FIRST PERSON/OPINION Via e-mail: Everything I have ever read about a rear slide as said that you should turn into it. I disagree. It is well established that you must countersteer a bike in order to properly control it. In a car however, you turn right to go right and left to go left. This being true, why would you attempt to correct a slide on a bike in the same manner as you would a car (turn into it)? Turning into a slide in a car increases radius therefore reducing lateral force on the rear tire. To cause a sliding car to oversteer more you turn away from the slide. If you want to stop a slide you turn into it (in a car). Imagine a bike turning right and the rear is sliding. A steering input to the left will still cause a deeper lean to the right. This requires more traction from the rear tire which exacerbates the slide. If you want to stop the slide you need to turn the bars to the right (relative to the path of travel) in order to stand the bike up and therefore reduce the lateral load on the tires. This needs to happen before the bike gets too far sideways. If a bike gets sideways to the point that the steering hits the lock it causes the front tire to ‘counter steer’ relative to the path of travel. At this point the machine will highside. If the counter steering is done earlier in the slide it will simply correct the slide. Robert Kasten Fort Myers, Florida And now, some reader reaction: FIRST PERSON/OPINION Via e-mail: Much of what is said in the previous email to Roadracingworld.com will only work (as said) if you notice and are able to react to the slide before it gets “too far sidesways.” Too far sideways being an arguable level of measurement. Perhaps Kevin Schwantz can control a slide that would be “too far sideways” for the average punter like me. In the majority of cases regarding slides, the bike is already too far sideways to be able to make the kind of inputs onto the handlebars to make a difference. I’m no physics expert but to me it sounds like goal of the description offered would be to grant traction to the rear tire. Well, as anyone can tell you, the last thing you want in ANY kind of a slide is for the rear tire to suddenly regain traction. The answer to this that I’ve been told by everyone from club racers to AMA privateers is to keep on the gas. You have to keep the rear tire sliding (somewhat) so that it doesn’t suddenly regain traction and sling you off. Even the legends of bike racing who’ve written auto biographies say this. Mike Weiss Reno, Nevada FIRST PERSON/OPINION Via e-mail: I believe the author of the wonderfully complex paper on sliding left out a crucial component: The Earth’s rotation. Indeed, whereas it is common knowledge that a rider should turn away from a slide in the Northern Hemisphere, the opposite is true in the Southern Hemisphere. This explains why American racers have not been dominant in the Australian Superbike Championship. Australians, on the other hand, practice riding upside down in anticipation of a potential career away from their island. I thought I should provide that extra bit of information for the sake of accuracy. Sincerely, Papa A. Thiam Papua New Guinea FIRST PERSON/OPINION Via e-mail: What this does not consider is the value of TV air time to sponsors. The proper input, when the rear breaks loose abruptly and violently, is to slam the throttle shut. It won’t solve the slide but it will help you make the highlight reels. Always think of the sponsors. Gary Hilliard Dover, Delaware FIRST PERSON/OPINION Via e-mail: re: Updated: And Now A Word On Slides And Highsides From The Counter-Rotating Rotors Guy, Our Favorite Mad Scientist And Physics Buff Maybe some of you should come out and try short track? Elliott Iverson Riverside, California