Braking Techniques-How Effectively Can You Stop Your Bike?

[kawi-z]

Have you ever heard someone say….”I only use the rear brake because if I brake too hard on the front, I will flip over the handlebars?” Since many people have had bad experiences with braking, especially in emergency situations, numerous myths have been passed around to other riders. The sad part is that in many occasions, the braking ability of the motorcycle is adequate, if not superb; it is the rider’s lack of understanding that prevents the bike from doing its job.

To analyze braking more in-depth, let’s first take a look at the basic physics. In the MSF BasicRider Course©, the curriculum provides graphics and statistics of the braking power of a motorcycle. Please keep in mind that this number is not an exact number due to many variables: the design of the brake system, maintenance level, and rider proficiency.
Generally, you’re looking anywhere from 80-100% stopping power for the front. If someone relied on his/her rear brake only, he/she would take a very long time to stop in comparison to using the front brake only. However, the best technique is applying the right amount of front and rear brake pressure simultaneously. This will maximize one’s stopping distance greatly and allow the person to outbrake someone else using the front or rear brake only (when the correct technique is utilized of course!)

Since braking is one of the top skills needed to maneuver those large painful machines and super-fast critters out on the roadways, one can never spend enough time perfecting the technique. So just exactly, what is the correct technique? The front brake action needs to be smooth and progressive. Too often what happens are people “grabbing” the front brake. This feels very abrupt and one can see/feel major front end fork dive really fast and unevenly. If one grabs the front brake too fast at any point in the whole motion of squeezing the front brake, the tire can lock up…especially on wet pavement. To alleviate this, begin squeezing slowly and just keep tightening the squeeze until you have stopped and have both feet on the ground. Riders tend to have this belief that the faster I grab that brake, the more quickly I will stop and unfortunately that is what gets them into trouble. By smoothly and slowly squeezing, one will be able to stop more quickly and effectively without locking up the brake. The key is that the rider has to, what I call, “deepen the squeeze” or continue to squeeze with more even pressure. It will feel strange, almost like it is getting harder and harder to squeeze the brake and that is OK. As long as the rider is smooth and consistently progressive, he/she will begin to shorten up the distance. Many times riders think that because it “feels” harder to squeeze the front brake, there is no more action needed to continue the braking process. Next time, when you practice this…and I do mean practice this technique before going out into traffic, try squeezing a little deeper than you normally do and see what difference that makes in your stopping.

Again, we must not forget the rear brake in all of this either!! The rear does have an important part, as well. A rider does need even pressure on that brake to maximize the stopping distance by stabilizing the back end. Slight pressure is all you need when effectively braking….too often those who crash, overbrake the rear and underbrake the front. They will often lock up that tire and because the bike is now skidding to a stop, the bike is traveling longer which means the rider has now probably hit the thing he/she was trying to avoid. (Motorcycle Accident and Countermeasures, aka the Hurt Report, 1981)

And yes, I did mention the horrific word of skidding. No one wants to skid because it can cause a crash and crashes hurt!! So what does one do in the event of a skid? If the front brake locks up, then let go immediately and reapply with less pressure when the handlebars have straightened back out. If the rear brake locks when traction is good, hold the skid and ride it out!! If someone were to let go of a rear-wheel skid, the bike will immediately try to right itself, which could kick the rider off the bike-many times over the top side.

As a person who has tried to understand and perfect the mystery of braking, I have worked on many techniques to aid in my own personal skills. One that I have found has helped me the most involves a bit of creativity and the bike on it’s side/center stand, believe it or not!!! Before I even get out on the road or during the times where I cannot get and ride as often, I sit on my bike and practice rolling off the throttle and reaching for the front brake. I practice squeezing that front brake firmly, progressively, and really pay attention to where it feels harder to squeeze. Many people have the problem of initially grabbing the front brake (me included) so I really work on making sure my roll off to my initial squeeze of the brake is very smooth, steady, and applied with consistent, even pressure. Then, I let creativity take over…..

Once I have a good feel for my technique, no pun intended , I add in a visualization component. Yes I know, that sounds really corny and I never believed that type of stuff would work, but for some reason it has made a huge difference in my reaction to the unmentionable, awful events that can occur on the road. I pretend I am riding with the throttle rolled on and visualize something happening…a car turning in front of me, the stoplight changing super fast, a critter hopping out on the road, etc. I train myself not to freak out and to just roll off and squeeeeezzzzzzzzeeeeeee smoothly and progressively really working on not grabbing the brake at all. Finally, I practice this by adding rear brake pressure as well-remember just a little bit of rear brake is all one needs!!. (This allows me to develop muscle memory for each separate motion without losing focus on what I am doing overall.) Now, when I am out on the road, I am able to much more effectively control the jerkiness that I once had when I was not expecting something..if you haven’t guessed, I am the person who will scream when someone comes up behind me and scares me!!!