the rear tyre still didnt go all the way to the edge though.

will probs practice tomorrow mornin or in the week.

Re: Counter steering

Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2008 6:19 pm
by deviant
countersteering isn't going to make you lean any more or less, it's just a way of getting it over quicker.

if you want to go round a corner at the same speed without so much lean you need to hang off more.

Re: Counter steering

Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2008 8:45 pm
by kermit the frog
alrite guys. i went out yesterday and practiced this countersteering lark on some roads i know fairly well. i found that i could feel the countersteering action more on longer bends rather than short bends, no matter how sharp they where. i was very happy when i felt the action by the way it was quality.
i stopped at various places along my route to check if i could see a difference in where one the tyres but i didnt notice any. when i got home i inspected the tyres more closely. i found that the rear hadnt been over any further....however...i noticed that the front had lost some of its bobbly ness from before (prviously mentioned). im not talking the tyre shredded like those metzeler track tyres im talking where your can see the tyre seperating so there are very tiny wholes - tyre wear instead of tyre shread, if you catch my drift. anyway i noticed that the front tyre had become more smooth(less wholes). is this because of me countersteering or something else???? also if i countersteer for another few hundred miles shall i see a new wear line develop or will the trye still lokk like im riding without countersteering???
cheers :smt006

Re: Counter steering

Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 8:23 am
by superman
if you keep countering round bends the chicken strips will go. you can practice it on a straight road to just firmly push the bars in the opposite direction and then the other was an you will start to snake. but to be honest you have always counter steered round bends just now maybe you have a little more confidence.

Re: Counter steering

Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 9:16 am
by deviant
deviant wrote:countersteering isn't going to make you lean any more or less, it's just a way of getting it over quicker.
i'll try saying this again

Re: Counter steering

Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 11:20 am
by superman
yea but in thoery your counter steering anyway round a bend so its just a case of how far you go each time. i dont get what you mean by it wont make you lean any more cos if you push the bars further the lower you go. i suppose the tighter the bend thoe the more you do it.

Re: Counter steering

Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 10:48 pm
by kermit the frog
its your speed that determins how low you go.
i found it a lot easir to handle the bike, previously when i was doing those kind of speeds i was pullin the bike round the bends and wrestling with it slightly, nnow i just push n lean, class.

im gona keep practicing though.

if i go round a bend at say 60mph, once with countersteering and once with out, which one will leave a larger wider chicken stripe?

Re: Counter steering

Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 8:17 am
by superman
if you go round a bend at 20 mate your still counter steering its impossible not to. all that changes is that you have become more confident. and im sure it dont matter how fast your goin as to how low you go either, its all about lettin your tires warm up first thoe.

Re: Counter steering

Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 8:48 am
by deviant
kermit the frog wrote: if i go round a bend at say 60mph, once with consciously countersteering and once with out, which one will leave a larger wider chicken stripe?
a) you can't go round a bend at 60mph without countersteering. so I've modified your question slightly.

b) neither...to go round a bend at 60 you will need a certain amount of lean angle. So you will have exactly the same amount of tyre left regardless of how you enter the corner.

Lean angle is what gets you round a corner. The faster you go, the more you have to lean to get round the same corner.

Countersteering is what you use to change the lean angle - pushing on the inside bar to tip in and the outside to stand the bike up. You always do it, but if you do it actively you will find that you spend less time going from upright to fully leant over - which means that you can enter the corner faster and lean it over more.