Text and Photography:
Kevin Schwantz and Lance Holst











 

 Steering Techniques

 There seems to be a debate these days over whether counter
 steering or lower-body steering is the most effective way to
 steer a motorcycle. The extremists who think it has to be one
 or the other are missing the point - using the upper and lower
 body together is by far the most efficient way to steer a
 motorcycle.

 We discussed proper body position in the previous issue and
 using the right body position is key to steering a bike
 effectively. Your initial steering input should begin with
 counter steering - pushing forward on the inside bar to use
 the front wheel´s gyroscopic effect to bank the bike into the
 corner while pressing down on the inside footpeg - another
 proof of Sir Isaac Newton´s dictum: "For every action, there
 is an equal and opposite reaction."

 The is effective because once counter steering banks a
 motorcycle into the turn, increasing lean angle is a matter of
 pivoting the bike around its center of mass. The greater the
 lean angle, the tighter it carves through the turn. More than
 footrests, footpegs essentially function as levers sited on
 either side of, and slightly below the center of mass. Pressing
 down on the inside footpeg helps pivot the bike around its
 center of mass and steers it into the corner with less effort
 from your upper body at the bars.

 Throughout Kevin Schwantz´s career on Grand Prix bikes,
 which weighed between 250-286 pounds and produced
 upwards of 175 horsepower, he found that the lower he
 could put the steering input into the chassis, the more stable
 the bike was. Consequently, while he did use counter
 steering to initiate the corner, from that point on he used as
 little upper body input as he could. Instead, he relied on
 weighting the inside footpeg and using his outside thigh to pull
 the fuel tank (located above the center of mass) to the inside
 of the turn and finish the steering input. As a result his arms
 could stay more relaxed on the bars and the bike more
 stable.

 
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