Countersteering with more than your hands

There’s only one way to steer a motorcycle: countersteering. We all learned it in the safety course. “Push left go left, push right go right.” The physics are simple enough, to initiate a turn you must initially steer in the opposite direction. It’s something we do instinctively. However, I’m often surprised at the number of riders I come across who aren’t aware that it’s possible to use more than just one’s hands to “steer” a motorcycle. On a recent ride one of our more experience riders had an occasion to ride without his hands on the bars. Another rider asked how he was able to control the bike in a gentle curve with no hands. I myself have had occasion to adjust my gloves or jacket by removing both hands. The technique involves squeezing the tank between your legs and using pressure on the foot pegs to adjust your direction of travel.

You can test it easily and safely. With both hands on the bars, and traveling in a straight line, squeeze the tank with your knees to stabilize yourself and apply pressure to the left foot peg. You’ll feel the bike pull to the left. Once you get a feel for it applying the same pressure in curves will make your riding much smoother, requiring less input than before.

Ride safe.