an@hou2h.UUCP (A.NGUYEN) (02/11/84)
[This line is blank.] Hanging off is NOT the same as countersteering!!! Hanging off (move your bun off the seat, stick your knee out, and generally get down (!) on the inside, etc) offsets the CG to the inside so you don't have to lean the bike over as far to go round the same turn at the same speed. Countersteering merely initiates the leaning over process. How strongly you input your intentions will determine how quickly the bike falls in to the desired attitude. How far you lean over has nothing to do with it. I hang off because I think it has two safety advantages. When the tyre isn't leaning over as far, there is more rubber on the road, which is good especially in the wet. When the bike isn't leaned over as far, there is more ground clearance left to deal with bumps in mid corner. Of course, some people just defy all the logical stuff. Mikey O'Connor can ride rings around me without moving an inch in his saddle. His rearset and racing exhaust equipped GPz550 never scrapes a thing, and his Beemer will just merrily grind the jugs into the ground! Au Nguyen