Riding Help

M

mannyf6

Member
Forum Sponsor
Hello,

I just started riding last week, and have been having trouble slowing down to a proper speed for right turns off of main roads. I mainly slow down by downshifting, and therefor my brake lights dont go on, so the cars behind me start to get really close.

I was wondering if there is anyone in the Royal York and Queensway area who would like to ride with me and give me some pointers. PM if you're interested, I'd be willing to take you for lunch for helping me out.

Thanks, Manny.
 
You answered your problem yourself, when slowing you should at least put your brakes on enough to put the brake light on or at least tap the rear brake pedal a few times to warn drivers you are slowing.
 
Sign up for the beginner course, problem solved. Public roads are not the place to learn and always get into habit of at least flashing your brake lights.
 
mannyf6 said:
Hello,

I just started riding last week, and have been having trouble slowing down to a proper speed for right turns off of main roads. I mainly slow down by downshifting, and therefor my brake lights dont go on, so the cars behind me start to get really close.

I was wondering if there is anyone in the Royal York and Queensway area who would like to ride with me and give me some pointers. PM if you're interested, I'd be willing to take you for lunch for helping me out.

Thanks, Manny.
Click to expand...
I also being a new rider ( just started last summer) had the same problem so I got into the habit of using my foot break and keep it on as I gear down and go slow well turning corners as I'm still not the comfortable with corners.. I found using that instead of hand break that it also made my turns a lot easier :) Good luck
 
fjbabe said:
I also being a new rider ( just started last summer) had the same problem so I got into the habit of using my foot break and keep it on as I gear down and go slow well turning corners as I'm still not the comfortable with corners.. I found using that instead of hand break that it also made my turns a lot easier :) Good luck
Click to expand...

+1

But dont break through the turn, slow down before it.
 
I've done the course, but I still find myself breaking too early and ending up going too slow, or slow down all at once at the last second. I can't seem to figure out a balance. I'm just not sure at which point I need to start breaking and downshifting, and how fast I should really be going around a turn. The times that I feel like im doing it right, I'm going from 50km/h on the main road to doing the turn at around 20-25km/h. I still would like to follow behind a more experienced rider and see how it looks when done right.
 
mannyf6 said:
I've done the course, but I still find myself breaking too early and ending up going too slow, or slow down all at once at the last second. I can't seem to figure out a balance. I'm just not sure at which point I need to start breaking and downshifting, and how fast I should really be going around a turn. The times that I feel like im doing it right, I'm going from 50km/h on the main road to doing the turn at around 20-25km/h. I still would like to follow behind a more experienced rider and see how it looks when done right.
Click to expand...

Grab some pylons and go to a big empty parking lot, practice till you got it down.
There's also some nice empty industrial area near my place. 401/427 not too far from you
 
Paul1000RR said:
Grab some pylons and go to a big empty parking lot, practice till you got it down.
There's also some nice empty industrial area near my place. 401/427 not too far from you
Click to expand...

Agreed. There's tons of empty roads in evening and weekend with some gentle corners, stop signs and 90deg turns near centennial park and Eglinton. You can practice all you want with very minimal traffic. I can't remember the actual road name but HP has a building in that area.
 
mannyf6 said:
I've done the course, but I still find myself breaking too early and ending up going too slow, or slow down all at once at the last second. I can't seem to figure out a balance. I'm just not sure at which point I need to start breaking and downshifting, and how fast I should really be going around a turn. The times that I feel like im doing it right, I'm going from 50km/h on the main road to doing the turn at around 20-25km/h. I still would like to follow behind a more experienced rider and see how it looks when done right.
Click to expand...

Just keep riding and you'll get the feel of your bike - when to downshift into every gear. The only thing - don't downshift into 1st too early, you can start fishtailing, which is not fun. And regarding braking: just before you start downshifting, tap your rear brake a few times to warn the driver behind you that you'll be slowing down. You can also slightly hold your rear brake while downshifting. This way your brake light will be on warning the driver behind you. Of course, practicing in a parking lot is a good idea too, just make sure that it's clean - no pot holes or gravel.
 
Paul1000RR said:
Grab some pylons and go to a big empty parking lot, practice till you got it down.
There's also some nice empty industrial area near my place. 401/427 not too far from you
Click to expand...

Hm, you live right beside me? Never seen 1000RR on the streets around 401/427... :confused:
 
mimico_polak said:
Agreed. There's tons of empty roads in evening and weekend with some gentle corners, stop signs and 90deg turns near centennial park and Eglinton. You can practice all you want with very minimal traffic. I can't remember the actual road name but HP has a building in that area.
Click to expand...

explorer/satellite/orbitor <--- its like a ghost town on the weekends
 
Practice practice- parking lots are good and excellent getting used to some light rear braking.
The Burgman gears down quite abruptly on it's own so I have to remember to hit the brakes a bit to warn drivers.

An early tap approaching the corner but well ahead will usually get them to back off.
I do like the idea of a big L on bikes with a Learner aboard. i think people will be more tolerant.

OP - helps if you post where you are located.
I ride most days and if anywhere near happy to ride ahead - everyone finds their own pace tho.

What bike do you have?
 
Last edited:
imo downshifting is good, but you should be using a combination of brakes AND gearing down. From my understanding, solely using the gearing will cause more wear on your transmission and clutch, as well as eat your rear tire faster. Again, I'm not saying don't gear down, but use brakes to help slow the bike and use your gears to assist and to make sure you are in the proper gear (for your speed) so you can accelerate properly if needed.

Anyhow just my 2 cents.
 
+1 conundrum

My 2 cents... I was taught to use gravity and brakes for slowing down and down shift to be in the proper gear for the speed I'm going and to never use transmission for braking.
 
You have to blip the throttle and rev match so the bike doesn't jerk and is at speed and in it's power band before you turn in to the corner so you can smoothly power through it.If the bike jerks while turning especially at low speed it becomes unstable and choppy forcing you to correct while in the turn.Below 20kph you have to counter balance and above 20kph you have to counter steer(make sure you know the difference and when to use them).Everyone has a favorite lean angle and direction (right or left) so make sure you don't cut too close to the curb and look through the turn.I do this in my manual car,sometimes i even lean.Find a short deserted block and practice trying different entry points and throttle control and smooth rev matching.Once you get it you wont even have to think about it and thinking about it wastes time and messes up synchronization in the turn. I use the front brake before the turn because it actuates the light with little pressure and before the brakes actually engage while the rear brake take more pressure to turn on the brake light.
 
conundrum said:
From my understanding, solely using the gearing will cause more wear on your transmission and clutch, as well as eat your rear tire faster.
Click to expand...

When done correctly, down shifting will have negligible wear (as in miniscule, and this would be over tens of thousands kilometres) on the clutch. The only way the rear tire will wear faster is if it's locking up, in which case you're simply not using the proper technique.

Use the brakes, of course, but down shift as well.
 
Jayell said:
When done correctly, down shifting will have negligible wear (as in miniscule, and this would be over tens of thousands kilometres) on the clutch. The only way the rear tire will wear faster is if it's locking up, in which case you're simply not using the proper technique.

Use the brakes, of course, but down shift as well.
Click to expand...

i dont think you need to lock up the rear tire for it to wear down faster.
much like a FWD car wears down their front tire and RWD car wears down their rear tire faster. I think the tires that are used to drive the vehicle wears down faster

but def +1 for using brakes while down shifting. pads are cheaper than engine parts.
 
Sort of related question:

I've ridden 2 or 3 days on the street now. When I come up to a turn I have been using 2 fingers on the front brake to slow down and the other 2 to blip the throttle to match downshifts. Is this the right idea? Or should I be using all fingers on the front brake and the palm of my hand to blip (if that's even possible)?

Thx.
 
koma said:
Sort of related question:

I've ridden 2 or 3 days on the street now. When I come up to a turn I have been using 2 fingers on the front brake to slow down and the other 2 to blip the throttle to match downshifts. Is this the right idea? Or should I be using all fingers on the front brake and the palm of my hand to blip (if that's even possible)?

Thx.
Click to expand...

your doing it right. dont use all your fingers and grab a fist full of front brakes! bad things will happen lol

almost all of us only use 2 fingers to brake, downshifting or not down shifting
Forum Sponsor
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom