Just read the crash/accident forum...need some drills to practise

[sticky6]

Hi guys,

In the three days I had my bike I already experienced a dumb ass in a jeep swerving in front of me. I was going slow so no biggy, but I did yell at him from inside my helmet.

Oh and my bike rolled forward today falling on her side but that's another sad story ....

I was wondering if you guys have any drills to practise for braking? I keep reading people say brake brake brake you got know how to brake pretty darn quickly. So I was wondering if you gys have some ideas? I can't practise braking just on the road, I need some drills where I go toa parking lot and practise it.

Any ideas? I was thinking speed wise. 10, 20, 30, 40 and so on till maybe 50 mph. How quick you should be able to brake, how do you squeeze the front brake without having it go out onyou? some also say to not use the back brake. So I should disregard the "use both brakes for maximum braking" form my MSF book?

I know some will say go out a practise, but I want some drills. She's big and heavy and I read that she doesn't stop as quick. with that in mind this morning I stayed way back of my two buddies in case.

 

[mracer29]

I practice hard braking on a regular basis when I ride, I don't go to a parking lot an practice I just do it all the time. I always brake late and hard at stop signs, I ride wheelies and see how fast I can land the front tire and brake.

On another note I always cover my front brake lever when my finger. It cuts reaction time to a minimum cause as soon as you shut down throttle you can instantly brake.

 

[lankeeyankee]

I also ride with one finger on the brake lever and will from time to time test my braking skills on my road near my house when no cars are behind me and also if I dump it I am not far from the house. I will practice usually around speeds of 65 MPH due to majority of emercency stopping happens on residental streets with people backing out of driveways, people making a left turn in front of you, cars pulling out in front of you from side streets etc. I will use front brake HARD lifting the rear tire off the ground when I get down to 15-20 MPH. Yes, practice stopping on a road you are familiar with. Make sure there is no gravel or any other debri that can effect your braking skills till you are comfortable with braking.
Also adjust your front brake lever as your testing to where it feels comfortable to where you dont lock the front brake up.
Rear brakes.......use them but dont jam on them locking the rear wheel, remember when braking hard most of the weight will be on the front tire making it easy for the rear tire to skid.
Start off slow drills from 20 MPH and increase your braking pressure as you advance in your skills.

DO NOT practice braking with cold tires, get the tires up to temp. Meaning dont jump on your bike and ride a half mile and jam on the brakes, you may not like the results of cold tires.

 

[kromdom]

What is your riding experience? If you have not yet done so, highly recommend attending an MSF course: Motorcycle Safety Foundation

P.S. The skills/knowledge I learned from BRC over 20 years ago have been saving my azz non-stop to this day. In fact, I am attending the Military Sportbike Rider Course in a few days and FWIW, have been attending MSF rider courses almost every 2 years since the 80's.

 

[dadofthree]

Whatever you do; be safe and gear up

 

[GNBRETT]

here is a good drill to practice in ur head. not sure what country ur from but when in the states and u have a blinking yellow light and oncomming traffic has a blinking red dont ASSume they will treat it as a stop sign and actually stop.

especially when riding in the city where half the ppl have no drivers license and have no earthly clue what a blinking red light means and the others are just too stupid to remember and blow right thru it.

ive seen two ppl die on motorcycles as a result of having a yellow blinking light and cruising thru it ASSuming oncomming traffic would stop and then being crushed. both were slow speed accidents but were broad sided and killed instantly.

 

[Lamb busa]

Try this...5 Circles as small as you can get as slow as you can go, the bike will want to go a certain speed all on its own. concentrate on steering inputs being smooth. be smart here please...Reverse. Now figure eights concentrating on smallish circles and slowish, meaning stay conservative. Its ok to sit straight up and down and push the handlebars down and its ok to lean with the bike, either way is good. be smart in this drill please......................... Now do this drill with braking...a little larger circle now to minimize drop potential. do 2 circles and stop. Try to get the bike upright upon braking or only a slight lean (less lean than your circle)and keep the speeds down. Not super hard braking, think smooth, this isnt a how hard can you brake drill. Front brake only, just keep the right foot planted on the peg.....Reverse.

All the folks who cover their brakes while they ride are wise indeed. The second drill will force you to cover the brake for quicker reaction time and bike control.

Do these exercises all the time. Slow speed bike control is in direct correlation to control at quicker speeds.

Oh yeah, almost forgot. Stay relaxed, it really helps

Later
Lamb!!

 

[Lamb busa]

Now for some rear brake drills

Find a hill and face up it, coming to a stop. Place foot on rear brake pedal and release front brake.

Now face down the hill and repeat.

 

[Tcheatwood]

just completed the MSF advanced riding course and would definitely suggest it if you have never been. however a couple of drills they had us do in the class for braking is quick stop drill. get your bike to about 15 mph and have some1 in front of you and when they put there hands up try to stop as quickly as possible using both brakes. remember to let off the front brake and reapply if you lock your front brake up and ride it out if you lock your back brake up. another is braking in a curve. begin making your turn and then imagine an obstacle popping up in front of you straighten bike up and perform the quick stop again. i will be doing the military sport bike riders course soon and when i complete it i will post more drills we run. hope it helps and stay safe.

 

[Lamb busa]

Sticky 6...You try any of these drills yet?

What do you think?

Any luck in feeling more at ease with the "art" of braking?

 

[sticky6]

So far I"ve done some braking. I still haven't locked up my front brake yet so hopefully I don't ever, but then I wont know the limit of it, or the hardest I can brake. At a traffic light I use my rear brake now to keep from rolloing back/forward and while riding I also started to keep my two right fingers on the front brake. I never move my fingers now, I can brake fully using only two fingers.

I still have to go to our MSF course here and do the circles. For some reason when I shift from 1st to 2nd she jerks a little bit. I know it's all about releasing the clutsh smoothly and get on the throttle, but finding that sweet spot when she goes over to 2nd is tricky. I"m either too early on releasing the clutch and she jerks a bit or too early on the gas and she revs up slightly before the clutch is fully released. All the other gears are fine when I shift, just 1st to 2nd. Or maybe i'm jst retarded.

I wait a bit now before I slow down when I get tot traffic light too. Then I try to brake as hard as I can and keep her in line.

 

[MrMajicCity]

if possible find a long streight road...accel to a decent speed (70-80) and apply pressure gradually to your front brake to find out where the point just before they lock up...keep doing this until you gain the muscle memory of where that maximum pressure/ just before lock up point. this will come in handy.

also try to remember you want the inital transfer of weight when breaking to be smooth once the transfer is complete you can increase pressure faster. i put my body weight forward to help begin the process.