Originally Posted by
Metastable
- Braking in the corners..... when are we going to stop treating everyone like they are incompetent, and teach them skills that will save their butts when things have gone wrong? You hear, DON'T hit the front brakes. Well, if you are going into a corner too hot, brakes will slow you down and reduce your cornering radius. Not to mention, that when you are on the front brakes, there is more weight on the front tire (increasing front end grip) and keeping the forks somewhat compressed which tightens the geometry of the bike..... also making it corner better. My take on cornering - unless you are going slow enough to not need brakes, you should start braking in a straight line, start your corner, and keep on the brakes UNTIL -> YOU DON'T NEED THEM..... and you can get back on the throttle. You can let off the brakes once the bike has slowed down enough so that you are comfortable with the speed. There is no exact spot to stop braking.... once pucker factor is down to 0 (if you went in too hot) that's when you stop braking. Note: yes as you add lean angle, you need to reduce pressure on the brakes..... but you can keep on them. If you are on your brakes before you start leaning the bike, it won't really want to stand up. Keep on the brakes and you will make the corner. WHAT EVER YOU DO, DO NOT...... DO NOT, go railing towards a corner in a straight line heavy on the brakes and let go of the brakes just before tipping into the corner, if you are unsure about your speed. When you let go of the brakes, your front forks will unload and reduce the pressure on the front tire. This works against you but unsettling your bike, forks extend increasing trail (increasing corner radius), and reducing the amount of pressure to the front tire (it won't grip as well). Yes the pros lose the front all the time, BUT they are at MAX lean angle and still heavy on the brakes..... a guy riding on the street probably won't be doing either. Don't be scared to trail brake, it will save you, you should be doing it all the time because that is the safest way to corner a motorcycle, car, whatever. Anyone that tells you otherwise isn't teaching you how to ride a motorcycle properly.
(Side note on REAR BRAKES, yes in a straight line, you can add some rear brake before corner entry to settle the bike down a touch.... get off the rear once you have tipped in to keep things more simple .... keep on the front brake if you need to.)
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