What/how to fall?

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Further to what Brian said. I still tend to make the error of using too much rear and not enough front brake.

Rather than having the back lift, I just lock it and it starts sliding out on me.
 
Kri$han said:
RE: braking; PLEASE don't forget that BOTH brakes used appropriately will always be more effective than grabbing a fist-full of front brake.

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In a word - NO.

djltoronto said:
I realize that, but the first two sentences of that paragraph do seem to have some bearing on sportbikes.
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The first two sentences are full of fail for a sportbike. Delaying, at all, in getting on the front brake as hard as you can while staying upright means you are taking longer to stop than you need to. And, there is no way a person can apply their rear brake faster than their front. Hand beats the foot anytime. Ask any martial artist.
 
The ability to just hammer both front and rear brake levers with impunity without regards to surface condition or weight distribution is worth a lot when a car driver pulls a bonehead move in front of you.
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without regards to surface condition
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Tain't so gunga din.....
 
You close your eyes as your balls (if you have any) go up and you scream ohhhhh ****

That's pretty much it
 
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ItIsWhatItIs said:
An unbraked rear will cause the braked front wheel to slide. Do this on a wet declining road and you have cocktail of pain. I know this all to well.
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I guess my 35 years of experience braking almost solely with the front must have been an illusion then. Where do people get this crap?

My front wheel has slid a total of, count 'em, one time. I brake on wet roads all the time.

I really wish you people that have no clue would stop spouting these "facts" you dream up.
 
Griffin said:
The first two sentences are full of fail for a sportbike. Delaying, at all, in getting on the front brake as hard as you can while staying upright means you are taking longer to stop than you need to. And, there is no way a person can apply their rear brake faster than their front. Hand beats the foot anytime. Ask any martial artist.
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I don't think they are suggesting to delay the application of the front brake !

It may be that some riders ride with their foot nearly covering the rear brake pedal, whereas some riders may not ride with 2 fingers on the brake lever prepared to brake.

I'm not saying the article is spot on, but I also wouldn't call it full of fail.
 
I believe it's been stated already but, if you want to learn how to fall, learn to ride in the dirt. You can jump on the brakes, fish tail, yank on the front and go over the bars, the dirt is much more forgiving.


I know having access to a birt bike and a place to ride it isn't for everyone but, it has been a very valuable experience for me.


It's been mentioned several times about heavy braking but, keep in mind if you are braking hard while steering to avoid an object or obstackle, you can be asking too much of the front end and wash out. It's a judgement call depending on the circumstances of course. Sometimes all you can do it jump on the brake for everything it's worth and hope for the best.
 
If you're stopped waiting to make a left and a car comes at you from the side and is going to knock you into oncoming traffic you can do what I did. Hold onto the bike for dear life and pray its heavy enough to slow down the impact so you don't end up flattened by rush hour traffic. Being crushed under the bike wasn't too bad in the grand scheme of thing's. Sometimes there's no time for fancier planning.
 
Whatever mental concentration that it takes to stab and then release the rear brake for the few milliseconds that it's going to be effective (and that's all it's going to be), are better spent getting the front brake to maximum braking and not locking it.

This is conditional on: Short wheelbase sport bike, dry pavement, warmed-up tires, no passenger. In other words, about 95+% of the time that I'm riding.
 
Pretty narrow limitations for a generalized braking guidance thread there Mr. P.

MOST riders encounter a range of conditions and often unexpected. It's not the expected that will take you out - it's the one you are not prepared for.

So most riders would benefit from knowing how their bike responds in a variety of conditions and how to use their rear brake.

••••


Nakkers

I believe it's been stated already but, if you want to learn how to fall, learn to ride in the dirt. You can jump on the brakes, fish tail, yank on the front and go over the bars, the dirt is much more forgiving.

I know having access to a birt bike and a place to ride it isn't for everyone but, it has been a very valuable experience for me.
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Could not agree more but failing have a dirt bike to play on - just taking your regular ride into some dirt and gravel roads provides a lot of info for the rider willing to learn.
AND a lot of confidence over time.

With ABS on the Burgman and even the one without front brakes were the main anchors by far and making them howl in the twisties much fun....the rear was almost immaterial.
However, in loose conditions and dirt the rear is very important.

Many riders run dual sport these days and I really had to concentrate for w few weeks to get my rear braking smooth and controlled on steep and muddy trails and steep and wet pavement.
Not all bikes have fat tires up front - the KLR650 notably - and the front end likes to wash out.

A full skill set includes knowing what both brakes do under a variety of conditions and being able to "feel" your way through to maximum stopping and control for variety and sometimes unexpected conditions.
 
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RockerGuy said:
Bear in mind, if you're moving at 60km/h and another car is moving in an opposite directiion at 60km/h, the impact would equivalent to you hitting a stationary object at 120km/h.

My attempts would be to ditch the bike if braking fails and avoid the car at all costs.

If a car is turning in front of me and is stationary, I'll plunge into the car. Making sure I get as much contact of my body onto the car and spread your weight. Stuntmen & WWE wrestlers know what I'm talking about
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That's my thoughts exactly.

If oncoming car heading straight at you brake to scrub off speed than release brake and initiate evasive tactic of either swerving to right or bail to the right. Hitting it head on you're most likely going to be killed instantly.

The most common accident is left turners. If can't stop in time try finding the middle of the car to hit. Try scrubbing off as much speed as possible before impact. Don't let the car hit you as the engine can sever your left leg or do some serious crushing injuries.

From an insurance perspective hit the car if you know your bike is going to be laid down! Otherwise you could be financially responsible for the bike and could be charged too for careless driving.
 
slogan said:
If you are lucky, you can try something like this:
[video=youtube;zoT7nNsv9wI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoT7nNsv9wI[/video]
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Wow... no one even stopped. I guess you've got to be dead for people to give a rats *** in China. Even then i wonder, "Oh sweet honey... look! Real brains!". I guess we can forgive the guy for just walking around in the intersection amongst huge trucks afterwards assuming he wasn't completely 'there', landing on feet or not. Crazy.
 
psycho44 said:
From an insurance perspective hit the car if you know your bike is going to be laid down! Otherwise you could be financially responsible for the bike and could be charged too for careless driving.
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This is not true, and its also bad advice.
 
rollandburn said:
Wow... no one even stopped. I guess you've got to be dead for people to give a rats *** in China. Even then i wonder, "Oh sweet honey... look! Real brains!". I guess we can forgive the guy for just walking around in the intersection amongst huge trucks afterwards assuming he wasn't completely 'there', landing on feet or not. Crazy.
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Wrong. Being dead doesn't do anything either.

I hate China.
 
Many years ago I had a discussion on this in NZ in an advanced road course. We chatted about prepping for collisions and being prepared to be flung up over the tank etc.
Also how to slide on the road and steer oneself. Really made you think about the possibilities.
 
Brian P said:
Oh boy. Here we go again.

It depends on the bike and it depends on how much traction you have. It depends on whether you are carrying a passenger.
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****, you're wordy (my $0.02 is worth more than I thought!). My overriding concern was to remind people to practice emergency braking, however they wanna brake: all front brake, all rear brake, drag your feet on the asphalt; Its your bike, ride it how YOU want.
 
Griffin said:
I guess my 35 years of experience braking almost solely with the front must have been an illusion then. Where do people get this crap?

My front wheel has slid a total of, count 'em, one time. I brake on wet roads all the time.

I really wish you people that have no clue would stop spouting these "facts" you dream up.
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Yea, people with ABS, should keep their delusions to themselves. Using both brakes is good form and its in the operators manual for my bike. Unlike a car a feel has to be established to ensure the front and rear is equally applied. You want to use the Front only go ahead. I did that and my front wheel went into a slide.
 
every bike has different braking techniques. Find an empty parking lot and practice your brakings to see which method stops the shortest distance and to get a feel for how your bike responds to each different breaking method.

Also practice braking with only front brake than try only back break just so you can get a feel how your bike responds. Than do both breaks.
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