breaking skills

[binther]

ok guys so here goes... a few months ago i changed the front forks settings added more oil and preloaded the springs the next day the bike didn't do what i expected under a emergency break situcation the bike didn't dive like it normal would so i pushed down on the handle bars expecting the dive which didn't happen pretty much pushing the bike out from under me. this is my own fault for not doing practice with my new settings.

i now have a MASSIVE problem with extremely hard breaking. i have delt with this by stay alot more alert and doing under the speed limit when ever i can so that i wouldn't need to do it again.

it has now come to the time with some still fear that i need to practice my stopping as well im not going to bail due to fear.

i was wondering does anyone have any special tactics drills or info that will help me breaking from high speed and slow speed? as i failed to stop within about 50m from 70k. im not sure of my old gpz250 was ever able to stop but i felt that it was rider fault as well as old crappy tires...

i've blabbed alot here now i wanna hear your ideas \

thanks everyone

[smek]

All I can suggest is to find a straight bit of empty road, or a car park. Do it on a nice sunny day.
Do a number of runs, have a breaking point and a target to stop at.
Be conservative at first, something you know you can do easy.
Cut a few metres off the target each time.
While the target is way off and it's all easy, be progressive with the braking. Start gently and do the hard braking closer to the target.
Eventually your target will be close enough that you have to get on the brakes and brake hard as soon as the bike is settled. Remember, set up and squeze?
Probably do it without any rear brake to start with.
Once you are feeling confident you can add some rear and start to get a feel for the back end moving around under hard braking if you're really getting comfortable.

If the front isn't dropping at all then the suspension isn't able to do its job so if that's the case get that sorted first.

[Glen]

To get comfortable with braking at speeds higher then the P's course start by just going to set up ie ride along at 60km/h or higher, go to setup hard enough to start to feel weight transferring from the rear to the front but not hard enough to brake seriously.

Once you've got that then start bringing it to a complete stop by squeezing progressively harder. Remember to keep squeezing harder until you come to a complete stop. First do it comfortably and then start upping the ante until your stopping with the front just starting to break free a little. If you feel it lock get off the brakes immediately and get back on them again progressively

Then do it all from progressively faster speeds.

The problem with all of this though is that you need somewhere safe to do it.

The trick with braking though is just to practise it obsessively. Whenever you get on a nice claer stretch of road with no cars around do a practise emergency stop.

Good luck with it.

[binther]

thanks for all the info.. i think i will have to do that might use my little girls chalk or something to do stopping lines... and will totally find a place to do the practice. the forks are diving.. im a taller bloke on a little bike... feet flat i have almost 2 inchs clearance of the seat... so when its breakign i always feel like im about to go over the handle bars never a nice feeling.

i will be out practicing next weekend again thanks for the advice

[Rusty]

When you're braking hard, use your arms and legs to hold yourself back as far as possible. Moving weight to the back WILL increase your stopping ability (as long as the front's not sliding) as it raises the braking force needed to lift the rear wheel. I'm assuming you don't still have that Dunslop Arrowmax that was on the front, too. If you're still using it, toss it as soon as you can afford a newie - it was hard and old when Methuselah was a kid and it won't be helping.

But as the others have said, practice, practice, practice. You'll get used to the sensation of braking hard after a while.

[Black Magic]

Almost ran up the back of a truck yesterday during a spirited ride.... was going to stop one way or the other.... you dont always need brakes to stop but it is the preferred method

Stopped upright thankfully, and the ride suddenly became less spirited. A little tip- if you keep the correct distance behind the vehicle in front you should rarely need to do an emergency stop. But in saying that (as per the above mentioned good advice) I do still practice emergency braking regularly (which is probably why I stayed rubber side down.)

[binther]

see that was the problem for me.. a car was more then double the correct distance for breaking for me.. im a very scared so geneerally rider unless i know the streets are car friend then im good

the car pulled into a side street... the quicker then i could expect backed back out infront of me...

thus leaving me with no room at all to stop..

bang crash i smash on the break (im guessing my first fault) and everything is marks on the road from there

lol this is what im hoping th avoid next time by practicing my breaking

[Black Magic]

sorry, just HAVE to do it.... it's 'brAking' ...
'brEAking' is what you are trying NOT to do

[Wattie]

way i suggest practising on some wet grass?? if your bikes a dunger aven try it on gravel.

that will teach you how to deal with the front locking up.

the hardest thing about emergency braking is having the balls to release the lever a bit if you're skidding.

you see it in cars. people just stick 2 feet on the brake and push it right into the floor with the brakes locked. once your skidding your not stopping. release a bit, stop the skid and re-apply.

[Glen]

....or if you've got access to a chooky or a dunger, get the bike on dirt, ride along slowly and lock the front while still riding along. As soon as you feel it starting to fall let the brake off and hey presto she comes back up. My young bloke did this at his Stephen Gall course and it's brilliant practise

[binther]

i don't have access to that unless anyone out there in ksrc land has something and a place i can practice this?

thanks for the ideas... the wet grass scares me alittle lol and yeah i used to drift on my younger wilder days so i know about controlled braking etc.. the problem was i went down so fast i didn't have time to react so i guess its a matter of doing it 200 times till its instint how much to apply