Countersteering: push to turn in, then relax and let it turn
Holding pressure on the bar gives you lean angle but not direction change. The Champ School explains when to push, when to let go and how to practise it.
2 min readBy PitPin Desk
Most riders countersteer without thinking about it: push the right bar to go right, push the left bar to go left. The Champ School (YCRS) now gives new groups a countersteering session on the first morning. Its instructors found riders who leaned the bike enough but were not putting pressure on the bars to start the turn.
Where bar pressure does the work
The school lists four ways to steer a bike: countersteering, letting the fork compress by rolling off or braking, weighting the inside peg, and putting the outside knee against the tank so the hands can relax. Bar pressure does most of the work in a corner taken with the throttle open, where the fork is not compressing. It does the same when you are not moving your body, as on the street or when riding two-up.
Entry: pressure, then relax
Push to turn the bike in, then relax. The initial push is short; on a long, gradual entry it lasts a little longer. The front tyre has to return to tracking. If you keep the pressure on, the bike keeps leaning but does not change direction, and it needs more lean and more time to point where you want.
When braking into a corner and turning left, ease the weight off your right hand and leave it on the left. The bike drops in more easily.
Mid-corner and exit
Mid-corner, relax your arms and control your line with throttle and brake. On the exit, acceleration extends the fork and most bikes stand up on their own. A slight push on the outside bar is optional.
Three drills
- Weave in an empty lane, then a little quicker. A quick swerve with bar pressure alone is how you dodge debris on the road.
- Find a linked left-right-left and work on the timing of your inputs.
- In corners you know well: pressure, then let it turn.
Push and pull parallel to the ground, not down into the bars. The same skill helps in a crosswind, when moving across the track between corners and on the run to Turn 1 after a start.