isn't that division? .. lol
Whoa or Go?
- Thread starter Tufbusa
- Start date
KvHotDog4
Registered
Hey tuf in that video it looks like the guys chain came off before he hit the rear brake. I am sure he had bad form going into the corner, but with the chain off I would say a wreck was inevitable. You think maybe the chain locked the rear tire, if not it would have definitely done serious damage when he twisted into the throttle coming out of the corner. The chain was still together just off the sprocket.
It appears the chain had nothing to do with his crash. The chain was off before he reached the corner, that's why he raised his hand to let riders behind him know he had an issue. If you watch the video carefully, you can see his right foot apply the brake and the brake light come on. Almost immediately his tire locked up only to begin rolling again as soon as the brake light goes off. The chain never appears to move, still has the same sag. The chain was off both sprockets and doesn't appear to have create any crash worthy issues. It was his reckless use of the brakes that put him on his head.
KvHotDog4
Registered
That's why you are the teacher. I just figured he raised his hand because he was happy he made it through the corner. Would the chain have not got caught in the wheel eventually anyway? That's what I meant by inevitable.
Tuf is a fountain of cycling knowledge if people would just listen to what he is saying and not dwell on how it is being said.
Thank you, Tuf!! You will not know how much help you have been to me!!
MelodicMetalGod
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BoostCreep
Registered
I'm not going to lie, I have poor braking skills up top, it's hard for me to even test it with new cars on the track. At least with cars, if your front suspension is too soft, your brakes are out of balance (little heavy on the rear), you don't have enough rear downforce, etc. and you dive into a soft corner with a following hard one, you're heavy on the brakes, that rear end will lift up, slide away, and you're going sideways into a wall.
My high speeds motorcycle skills are far, far, far less than my car skills and knowledge. Anything above 80mph scares me on a motorcycle, I refuse to do it unless I know 1000% sure I can get into my braking comfort zone without having to apply too much brake. It's really an area I need to (and would love to) work on.
My high speeds motorcycle skills are far, far, far less than my car skills and knowledge. Anything above 80mph scares me on a motorcycle, I refuse to do it unless I know 1000% sure I can get into my braking comfort zone without having to apply too much brake. It's really an area I need to (and would love to) work on.
I admire your honesty! Braking is a learned skill. You can't buy it nor can you learn it without practice. Developing ones braking skills may very well save your life at some point. Most motorcycle fatalities have something to do with the need to reduce speed quickly. We all have barriers in motorcycling, many of which we cannot overcome without help. None of us are completely comfortable with every aspect of motorcycles. It's the unknown that we are fearful of. If you have never leaned more then 35 degrees, the thought of leaning to 45 degrees is terrifying. If you have never applied the brakes with enough force to lift the rear tire, the thought of attempting such a task is also terrifying. It's the fear of the consequences of the front tire loosing traction that keeps us from reaching the upper levels of braking skills. We fear the loss of front traction yet we are perfectly comfortable with a touring tire attached to the front brake lever.
Braking skills are developed the same way any other bike control skill is learned, one small step at a time. My favorite cliché is, "How do you eat an elephant,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, One small bite at a time". Same works for developing any new skill, one small bite at a time. I would not encourage anyone to crank it up to a buck fifty and stand on the brakes before mastering hard braking from legal speeds first. However, I would encourage everyone to practice hard braking from whatever speed they enjoy on their Sunday morning rides.
The best tidbit of advise I can give anyone who wants to raise their level of braking skill is, "Load the tire before you work the tire". If you load the front tire by squeezing the lever until the forks have compressed these modern day tires that we are blessed with will perform flawlessly on clean dry pavement.
The key is: Practice - Practice - Practice!
kennym4
Registered
you & me both brother....Ain't no shame in my game, my bikes are able to go WAYYYYY farther than I'll ever take them !!
BoostCreep
Registered
This really is the best advice and it works for far more than just braking actually. Throttle control, turn in, and everything you do on a bike or even a car makes a difference in entrance and exit speeds, as well as safety! If you can't understand this, you need to learn or you'll end up going down sooner than later.
I was recently (actually a little over a year ago now) in a situation where I had to emergency brake from probably about 80-90mph as I was attempting to pass somebody with a dangerous corner coming up too quickly, getting stretched far beyond my skill and ability which is my own fault.
The story is, I was attempting to pass another motorcycle in the mountains, as soon as he sees me pull out to pass he guns it, I hesitate for a second (stupid move) and then get on the throttle to pass him (worse move). I end up making a clean pass but there is a hard left coming up fast and on the other side of the road is a weak, low, metal barrier and then a huge cliff with a bunch of tall trees. I'm on my headset telling the guy I'm riding with "I'm going down!" and load the front brake hard enough to make the rear skip as I'm trying to scrub speed harder than I ever have before. At the last moment I know I'm sight locked and my grip isn't enough to bring me to a stop.
At this point I could only do one thing, get into the mentality "if I'm going down, I'm going down sideways into a rail and trying to get through this." Without crossing that shiny center line, I look left hard, take my hands off the brakes, tighten my drivetrain with the throttle a little, counter steer and focus on my body positioning while the bike leans deep into my chicken strips.
Before hitting the apex of the corner I notice my bike has the grip to carry me through at this speed and lean. Before I knew it, I breathed out, rolled on the throttle and rolled the bike back straight from the corner, looked back and the other guy was almost scraping his exhaust getting through that corner. I put a little scoot in my step because I didn't want the dude to catch up because I know if he got me to stop there would be blood.
Scared the holy hell out of me. The only thing that saved my ass is a thought process I thank (amateur) car racing for, because I know damn well I didn't have the skills on a motorcycle to get through that.
As soon as I finish refreshing my forks, put a new rear tire on and get a one piece track suit, I'm going to a track school.
Good Post Kook. Unfortunately for most the response to a situation such as yours is to freeze up and run straight off the corner. You are living proof that if you stick with it and resist panic, 9 out of 10 times you'll make it through the corner with nothing more than sweaty palms. Never ever give up on a corner or any other situation for that matter. By hanging in there you maintained control and survived. Now you have experience that will give you more confidence if that situation ever arises again. 
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