I don't think I brake properly.

[knowledge]

Rear break and downshifting really has no place in an emergency stop, your rear wheel will be slightly in the air under ideal maximum breaking. I never use my rear break other than in stop and go and at parking lot speeds to save front break pads, get too use to rear breaking and one day you will stomp on it during a lean and lowside big time.

Use the rear when you can. On real sport bikes, maybe it doesn't make much of a difference - but on a 250, it does. In my first month, I never used my rear brake. Once I started, it took off a pretty decent chunk of stopping distance required.

When the time comes that you'll need some rear brake, you're more likely to lock it up if you don't practice using it. I would even advise practicing locking up the rear in a controlled environment. A member suggested it to me earlier on in the season, and the practice helps me ride it out in the odd chance that I locked it up (this one time, a car slammed his brakes on the 401 & I ended up locking the rear for a good 100-ish feet. Lol). It's gotten to a point where some times I stop sideways when arriving places .

[Norge]

this one time, a car slammed his brakes on the 401 & I ended up locking the rear for a good 100-ish feet. Lol). It's gotten to a point where some times I stop sideways when arriving places .

last time i bragged about locking up the rear, not long after that i high sided on the 401. atgtta.

[HorizonXP]

Thanks for all of the input guys. Truly appreciate all of the answers. I was able to read them all, think critically, and see what makes sense, and what doesn't.

To clarify, in hindsight, I wasn't emergency stopping, I was panic braking. Chalk it up to inattentiveness and fatigue, I didn't look as far ahead as I usually do and I had to get on the brakes harder than I normally do.

My experience that day, and since then, has shown me that I am braking correctly. I am allowing the weight to transfer forward to the forks before I apply progressively harder force on the front brakes. I used to apply rear brakes, but I've gotten out of that habit recently. I should add it back in. It's not as if I never use my rear brake, it's just that I normally pay enough attention to what's going on around me that I don't need the reduced stopping distance. The front is usually enough.

I think my SS lines have allowed for a lot of feedback so that I can gauge how my brakes are reacting. A lot of people feel that SS lines on the rear are not a good idea because it's so easy to lock it, but actually, I feel like they've let me know when it is going to lock. After I put them on, for fun, I went up and down my street, locking the rear for 10', like I used to do as a kid on my BMX bike. I feel like doing that also taught me how much force is too much... I'd love to find out exactly what that is for the front too.

I realize that parking lot practice will allow me to learn this, but I'll likely save it for early next season. But, it's not like I can lock up the front tire like I do with the rear, and just ride it out, lest I lowside. So what am I exactly looking to do? Bring it up to say, 40 km/h, and apply brakes to stop, trying to get progressively shorter distances? That's how I did it back in May/June when I was first learning. I was able to endo a few inches off the ground even.

[Metastable]

You should practice emergency braking from whatever top speed you ride at. Otherwise, how are you going to learn?

Admittedly I haven't read the posts, so maybe some folks have mentioned this. This is what I have learned from experience. The first crash I ever had was because I locked up the front in a straight line.... completely my fault.... and my fault for not knowing how to brake properly and understand the sensations I was feeling as the accident unfolded.

You can lock up the front. In my case I was on the gas then grabbed a hand full of brake, so the front end was unloaded. YOu can't do that. The more the front end loads the more brake you can add. Under heavy front end loading, you'll rarely lock the front, unless there is something slippery on the road.

IMO, the FASTEST way to come to a stop on a supersport is to:
Grab the front and rear brakes ASAP along with the clutch. With the rear it's almost a quick stab and at the same time you quickly BUT PROGRESSIVELY add front brake as the front loads you increase brake pressure. As this happens you are lifting the rear brake off completely. At the same time all that is happening you are banging down through the gears (DON'T LET OUT THE CLUTCH.... between shifts... that'll just take too long) Basically you go through the gears not to lose speed, but to be in the correct gear to TAKE OFF if someone is about to rear end you.

Final note - some parking lots are dirty. You can lock up your front wheel as you load it. On most streets in good conditions you can't (because they tend to be cleaner) ..... but you may very well do a bit of a stoppie. Locking up the front is not a huge deal when you get a feel for it. You do have enough time to let go of the brakes before the front washes out. Of course the more you practice, the more you will understand this.... the first time the front locks on you, you will get a bit of a pucker factor. However, you might as well learn under controlled conditions and know what to expect if poop hit's the fan in the "real world". I repeat -> if the front locks up, you have enough time to let go of the brake = wheel spin = no crash. The key is for you to be able to interpret things quickly enough = practice.

BTW - one last thing. Once you get the hang of emergency braking, you'll automatically know how to do routine hard braking.... as opposed to emergency braking. Also, when you are practicing.... your front tire will leave big long darkish marks (not as dark as a skid though).... if you don't see those, you're probably not braking hard enough.

[knowledge]

I'd love to find out exactly what that is for the front too.

I realize that parking lot practice will allow me to learn this, but I'll likely save it for early next season. But, it's not like I can lock up the front tire like I do with the rear, and just ride it out, lest I lowside.

If you're still on your stock tires, they're pretty ******. I'm lucky that I managed to lock up the front without it sliding up on me. A light was turning yellow & I was riding with a friend. The friend stopped & I was behind, so I had to stop too. My front tire locked up & It actually bounced a little bit to a stop. I was lucky that it didn't slide out, and I'm lucky because it happened in the beginning of the season and to this day, I remember how much braking it took to lock it up. Hopefully you can have one of those experiences, because even I don't have the balls to try and find the locking point on the front.

On a ss, I'm not sure you'll have to worry about locking it up unless you grab hard. Under hard braking, you're more likely to stoppie because of how strong "real" brakes are.

[Metastable]

If you're still on your stock tires, they're pretty ******. I'm lucky that I managed to lock up the front without it sliding up on me. A light was turning yellow & I was riding with a friend. The friend stopped & I was behind, so I had to stop too. My front tire locked up & It actually bounced a little bit to a stop. I was lucky that it didn't slide out, and I'm lucky because it happened in the beginning of the season and to this day, I remember how much braking it took to lock it up. Hopefully you can have one of those experiences, because even I don't have the balls to try and find the locking point on the front.

On a ss, I'm not sure you'll have to worry about locking it up unless you grab hard. Under hard braking, you're more likely to stoppie because of how strong "real" brakes are.

Sounds to me like you were on the throttle and then grabbed too much front brake. You might have locked it up on any tire. These days most OEM tires are pretty decent, unless you are doing serious trackdays.