Braking

[moT]

Emergency braking.. (notes given at a Roadsafe training course!! )

The objective is to stop as quickly & safely as possible.. using BOTH brakes & without locking the wheels, falling or stalling.


FRONT brake gives you about 75% of your braking power
REAR brake gives you about 25% of your braking power!!!!!


The order of application is: 1)Throttle off 2)front brake (squeeze) 3)clutch 4)rear brake 5) down gears

Control is lost as soon as wheel STOPS rolling.. so if you lock the wheel - release the brake & re-apply progressively.


One of the MOST important things is: to look UP & FORWARDS.. if you look down.. you will go down!!! (where ever you LOOK.. is where you will go!)

The Technique.

1) keep eyes UP on the horizon
2) keep bike upright & controlled
3) close the throttle
4) Apply FRONT brake progressively - squeeze
5) clutch in
6) Apply the rear brake progressively (to about half way, then forget about it)
7) Continue to focus & apply the front brake progressively until bike is completely stationary
8) down change through the gears just before coming to a holt (tap tap tap tap.. no throttle revs!)
9) stop in first gear, left foot down..
10) check mirrors & be ready to escape from possible dangers


Find a large carpark that is very quiet.. high school etc.. & PRACTICE your emergency stopping. Start of trying it at a very slow speed.. just to get used to the order you need to do things in. Then as you get more confident.. SLOWLY!!!! increase your speed!! get used to doing it again.. before you SLOWLY increase your speed again.. & keep going like that until you feel confident. PRACTICE where ever & when ever you can!


Check out www.roadsafe.co.nz

Hope this helps... Take care out there!!

Jen

That is the biggest load of crap if your hard under brakes the last thing you want to touch is the rear brake. It will most likely make you come off the front brake can take 100% of the braking force of the bike this only applies to most sports bikes with fairly resonable tyres (note why these bikes can do stoppies and pressing the rear brake then wont slow the bike down faster) What you need to practice is front brake control, learn to position your weight so the center of gravity is as far back and as low as possible and squeese the front brake so thay 99% of the weight is on the front 1% for stability on the rear (the rear wheel is barely on the ground but enough to keep bike stable). the common mistake ppl make is brakeing eg 85% on the front and then 25% on the rear this causes the bike to start slideing and cause an accident (even though the rear is relativly easy to mannage a slide you would rather not be slideing at all)

[Mikkel]

I just have to point out that 85% + 25% = 110%.

Indeed if you brake like that you will have exceeded your limits and have caused a lock-up somewhere...

[swbarnett]

Maybe so but the RRRS course I was on with BRONZ taught me to use engine braking so often you stop in a gear too high ro a fast take off anyway.

Last time I had to stop fast the brakes alone wouldn't have been enough (it is only a GN). I added in engine braking by tapping down a gear and releasing the clutch repeatedly through the gears. As a result I got good engine braking and stopped in first.

[MyGSXF:Me]

That is the biggest load of crap if your hard under brakes the last thing you want to touch is the rear brake. It will most likely make you come off the front brake can take 100% of the braking force of the bike this only applies to most sports bikes with fairly resonable tyres (note why these bikes can do stoppies and pressing the rear brake then wont slow the bike down faster) What you need to practice is front brake control, learn to position your weight so the center of gravity is as far back and as low as possible and squeese the front brake so thay 99% of the weight is on the front 1% for stability on the rear (the rear wheel is barely on the ground but enough to keep bike stable). the common mistake ppl make is brakeing eg 85% on the front and then 25% on the rear this causes the bike to start slideing and cause an accident (even though the rear is relativly easy to mannage a slide you would rather not be slideing at all)

I have practiced the method given by Roadsafe, many many many times.. using the 75% & 25% ratio.. the bike has not got in a slide, I have not had an accident, or dropped it practicing the technique. Neither did anyone else on all of the several Roadsafe courses I have done!

You are more than welcome to do it whichever way you want to.

Me.. I prefer to follow the methods of highly trained, highly sought after, professional instructors thanks!

Jen

[vifferman]

I just have to point out that 85% + 25% = 110%.

That's good maths, that is. You'll stop 10% faster than using only 75% of the front brake.

[swbarnett]

I just have to point out that 85% + 25% = 110%.

Indeed if you brake like that you will have exceeded your limits and have caused a lock-up somewhere...

I think that's what he meant. The extra 10% of braking power is not actually stopping you but causing a skid.

What he said may apply to full on sports bikes but for us folks on more sedate transport I think we're better using the fornt and rear.

[Usarka]

If the bikes upright and no weird variables then who cares if the back wheel is locked? it the back wheel is still on the deck then any extra friction/braking will help.

the only way you can be in a situation where the front is doing 100% of the available braking is when you are doing a stoppy and imho thats not the most efficient way to stop. or is it?

[Mikkel]

If the bikes upright and no weird variables then who cares if the back wheel is locked? it the back wheel is still on the deck then any extra friction/braking will help.

the only way you can be in a situation where the front is doing 100% of the available braking is when you are doing a stoppy and imho thats not the most efficient way to stop. or is it?

I'm not keen on starting another mechanics thread a late friday afternoon...

Suffice to say that a stoppie is not ideal due to conservation of rotational momentum (flipping forward).

Ideal is to keep the rear tyre on the road. Braking as much as possible with your front brake while keeping the rear down. If you have enough weight on the rear to apply some braking without locking it up (unlikely during hard braking on a sportsbike) - by all means use the rear, but don't lock it up.

[Okey Dokey]

Good advice; it's probably been a while since I actively practiced (ie 2 months) I thought I was pretty good about that sort of thing, but your post made me think about when was the last time I really concentrated on braking and I realised it had been a while. Thanks.

That little bit extra can make all the difference in the world, and I don't want to get complacent on the bike.

[CookMySock]

I am exceedingly wary approaching other vehicles that are moving slowly - they are usually VERY erratic.. sets my alarm bells off loud and clear.

Last night coming back from Rotorua, 9.30 pm ish, chasing a boy racer on some back road I notice his brake lights up ahead (he had some distance on me) I see that he is turning left into a vehicle entrance, giving way to opposing traffic also wanting to use the same vehicle entrance, with a left-turning vehicle waiting to depart said entrance, and me approaching at night on a wet road with pillion doing 140. Houston, we have a problem! MY PROBLEM! I hit the picks early and firmly, and slip through quietly off the brakes at about 70 km/hr, with everyone watching everyone like a hawk.. Whew! That could have been much worse!

Regain control of the situation by keeping speed within a reasonable differential - as the situation requires, and detecting this earlier rather than later.

edit: Braking practice is a good idea tho ;-)

DB

[zanebrown]

I was riding back to Puke from Thames when i had an emergency brake due to an unseen slow tracter taking up the road after the crest of a bridge. I hit the brakes and the back of the bike lifted off the ground and went out side ways-when she hit the ground i was very lucky not to get high sided as it grabbed into the road. Was a lucky outcome really. Braking is very important to be done correctly.