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Québec Class 6 Motorcycle overview

Québec Class 6 Motorcycle: Brakes, counterbalancing and countersteering

How to share braking between front and rear, slowing from 50 km/h, counterbalancing below 25 km/h and countersteering above 25 km/h.

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Brakes, counterbalancing and countersteering · Question 1Score 0/0

Approaching a sharp curve faster than planned, what changes when countersteering?

Study reference: Operating a Motorcycle (SAAQ, 4th ed., 2025), Ch. 1 Handling a Motorcycle — Using the brakes, Counterbalancing, Countersteering, pp. 55–58

All 12 questions in this test

Every question and its answer choices. The correct answers and explanations appear when you take the test above.

  1. Approaching a sharp curve faster than planned, what changes when countersteering?

    1. You need stronger pressure on the handgrip
    2. You need less pressure on the handgrip than usual
    3. Nothing changes at all in the curve
    4. You must switch to counterbalancing

  2. Slowing from 50 km/h or more, what do you do first?

    1. Squeeze the front brake hard
    2. Release the throttle
    3. Shift down two gears
    4. Squeeze the clutch lever

  3. How should you normally brake on a motorcycle?

    1. Only with the rear brake
    2. By downshifting without braking
    3. Hard, using the front brake alone at once
    4. Gradually, using both brakes at once

  4. Below what speed does the guide use counterbalancing?

    1. About 10 km/h
    2. About 25 km/h
    3. About 70 km/h
    4. About 50 km/h

  5. As you apply the front brake, what do you feel?

    1. The engine speeding up as you slow
    2. The rear wheel lifting slightly off the ground
    3. The handlebars pulling to the left
    4. The weight shifting forward as the fork dips

  6. Above about 25 km/h, you want to go into a right-hand curve. What do you do?

    1. Shift your weight to the left
    2. Push forward on the right handgrip
    3. Push forward on the left handgrip firmly
    4. Turn the handlebars to the left

  7. What can happen if you press too hard on the rear brake pedal?

    1. The rear wheel can lock up
    2. The front wheel lifts off the ground
    3. The headlight turns off
    4. The engine stops at once

  8. What should you avoid while countersteering through a curve?

    1. Keeping your knees on the tank
    2. Looking at the exit of the curve
    3. Using the clutch or brakes
    4. Keeping a steady speed

  9. What usually happens if a motorcycle wheel locks while braking?

    1. The rider almost always falls
    2. The engine stalls but the bike stays upright
    3. The ABS light comes on and nothing else
    4. The bike stops sooner and straighter

  10. Why must you countersteer above about 25 km/h?

    1. The brakes stop working well above that speed
    2. Forces like the gyroscopic effect hold the bike upright
    3. The handlebars lock in place above that speed
    4. Gravity no longer acts at higher speed

  11. When counterbalancing in a slow turn, where do you shift your upper body?

    1. Toward the inside of the turn, with the bike
    2. Straight back over the seat
    3. Toward the outside of the turn
    4. Forward onto the tank

  12. In a very tight slow turn, what changes when counterbalancing?

    1. You lean inward with the motorcycle
    2. You stop turning the handlebars
    3. The bike leans more, so you shift more weight outward
    4. The bike stays upright, so no weight shift is needed

Brakes, counterbalancing and countersteering: key rules to remember

Our summary of what the official handbook says on this topic, in our own words. Read it before or after the practice questions above, then check the original chapter. Read the official chapter ↗

Using the brakes, pp. 55–56

  • If a wheel locks while braking on a motorcycle, a fall almost always follows.
  • Brake gradually and with both wheels at once.
  • Pressing too hard on the rear pedal can lock the rear wheel.
  • The front brake does most of the work (about 70%); the rear (about 30%) mainly stabilizes the bike and helps at low speed.
  • Slowing from 50 km/h or more: release the throttle, press the rear pedal gently, squeeze the front lever gradually (weight shifts forward and the fork dips), keep light rear pressure, release when at the desired speed, then hold speed with the throttle.
  • Practise braking at low speed first and build up speed gradually.

Counterbalancing, pp. 56–57

  • Counterbalancing is for turns, obstacles and curves at very low speed, below about 25 km/h.
  • At low speed the gyroscopic effect is weak, so you turn the handlebars toward the turn; the bike leans that way.
  • To keep balance, shift your weight, mainly the upper body, toward the outside of the turn; in tighter spaces also move the pelvis.
  • Steps: look at the exit point, turn the bars toward the turn, shift weight to the outside, then follow the bike back upright as you accelerate out.
  • The sharper the turn, the more the bike leans and the more you shift weight outward.

Countersteering, pp. 57–58

  • Countersteering is for turns, obstacles and curves above about 25 km/h.
  • Above that speed the gyroscopic effect, inertia and centrifugal force hold the bike upright, so you must push to lean it.
  • Push forward on the handgrip on the same side as the curve: right curve, push the right grip; left curve, push the left grip.
  • Steps: look toward the exit before the curve, push the grip on the curve side, keep a constant speed through it.
  • Don't use the clutch or brakes while countersteering.
  • Higher speed and tighter curves need more pressure on the bar; heed advisory speed signs before sharp curves and slow down.

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