"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Benjamin Franklin (1706-90)
"I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending to much liberty than those attending too small a degree of it." - Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)
"Motorcycling is not inherently dangerous. It is, however, EXTREMELY unforgiving of inattention, ignorance, incompetence and stupidity!" - Anonymous
"Live to Ride, Ride to Live"
What's with all the bad advice about "covering the brakes" - using 2 fingers all the time or even 1 finger? Setting your brakes to brake with two fingers may set you up for a "really fucked up day" if you grab the brake in an emergency.
Watch Jerry "Motorman" Palladino, look at his fingers, listen to what he says VERY carefully about WHEN you should cover the brake.
All very useful. I remember my uncle Mike telling me when I got my L plates that I needed to assume everybody wanted to kill me, but that they had to make it look like an accident.
Thanks for the post, a good read and some good humor too!
Since most of those tips videos aren't NZ, they usually assume US conditions. He wouldn't indicate to cover the brake when lane splitting, as he's assuming that's illegal where his audience is.
I cover the brakes when lane splitting, as that's a situation where you are in constant hazard. As I bike primarily for commuting, I spend more time covering the brake than not, and still abiding by Jerry's advice. Of course, with that habit built, sometimes I end up covering when not lane splitting, but usually I'll notice and take a more relaxed grip.
Covering is better than not covering. As for those who mentioned poor throttle control when covering, that just means you don't have enough experience covering. It's like left-foot braking in a car. Complaints about poor control are only ever by people who are not experts in the technique. Those of us who have covered brakes for hundreds of thousands of km have as good or better throttle control when covering than not.
I paid attention to this on the way home today. I make a fist when covering the brake. Since the fingers aren't curling, the thumb curls up to meet them This rolls the throttle all I need. It's hard to get 100% throttle with that technique, but the times I've needed 100% throttle while covering the brake is zero. And if you really want to do it, just turn your wrist while making the fist, the fingers will slip off the brake lever, and you are back to the "normal" grip position. Nothing lost.
And yes, braking instantly while lane splitting has saved me. So cover when lane splitting, even if Jerry doesn't give it as an example of a good time to cover.
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