Emergency braking.

[Babs]

What is the best way to practice emergency braking? And don't just say brake hard! I want to find a safe way to practice without the fear of sliding. I am terrified of the brakes which is a good thing when it comes to cornering, as I have learned to control entry speed and rarely have to tap the brakes. The downside however, is that I don't know that I will react very well in an emergency situation. Just how hard can I hit the brakes on a dry clean surface without losing traction. I know I should just go out and find a quiet place to practice, but I don't want to miss out on any gems of advice from KR that might prevent further mirror loss!!

[OldandReallySlow]

Do what we do in the MSF classes (or used to as we don't do rear wheel skids anymore) Using BOTH brakes stop quickly at 15 to 20 mph. Do this at your comfort level until you are confident in your ability to stop in a given amount of room. Then, without locking up the rear brake, try using a little more SQUEEZE on the front brake and see how much shorter your stopping distance is. Keep repeating that until you are comfortable with it and then progress a little more and so on and so forth. Also, practice in an empty parking lot (checking it first for any debris) and where your gear. Other than that, it's something we all have to practice and become profficient at.

[OldandReallySlow]

Oh and by the way, that's what I am doing now having replaced the stock brake lines with SS and putting new HH pads on the front. Whole new braking experiance to get used to. Keep practicing!!

[WildKat]

emergency braking, means at some point..ur going to lock up the rear wheel. being able to control that type of braking is essential if you dont wanna wind up on ur arse!

back in the msf course, we took turns speeding up , and then locking up the rear wheel. best case scenario is using both brakes effectively, but at some point, locking it up will happen so you'll want to be confident that you can handle it.

[Katgirl]

Hi Babs, I gather you took the MSF course.
Do what you did there to practise. Find a good parking lot, clean preferably . And practise, good place to do the slow speen manouvers too. Use front brake and back brake.
I needed to go out and do that a short while ago, after a good scare while I was out with Nick and locked my back brakes. I needed to work on my natural instinct to use my foot to slam on the brakes like in my car.

[trinc]

this may sound backwards - but it's what i tell people.

you need to learn or feel what the tire is telling you - feedback.
it comes by way of feeling and by sound. now you don't want
to go locking up the front brake - so start by locking up the rear.
get going about 20-40 mph and start pressing the rear brake harder
and harder - the tire should start to howl at you just before it locks up.
once it does it might skip a bit or slid a little but keep looking forward
and light on the bars and ride it to a stop.

once you get that down and can start to tell when the tire is about to lock,
start over using only the front brake - BUT once you get the feeling it's about to lock up maintain that steady pressure ( stop increasing ).

remember on front tire lock-up release the brake until the tire starts to roll.

once you have that down - combine the two.

tim

[Special K]

I never use my back brake.

All this past weekend, no matter what the conditions...............I only ever used my fronts. The ONLY time I use my rear brake is in EXTREME EMERGENCY conditions.........having to stop to avoid an accident......but only after applying the fronts first.

Ask Taz..............to see what happens when you use the rear brake going into a corner too hot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NEW UNDIES TIME!!!

[zleviticus]

Like K above i rarely use my rear break especially in a turn... not even engine braking.. if I am braking I am using the front... I do use the rear if I am coming to a stop at a light and such.. but mostly my front.. i do not want to get into the habit of just using the front becuas ewhen i need the rear I want it to be second nature for me as well.. i ahve had to do a couple emergecy stops before.. (i bet one of the curves I had to come out of the lean and brake was one of the ones someone else had issues with this weekend.) If you wanted to go out and practice with someone some time let me know and I would be happy to join you.. I am a noob still and like it slow... you also might want to look into taking the MSF class (not the beginner but the ERC class) they will teach more advanced techniques on accident avoidance.. i plan on taking it next year and would love to have someone else in the class that I know... : )

[trinc]

I never use my back brake.

All this past weekend, no matter what the conditions...............I only ever used my fronts. The ONLY time I use my rear brake is in EXTREME EMERGENCY conditions.........having to stop to avoid an accident......but only after applying the fronts first.

Ask Taz..............to see what happens when you use the rear brake going into a corner too hot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NEW UNDIES TIME!!!

this is me also - but i think learning the use of the rear brake is important.
you MUST use the rear brake in some situations - so you should know it's limits (emergency braking or braking on a loose/slick surface )

tim

[Range]

rear brake didn't help me in my "off"
locked up...I released...and then panicked...lots of variables.

a little word to the wise...TYRES...mine were worn...was going to change them AFTER the season...boy...did I learn an expe$ive mi$$take

[woobie]

I use my rear brake all the time, you just have to get use to it so you don't end up locking up the rear wheel when the weight transfers to the front during hard braking.

And on a side note I "chirped" my front tire practicing emergency braking just the other day. It's an odd feeling.

a little word to the wise...TYRES...mine were worn...

I could have swore you just put those on in the spring, or was it last year? How many kms did you get out of the Avons?

[md86]

I use my rear brake all the time, you just have to get use to it so you don't end up locking up the rear wheel when the weight transfers to the front during hard braking.

And on a side note I "chirped" my front tire practicing emergency braking just the other day. It's an odd feeling.

a little word to the wise...TYRES...mine were worn...

I could have swore you just put those on in the spring, or was it last year? How many kms did you get out of the Avons?

Sheesh , I'm on my second set for the year , and I'll be getting more come spring , I'm sure !

[Range]

I could have swore you just put those on in the spring, or was it last year? How many kms did you get out of the Avons?

was the spring...about 12K...they wear fine...then all of a sudden, they go FAST!

[Slim]

ok, a) some ppl mentioned breaking while in a curve - just remember, you ne'er wanna use your breaks while you're leaned. always straighten the bike up first.
b) as for practicing emergency breaking, like others said - find yourself a nice clean and empty parking lot. get up to a constant speed and practice breaking. first few times don't push it, just get comfortable. then start trying to shorten your distance (but keep the same speed as before - once you get comfortable with all that then you can increase your speed).
main thing when breaking is remembering to SQUEEZE and EASE. squeeze the front break and ease on the back (to avoid locking up the tires). if you do end up locking up your back tire don't worry, since you are going in a straight line all it will do is increase your breaking distance. but you want to practice in a straight line so that you don't lock up the tire (cuz if you lock it up while breaking in a curve it's easier to lose control of the bike).
when I teach this lesson I teach my students to break in three steps:
-Squeeze
-Squeeze harder
-Squeeze hard

just take it gradually and build up to quicker stops. start where you're comfortable and try and get a shorter distance each time.

Good luck!!

[slowflyn]

I got a first rate emergency braking situation on the track Wed. I was coming out of a turn about 60ish and accelerating in a straightaway then down hill to a pair or very tight left right corners. As I crest the hill and can see down the track there is a gaggle of bikes and they aren't moving but maybe 20mph. So I'm now pushing 100mph as I start grabbing front brake and grab more and more, I'm down shifting like crazy and the tires are howling big time. I didn't hit anybody but there was a moment when I realized I was target fixed on the last guy in the line, I did move off line to avoid a collision and watched the the guy that was the cause of this backup just creep on through the corners. It was a pucker moment. Practice your emergency braking!