Emergency braking

[p.dath]

Seems like weeks since we had the last emergency braking thread. So I have decided to create a BLOG entry that I can simply quote for this regular upcoming thread.

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/en...rgency-Braking

So what do you think of it?

[CookMySock]

Add a disclaimer. The document is about a newbie and his search for balance.

Alternatively, link to authoritive sources.

Steve

[p.dath]

Add a disclaimer. The document is about a newbie and his search for balance.

Alternatively, link to authoritive sources.

Steve

I've linked to several authoritative sources, and the site already has a disclaimer.

[Jonno.]

The most important thing I recon is to find out how hard you can brake. When I first started biking I was really scared of locking the front and as a result I had a few close calls while, what I thought was still heavily braking. After figuring out I can brake twice as hard as I thought, my emergency stop had gone to about 75% of what it was.

[Urano]

interesting, and with good intentions.
we are more on the "usa school" side, and on the italian riders forums you can find two very good documents "ride safe" and "brakin point" written by a rider called "il Principe Brutto" (the ugly prince).
there is explained pretty well how to perform an emergency brake and how to survive in our congested cities on two wheels.
unfortunately, despite their english titles, are both in italian.
i don't have time/will to translate now, but it my intention to it sooner or later: i hope it will help, someway...

long made short, there are 3 important thing on braking:
1- learn how to lock the front wheel, so you can avoid to do that.
2- in the emergency start always with the rear one, even if for a half of a second it will weight up the front fork, and the front brake will not lock (or it will only in a very worse situation)
3- don't fixate on the target. search always for a way out, quite always going in the direction of the obstacle even if it would appear counter instinctive...

[p.dath]

The most important thing I recon is to find out how hard you can brake. When I first started biking I was really scared of locking the front and as a result I had a few close calls while, what I thought was still heavily braking. After figuring out I can brake twice as hard as I thought, my emergency stop had gone to about 75% of what it was.

Do you know of any techniques around practising locking and releasing the front? I think locking the front wheel tends to be easier on a long wheel base bike, and harder on a short wheelbase (like a sports bike) ... reason below.

I didn't mention it in the article, but another one of the reasons some countries teach engaging the rear brake first is because it starts weight transferrng to the front wheel - and the probability of a front wheel lock occurring is related to the amount of weight on that wheel. The more weight on the front wheel the harder it is to lock it up.

[p.dath]

interesting, and with good intentions.
we are more on the "usa school" side, and on the italian riders forums you can find two very good documents "ride safe" and "brakin point" written by a rider called "il Principe Brutto" (the ugly prince).

You'll be interested to know that they have now changed the NZ motorcycle road code to say to engage the front brake first, like the UK. Why they made this change I don't know.

http://www.nzta.govt.nz/resources/ro...otorcycle.html
(under the braking tips section)

[Urano]

interesting read, thanks.
a bit... "strange" anyway...
i can't understand in what way it could be useful for a beginner to read that "new bike get in the turn TOO quickly". too respect WHAT? and a new bike with a flatten tyre will lean at the same speed? and one with a back tyre of 190 vs one with 140?
and my elbows have be in the same position if i ride a gs1200 and a ninja?

and, concerning the braking tips, good to say to both the brakes, bad (imho) to say to use the front first, better to say to take safe drive instructions: always the best thing to do if you have doubt....

and then it talks of countersteering, which is actually something a bit unusual to say to a beginner...
and it says to use the back brake to start uphill????? it would be acceptable if for "hill" they think at a pedestrian passage, but it's pretty dangerous to learn such things without disclaiming...
the "safe riding tips" on the other hand it's pretty good talkin about the vision and the eye movement...

[ZX12R Hoon]

Consider that the crux of the matter is "EMERGENCY", whatever works quickest is best. Throttle - Front - Clutch - Rear - Gears is the sequence. THROTTLE off (pretty obvious), FRONT start braking but not too hard because you want the weight coming forward to increase the patch of rubber in contact with the road and not enough to start the front wheel skidding, CLUTCH because you are now about to apply the rear brake and because there's very little weight left on the rear if you brake before you in-clutch you'll stall the engine, REAR just enough to get some braking but not enough to skid, (by now the bike is sitting hard down on the front wheel and you can drive some real force into the front brake and as it slows down keep driving the force in), GEARS because at some stage you may have bled enough speed off to get control and escape the car bearing down on you from behind and you need to be in the correct gear not to stall the engine. Simple really. Now practice it till it works automatically because if you don't you'll probably not get another chance. Doing this will reduce the braking distance by up to half compared to the "normal" uncoordinated braking and by at least three quarters if you were to try braking with only the rear (as some do)

[p.dath]

Consider that the crux of the matter is "EMERGENCY", whatever works quickest is best. Throttle - Front - Clutch - Rear - Gears is the sequence. THROTTLE off (pretty obvious), FRONT start braking but not too hard because you want the weight coming forward to increase the patch of rubber in contact with the road and not enough to start the front wheel skidding, CLUTCH because you are now about to apply the rear brake and because there's very little weight left on the rear if you

So your from the UK school of thought? It almost sounds like you recited that out of a book.

While your approach works fine in lots of cases it doesn't work the best for all riders and all types of road bikes, as I say in the article. If you have a pillion and a bike with a long wheel base you may well find that it detracts from the shortest stopping distance as your failing to take advantge of the additional weight on the rear tyre. Then again, it may not. It's a matter of trying it.

For example, have you considered that some bikes can brake harder with the front brake if you apply the rear brake first - because the friction is increased on the front wheel because of the early weight transfer, which also reduces the likelihood of a front wheel lock?

[FROSTY:Me]

Meanwhile whilst ya calculating all this stuff in ya head and weighing up the options--Youve plowwed into the back of that bus that just swung in front of ya.
Even imperfect tecnique for that bike applied early enough is a shit load better than spending a couple of seconds thinking about it.
Gettin yer arse out there and practicing is whats gonna save ya

[p.dath]

Meanwhile whilst ya calculating all this stuff in ya head and weighing up the options--Youve plowwed into the back of that bus that just swung in front of ya.
Even imperfect tecnique for that bike applied early enough is a shit load better than spending a couple of seconds thinking about it.
Gettin yer arse out there and practicing is whats gonna save ya

Almost my exact words Frosty.

I can tell you though that you need to select a method that you can execute without thinking. You must be able to do it second nature. When in an emergency your brain is likely to be overloaded. Fear can easily consume 90% of your cognitive thinking power.

[ZX12R Hoon]

So your from the UK school of thought? It almost sounds like you recited that out of a book.

While your approach works fine in lots of cases it doesn't work the best for all riders and all types of road bikes, as I say in the article. If you have a pillion and a bike with a long wheel base you may well find that it detracts from the shortest stopping distance as your failing to take advantge of the additional weight on the rear tyre. Then again, it may not. It's a matter of trying it.

For example, have you considered that some bikes can brake harder with the front brake if you apply the rear brake first - because the friction is increased on the front wheel because of the early weight transfer, which also reduces the likelihood of a front wheel lock?

I've written it as I know it, I know it because I was taught it by a very accomplished motorcycle trainer, I use it because it works and I've used it with a number of different bikes, including a ZX12R and a Heritage Soft tail .
With your comment re the rear brake, there is nothing that will get the weight transfer to the front as quickly as the front brake. It defies logic to suggest the rear will get the weight on the front faster.
If you start with the rear brake you are wasting precious time, in all cases with all bikes.

[p.dath]

If you start with the rear brake you are wasting precious time, in all cases with all bikes.

I would have to disagree with you on this one, and apart from the study of some 800 odd emergency braking tests I cited, I'll give you my own personal experience.

I've done numerous emergency braking sessions, and I can repeatedly pull up shorter stopping distances by engaging the rear brake first. But that's my experience - your own experiments (I hope you've done some experiments) have yielded a different result for you and your bike - and that result is just as valid.

Please don't accept the "opinion" of someone just because they are an "expert". You'll find many "experts" have opposing opinions on this matter.

I've helped another rider that repeatedly pulled up shorter distances using the front brake first. That's work worked best for them, so I told them to keep practising that.


But your comment that "If you start with the rear brake you are wasting precious time, in all cases with all bikes" is plain well wrong. Absolutely wrong. Perhaps read the first study I cited if only to consider their might be alternative solutions for bikes and riders different from yourself.

[Urano]

i completely agree with p.dath.

in regard of the word "emergency" that's the whole point.
i can bet anything that nobody on this earth (excludin' maybe Colin, Ben, Valentino and some other not get full a hand fingers) lookin' the type-ball crossing your way with the type-baby running after it, NOBODY will brake the front "not to much cause i'm waiting the fork to weight".
it will NOT happen.
you, my friends, are all going to squeeze that damn lever till blood will pour from your right hand.
and more of this, it that very moment you're going to forget AT ALL the sand you've seen on the tarmac a second before, or the oil paddle or the leaf, or the cigarette package, making considerations like "well let's brake a bit less because of the fallen leaves"... given that you saw it, of course...
that's a fact.
and, is not the case to remember it, as soon as you'll pull the lever so quickly that the wheel is not weighted it will lock after half a second, loosing grip and more than that loosing completely any gyroscopic effect, and you'll find yourself trying to balance while drifting on a 200 kg block of steel on an ice floor.

the only, and repeat only, way you have to get a possibility to the weight the front wheel a bit more, and hopefully enough not to lock it, is to pound with your desperation the back brake instead of the front: it will lock quite immediately, but the front fork will be pressed down and maybe the front wheel will keep you standing right, when half a second after your are going to brake it. and beside this, after all, if you have more weight on the back wheel (like someone on the saddle with you) it will give a bit more brakin' power.
and if the back is locked, well, who cares, but if the front is locked, you're on the ground sliding on the last direction you had toward that baby.
the clutch is to be pulled as soon as possible, not to keeping engine draggin you ahead, and this will get absolutely unimportant to close the throttle, even if you'll probably close it instinctively...

that's why you have to build up an automatic reflex to use the back first, because in emergency you'll go on the automatic, not on the consideration on "how much can i pull the front not to lock it".

what to learn from this?
1- think in advance: look BELOW buses, trying to see the legs of someone who's going to come out; look at the reflex on the cars doors, to see the light of a scooter from the parking; look inside the car cabin (is "cabin" the word?maybe cockpit?) to see if someone is going to open the door haven't seen you coming...
2- take your space, in front, lateral and behind you.
3- look around.
4 buy a bike with the abs.