The perils of training.

[klingon]

Ha! You're all wannabes! I came off while practising my braking on one of the first Wednesday Night Mentor rides ages ago. In my case I made two newbie errors which combined to make a SPLAT!

1) Braked too hard on the back brake, making the back step out
2) Panicked and put my foot down instead of riding through it

Damage to bike: broken clutch lever
Damage to rider: bruised ankle
Damage to ego: priceless

[howdamnhard]

Thanks for the advise guys.Blackbird sent me a very good article on emergency braking.PM him if you would like to see it.I've learnt a few things,just don't want to go learning everything the hard way.

[howdamnhard]

Ha! You're all wannabes! I came off while practising my braking on one of the first Wednesday Night Mentor rides ages ago. In my case I made two newbie errors which combined to make a SPLAT!

1) Braked too hard on the back brake, making the back step out
2) Panicked and put my foot down instead of riding through it

Damage to bike: broken clutch lever
Damage to rider: bruised ankle
Damage to ego: priceless

Ye my prang was also at a Wednesday night mentor ride.Just to clarify I was practicing emergency braking in a safe enviroment in a straight line.My fault was not making allowance for the lack of weight transfer when not using back brakes.The supposed best order for emergency braking is:1 close throttle ,2 apply back brake , 3 clutch in and progressive front brake.If back brake locks up so what easy to control although preferable to not lock up anything.If front lock up goodbye unless you applying brake progressively in which you have time to release pressure.

[ambler]

clutch in?? apart from the fact that this will speed you up slightly - its an emergency aint it? stalling the bike is the least of your problems. if you really need to put these millisecond-fast actions in order, how about this:
1. release throttle
2. progressive brake front and rear

[swbarnett]

Tricky to emergency brake in a corner anyway.

The short answer to this is you can't. if you apply full front brake while leaning you'll lose it. Make sure you're following distance in traffic is greater around corners than it otherwise needs to be. That way you've got room to button off and let the engine slow you down if necessary - then you can straighten up and emergency brake in a straight line if you still have to.

Braking in a corner is possible (I do it all the time) but you need to know how much brake pressure your tyres can handle before losing grip. Not something to try until a ways down the road. just concentrate on straight-line braking for quite a while yet.

[ruphus]

Keep up the good work. It is far better to practice now at low speed, with factors that are in your control then having to give it a go in a real world situation, at speed where the out of control factors combine into an "oh shit" moment.

[Disco Dan]

Well tonight I was practicing emergency braking and managed to bin the bike.Luckily bike and myself escaped fairly unscathed,I'll know for sure tomorrow morning.Was locking up the rear wheel,tyre compound not the best but should have compensated, so it was suggested I only concentrate on front.Too aggressive,going to fast,too much front brake( same if not more than when using both brakes) and the next I know WAM I'm done and sliding foot stuck under bike with the sound of grating metal in my ears. What I have learnt from this and the other occasion I've lost the front and dropped is this:1 PROGRESSIVE BRAKING IS GOOD.
2 DON'T USE FRONT BRAKE WHILST TURNING.
I 'm to inexperienced/ or slowed up to Detect the front washing out,the sudden change in horizon seems to be my first Que,therefore from now on I shall observe my two above rules with utmost care.

Ye my prang was also at a Wednesday night mentor ride.Just to clarify I was practicing emergency braking in a safe enviroment in a straight line.My fault was not making allowance for the lack of weight transfer when not using back brakes.The supposed best order for emergency braking is:1 close throttle ,2 apply back brake , 3 clutch in and progressive front brake.If back brake locks up so what easy to control although preferable to not lock up anything.If front lock up goodbye unless you applying brake progressively in which you have time to release pressure.

yup sounds like we both got off pretty lightly there. Mine happened when I ran wide taking a corner while learning counter-steering, saw the concrete island coming up fast, grabbed too much brake and it was all over!
On the plus side I think I've gotten alot better at countersteering since wednesday night, its easier to understand once you put it in a 'real' situation.

Im pleased you have learnt from your experience! It is suprising how hard you can actually brake if done correctly! As others have/will say... better to have it happen in a carpark than a car to pull out and you learn that in the middle of a busy intersection!

Ha! You're all wannabes! I came off while practising my braking on one of the first Wednesday Night Mentor rides ages ago. In my case I made two newbie errors which combined to make a SPLAT!

1) Braked too hard on the back brake, making the back step out
2) Panicked and put my foot down instead of riding through it

Damage to bike: broken clutch lever
Damage to rider: bruised ankle
Damage to ego: priceless

When you coming back?

[klingon]

When you coming back?

When I get my restricted licence and I'm allowed to ride on the motorway! ie Any minute now!

[FROSTY:Me]

SAY howdamhard--Just a point I havent seen mentioned by anyone.
You "shouldn't" be able to overpower the front tyre on a ginny.
Forgetting what YOU did for a moment --Those late model ginnys are notorious for having shitty quality front tyres.
Ya might wantto get an experienced rider to try an emergency stop on your bike May IN THIS CASE be a problem with the bike

[howdamnhard]

I 'm used to using clutch and front brake together,and like to keep my options,i.e. not be left dead in the water with a stalled bike.If you practice it becomes reflex and thus no milliseconds are lost trying to think it through.

clutch in?? apart from the fact that this will speed you up slightly - its an emergency aint it? stalling the bike is the least of your problems. if you really need to put these millisecond-fast actions in order, how about this:
1. release throttle
2. progressive brake front and rear

[awayatc]

Well tonight I was practicing emergency braking and managed to bin the bike.Luckily bike and myself escaped fairly unscathed,I'll know for sure tomorrow morning.Was locking up the rear wheel,tyre compound not the best but should have compensated, so it was suggested I only concentrate on front.Too aggressive,going to fast,too much front brake( same if not more than when using both brakes) and the next I know WAM I'm done and sliding foot stuck under bike with the sound of grating metal in my ears. What I have learnt from this and the other occasion I've lost the front and dropped is this:1 PROGRESSIVE BRAKING IS GOOD.
2 DON'T USE FRONT BRAKE WHILST TURNING.
I 'm to inexperienced/ or slowed up to Detect the front washing out,the sudden change in horizon seems to be my first Que,therefore from now on I shall observe my two above rules with utmost care.

All well that ends well.... No substitute for experience, my 2 cts worth: For pure bike handling skills you can't beat trail/dirt riding....use any old bike a bit off roadish and all situations that will occur "in real life" happen in the sand and mud much more exaggarated, thus you get a much better feel for the bike in a softer environment without cars....( my son got his first little banger when he was 8, and has had a variety of dirtbikes since. He is 18 now but has amazing bike handling skills....on and off road)

Have a good new year, and be safe

[howdamnhard]

I agree Awayatc,learning on the dirt is best.Unfortuneately one bike is all I can afford right now and finding a place to ride without pissing other people off would also probably be a problem.
Have a good year and be safe too.

All well that ends well.... No substitute for experience, my 2 cts worth: For pure bike handling skills you can't beat trail/dirt riding....use any old bike a bit off roadish and all situations that will occur "in real life" happen in the sand and mud much more exaggarated, thus you get a much better feel for the bike in a softer environment without cars....( my son got his first little banger when he was 8, and has had a variety of dirtbikes since. He is 18 now but has amazing bike handling skills....on and off road)

Have a good new year, and be safe

[TOTO]

Glad you are ok and learnt your lesson. Be safe.

[ital916]

Ouch hope you get better, I'm still learning to look through corners and to get line and speed right before i go for leans. It will be a long time before i can get some serious lean on but i'm not fussed. I find if i get my ass off the seat then you don't even need to lean much in the tight city corners . Only time i've ever panic steered was when a corner with no posted speed limit tightened up instantly just had to tip it and go for gold, farking scary when the bike first leans over lots, feels like it's gonna fall over haha I think ill practise more, mmm practicing is fun though. Oh and had to pull an emergency break yesterday at sixty, a light pulled a quick change to a red when i thought it would be green since it just changed, had o jam on bother brakes but remembered the whole squeeze not grab, the front was allright the rear was squealing a little lol I stop, just, almost shat my pants. Lesson, when coming up to a stale light slow down!