Counter Steering & Lean Angle - Video - Ryan F9 (Fort Nine)

Ryan "F9", spokeperson and vlogger for Canada's Fort Nine retailer (like Revzilla), has the unique ability to take complex issues and reduce things down to layman's terms and understanding.  

He's the fella that started the current YouTube controversy regarding counter steering and lean techniques that MC Rider, Tony Palldino, MotoJitsu and others have been punting around the last while.  Below is the video clip.



Ryan does have a double major in physics and history and his presentation material is usually well researched.  He's also wicked smart and has a unique sense of humour.

Of all the years I rode sport bikes from the early 90's to the early 2000's I was a pretty good street rider. I could knee down on long sweepers or stay in the saddle and still go very fast. I usually opted to just stay in the saddle. I love Ryan's videos and still to this day learn something from him.

Interesting---in the 1950's in Germany, I had book put out by an oil company that explained the same things

It's gone very quiet; is everyone out riding, testing the theories?

There's nothing new about counter steering, when I used to regularly buy monthly bike mags there'd be the occasional article on it aimed primarily at the knee down fraternity. I've briefly glanced at them then moving on to a subject that actually interests me.

Now I'm off out on my push bike where the only thing I'll be testing is today’s  wind chill.

We all do counter steering anyway (at anything above a walking pace anyway), just a lot of folks don't realise they are doing it. Physics is right y'see, whether you believe in it or not
This link below covers counter steering quite well too - https://bike.bikegremlin.com/2530/countersteering-bicycle-steering/

Although now that I have a trike counter steering is pretty much out the window. If I try counter steering I'll go in the ditch or worse...

Yep, you can't do that geometric precession thing on three wheels.

Dale N. wrote:

Although now that I have a trike counter steering is pretty much out the window. If I try counter steering I'll go in the ditch or worse...

I've a Moto Guzzi SP 1000 with a sidecar and if you don't counter steer a bit coming out of a corner with the throttle set to 'stun', you'll end up pointing the wrong way - particularly on a slippy road.

With a rig like that, you need a fairly skinny tyre on the sidecar to stop it gripping too much and tipping while turning too hard away from the sidecar. Adding power spins up the back wheel on demand.

He just did a new VLOG on MAXI scooters - Bergman 600.  
Great sense of humour and worth watching.
obviously we are in the minority..........
Check out his BIO.  He has an intresting background and has become quite successful.
From Montreal no less...... EH?
enjoy

Here's the YouTube video on the lardy Burgman referenced above.

Yes F9 Ryan is a very intelligent and qualified fella and does some very good videos, good mix of science and humour.
I especially like the darkside one as it's very real world.

I used to watch those Ryan FortNine videos a long time ago, mainly for gear and clothing reviews. It was interesting to get a young blokes perspective of helmets and stuff. I lost interest when he started wearing safety goggles and lab coat and started trying to shatter helmets visors etc.

I much preferred Anthony Bucci of Revzilla reviewing helmets and riding gear. I watched loads of them and found them both informative and enjoyable.

IMHO he made all online motorcycle gear retailers using YouTube as a sales platform greatly up their game. As a fan of both Anthony and Revzilla, I was really disappointed when Mrs M and myself spent time in Philadelphia in November 2010 I'd earmarked a visit to the Revzilla store as a highlight. Unfortunately Revzilla was closed for a couple of days filming gear reviews so I never got to go.

As for the insane, more lardass Burgman 650, the French had a racing series for them in the early 2000's and maybe still do. I used to have a Twist n' Go magazine with an article and photos of race painted 650 Burgmans with screens removed and headlights and indicators taped up being thrown round a track by knees down Frenchies. If YouTube had been on the go back then, there'd have been clips of it.

Having now watched the video in the opening post and having ridden a variety of bikes in the last month, I think he makes a lot of sense. Particularly on lighter bikes, I find 'counter leaning' is entirely natural and instinctive to me. I had already noticed that I tip the Honda C90 into corners like a motocrosser. Stanley Woods was well known for doing this. I think, probably, I just don't have the confidence on heavier bikes to go hard enough through tight corners to notice like I do on the Mighty Ninety.

sonuvabug wrote:

Here's the YouTube video on the lardy Burgman referenced above.

Thank you again, sonuvabug, for sharing this latest video. I may have been, ahem, “influenced” by too many John Cleese characters but the opening of this one also brings to mind some surrealist images of René Magritte.

I'm quite amused by the interest shown in the lardass Burgman 650. My memory on here is long enough to remember forum members like myself who'd ditched it and replaced it with a Silver Wing for all sorts of reasons. Too big, too heavy, not good on narrow country roads, expensive and over complicated serving, and the pillion seat  far too wide for wives and girlfriends.

They were others that got rid of them and bought a Silver Wing because of the online hysteria about expensive transmission failures, stopper bolt issues, corrosion etc.

Yet some lad who's only doing his job as one of these new fangled social media influencer posts a video on a lardy maxi scooter that was discontinued around the same time as the Silver Wing, and old fellas on various maxi forums are getting excited about it.

I've even read on another forum that someone's “heard” that there's a new version of the 650 Burgman in the pipeline. Which is utter nonsense because do a bit of research and you'll read it was announced late last year that like the Traveling Wilburys song, it's the 'End of the Line' for the poor selling Burgman.

Suzuki is replacing the Burgman with a range of new Urban Mobility scooters, whatever they are.

Meldrew wrote:

Suzuki is replacing the Burgman with a range of new Urban Mobility scooters, whatever they are.

Probably something that's not called a 'Burgman'.
Who knows, it could be the proverbial egg-laying wooly milk-pig and the answer to all our prayers. I'd like a proper scooter format with the efficiency and lack of servicing that comes with DCT.

Meldrew wrote:

I'm quite amused by the interest shown in the lardass Burgman 650.

The guy I bough my swing off had 650 Burgy too and was letting one of them go. In the beginning I thought I had chosen badly and should have opted for the cleaner and then better handling Suzuki. Eighteen months on and after fitting a new front tire (and smashing the Swing plastics on a scuttery farm track), I have no regrets whatsoever about opting for the Honda.

Dale N. wrote:

Although now that I have a trike counter steering is pretty much out the window. If I try counter steering I'll go in the ditch or worse...

Dale,
You do the opposite leaning when on a trike. I tend to lean into the curb trying to.keep my inside rear tire from lifting and making my four wheeler into a three wheeler. Yea, some trikes have four wheels.