BE SOFTER ON THE INITIAL TOUCH OF THOSE BRAKES!! Highly recommend signing up for ChampU...online program by current professional racers...lots of good information. ridelikeachampion.com/courses-page/
I would think is important to get used to have two fingers on the brake lever at all times. This would prevent grab because the fingers are already there for the initial 2% or a bit more. If full brake power is needed the other two can help with additional pull.
Motorcycle training courses are compulsory for new riders here in Australia. One of the first lessons is how use the front brake correctly, along with an explanation of WHY you are using the building squeeze method, even under emergency conditions. The aim is to pre-compress your front suspension and thereby force rubber into the road. Grabbing with uncompressed forks lets the lightly loaded tyre break traction during the moment that all your forward moving energy is being used to compress the fork springs. The very energy that you want to burn off by making your disc rotors hot. It is not burned off in the fork springs, actually, it is stored there until the traction breaks
I was a Instructor for the Motorcycle Safety Foundation for many years, my wife and I have been all over our country on Motorcycles. When we were younger. Watching your video made me feel much better, We taught the Rider Course, Not a lot of on the highway. I liked you video very much. I'm 79 and still riding, not like we did before. Thank You !
I got my motorcycle license in 1976 at 15 years old and have been riding daily ever since. I'm at about one million miles . What do you think you have? It's more what not to do when riding then trying to learn what to do. I think you can only get by with bad habits for so long.
As a current MSF rider coach I believe the curriculum should update at least the BRC 2 to using this analogy I often get asked about trail braking and front brake usage . Also it could be used in the BRC 2 LW which is for riders who want to get their waver card and have been riding long enough where the BRC is going to be boring . Here they do not need to go over the basics and they use their own motorcycle.
I couldn't agree with you more, after working years as a motorcycle instructor, so many people dropped their bikes, even at low speed, due to grabbing the brakes. Gently braking, loading the suspension gently is a skill to practice till it's second nature.
This saved my tail once. I came up to a curve at a good rate of speed and the entire curve was covered with pea gravel where a truck had lost some from its load from shifting around the curve. I eased on the brakes like described in the video and took the curve wide as possible, all the while I could feel my heart pounding in my throat. Yea, I'll never forget that one.
Been riding for 38 years, back in Germany for two decades in the winter too and then a decade and a half in California and Texas. I LOVE YOUR VIDEO. "Wait for the weight" is exactly what is right, and trail braking is where the turning actually really becomes effective. Thank you.
Doing the emergency braking practices really helps with modulating and applying brakes smoothly. I’ve always been pretty smooth on the brakes since I raced bicycles for a decade on the road before riding motorcycles but those 25-0
The other day I was, as DanDanTheFireman puts it, in the white zone as I was careening down a street at 10mph over the speed limit. I didn't notice the light was red until I was right up on it and instantly shifted into red zone. I stopped the bike in a freaking hurry... I ended with my rear wheel just a foot past the white line for where you're supposed to stop, and then backed it up to behind the white line. As I did so I looked over to my left because I was in the right most lane and there was a cop... right there... I looked at him and he rolled down his window and said "I've never seen someone brake like that, holy shit"
It's TH-camrs like you, MC Rider and DDFM that have saved my sorry old butt more than once! Getting back on a motorcycle as a senior citizen was scary as hell. But I watched videos here, practiced, got training, practiced some more and got more training. I've put over 10,000 miles on my bike this year riding in San Francisco and cross country. I've had 1-2 close calls in all that time. I know they could've turned out a LOT worse if I hadn't put in the effort with practice and training. I LOVE my front brake! That's why I caress it gently at first, then gradually, slowly but surely add pressure as needed. I see you live in San Diego, lived there for a bit after my Navy daze in Ocean Beach & North Park. Where do you go to ride?
I watch a lot of DDFM but I don't really care much for his ATGATT attitude... I mean, ATGATT is great and all, but for a lot of people it isn't practical. I tried to do a small road trip to the next state over back in July and if I'd been wearing the gear he wants everybody to be wearing whenever they're on a bike I would have passed out from a heat stroke a lot sooner than I almost did. Remember, bikes don't have air conditioning and when it's 97 degrees outside and 98% humidity, the gear is just as likely to kill you as not wearing that gear. If I have to choose between death by heat stroke and possibly some road rash, I'm going to go with the road rash, because at least that's survivable. Mind you, I've only ever had one accident, and it was the middle of the night about 5 years ago, caused by a drunk driver who was using the street lights to see and was all "oh I can see just fine, I don't need my headlights" and so I didn't know he was coming up behind me because he had his headlights off and it's really hard to see vehicles at night when they're blacked out like that. He ended up running me off the road and it busted me up pretty bad. Broke 2 ribs and shattered my collar bone... 10 years before that, and the 5 years since, no accidents. The greatest piece of safety equipment you have is your brain, and the most dangerous thing on a motorcycle is the nut that connects the seat to the handlebars.
@@BerryTheBnnuy I got ABS on my new Monkey as I started again riding. In the meantime I was a defensive driver of a Volvo. In both vehicles ABS never used automatically, because I am super careful.
As I’ve progressed in my riding skills my main objective has been to be as smooth as possible with the throttle, steering , and brakes under all conditions. My mantra is “less is more” meaning smoothness leads to less effort which yields more control. And above all try not to panic when something weird happens. Try to anticipate and stay ahead of the bike in order to maximize your reaction time so you can still be smooth on the controls. Thanks for all your great videos. You have contributed greatly to improving safe riding practices for the motorcycle community.
There is a corollary to this: if breaking hard while leaning freaks you out for fear of crashing, never ever release the breaks abruptly. If you do, you will instantly run wide and possibly crash. Being smooth is paramount while leaning, be it for adding or removing break pressure.
There are on YT, some footage from grand tours cycling stages, involving downhill on twisty roads. Some Go Pro cams mounted on bikes, are showing the way the high ranked pro cyclists use the brakes, when turning at high speed. It is very interesting to see the modulation the action on the levers, and the bike reaction. It would be interesting that you, Greg, would put a camera on handlebars, filming the front brake lever, one somewhere in front of your right foot, filming the brake pedal and the third one, in its usual position on your helmet. And then make a video with synchronized footage from the three cameras. That would be a very comprehensive instructional video for any motorcyclist, especially for the beginners.
I agree with most of what is said and in then 60's I learned to brake gently and still do to this day. It means that first I am looking well and planning well ahead which is something some bikers do not do. So looking far enough ahead helps and then a realisation of what speed I should be doing at that time, ahead of what I am doing now. So being early on the slowing down and early on the brakes, if necessary means that I use little of my brakes capacity . My mechanics both for cars and bikes say that the brake pads are hardly worn on one side and less worn on the return side which indicates a slow and low use of brakes,. Combine that with again a slow and low use of acceleration, meaning don't abuse the throttle as well and go faster, too fast and so easy on the brakes and easy on the accelerator makes for a much smoother rider and a better, safer biker.
This subject doesn't get talked about enough. You're exactly right. If you want to save yourself and your bike the best thing you can do is constantly practice this and THINK about it every time you ride and then when that car pulls out in front of you "no-grab" breaking is already in your muscle memory.
Greg, when approaching a tricky intersection where cars could enter my lane from multiple directions, then I usually approach with the brake pads on the rotors (say 2% braking). This tiny bit of squeeze on the front lever makes it much harder to accidentally lock the front in a panic situation. During testing I found that it's actually quite difficult to lock my front wheel, I really have to hit the lever quite hard to do that. When the hand is already applying the lever, hitting the lever hard enough for front-wheel lockup becomes much harder. This means that even a tiny amount of braking when approaching the intersection creates a significant amount of safety. In tricky intersections that don't have good escape routes, I can't really imagine approaching without a few percent of brake pressure.
Also you improve your reaction time by like 0.5s because your hand and the breaks are already ready. It doesn't sound like much, but it is 10m at 70kmph (30ft at 45mph) everything else being equal.
Thank you for your grate information, I ride with my hand on the ready just in case! I think a lot of ego gets in the way, of safe riding with others who push fellow bikers past, there reaction times causing accident
You should maintain speed, and move away from traffic as you approach the intersection, but "cover" your clutch and brake. Also consider that no matter how fast and smooth your braking is, you won't have the reaction time to go 45mph-0mph in avoidance of a left turn car at an intersection. This is why we are taught to swerve, and you can't swerve as well if you're on the brakes
Well stated. This is exactly why all riders should routinely be practicing progressive braking in a controlled environment (empty parking lot) - to get the muscle memory set! I personally like to do this a few times, both straight and in a curving situation) prior to heading out for a ride - just to reset that muscle memory (decades of riding experience) in getting the weight transfer to load up the front tire as the pressure on the lever is applied progressively. As was also said below, chopping or rolling off the throttle also helps to initiate that weight transfer. Ride safely!
These videos are a life saver for new riders like me. I am riding for almost two and half years now and never crashed or fell from my bike. I am not bragging btw because I ride a p***y according to my friends. They say all time that if you don't fall, you don't learn. I learn from these videos and I would rather be a p***y than paying my hospital bills.
MJ is 100% right on this. I took the Champ school on line version a few months ago and they heavily stress this. Last week, was on a 2 lane highway doing about 58 mph into a corner. That was a bit too fast. So since I already was at about 10% front brake only and my first two fingers were already on the front brake lever, I applied additional brakes to tighten my radius from going any wider in the curve. Good thing I did because I would have gone right into a Mack fuel truck.
Even when I don't ride my bike I do shadow practice of squeezing front break with my finger. Man that shadow practice really helping me a lot. Specially on panic breaking. It is like setting up a software in the brain that will automatically trigger a soft to hard break.
Thank you for this reminder, I just recently got back into riding and had that same thought in my head “don’t use the brakes in a turn” but this makes much more sense.
Now i am just running with the Yamaha Tricity after driving a car for a little while, it felt natural to what i did in my early years. I have no bike license but even as a car driver, i know just slowly put the brakes on. My experience is listen to the bike, it tells you everything. Now i could be telling complete nonsense but it's what is helping me. In a emergency yes you might hit the brakes hard but with normal driving, keeping the speedlimits, it's very easy. Thanks for the video and drive safely
Touch fineness on the brakes is the most important thing to learn (or in that mix). Even coming to a stop right where you want to with no front dive takes practice. When I first started riding again after 25 tears off, I thought my new bike had front fork issues but they disappeared after some seat time. Finesse on the brakes is critical in about every riding mode. High speed and low speed.
Back in the days when riding my CX500, I was able to lock up the front wheel in a straight line while it barely dives by grabbing it momentarily. Of course you don’t keep it locked up. Best video for safety!!
I have taught 2 of my sons to ride, and I am now teaching my wife to ride (at age 48), and one of the first things I teach them, and get them to practice, is to start soft on brakes, then squeeze more IF needed. I learnt EARLY on (been riding over 40 years), NOT to grab brakes.... Great Video mate.
Absolutely correct, if driving normally on public roads. The only exception to using brakes softly could cause a crash, is if you exceeded the limits of speed and lean (already dangerous) that any amount of braking will cause you to lose traction, but this is usually during racing where a lot of safety rules are ignored for the speed benefit and done by professionals. So if you are racing on a public road and crashed, you either grabbed the brakes too hard or going so fast that using the brakes at all will cause a crash as most bikes aren't setup like the racing bikes.
When I took the MSF beginner course in Austin, TX, they told me to not touch the brakes in any turn or with any lean. They said to release throttle and LEAN MORE if necessary, which I knew was BS after watching many videos like this by guys like you. Thanks for helping me not develop bad riding habits!
they hated that I always had two fingers on the brake lever they said I should have all four fingers when I break but I was like f that deduct the points I'll still pass this stupid class lol
I think if you follow the "enter with the correct speed for the bend" philosophy the "no touch" edict automatically results in "no grab" which for beginners might be indicated. The problem as we all know is that road conditions can't always be predicated and you have to adapt to them to survive. I guess the balance is struck by MSF to help people to ride safely quickly but not necessarily to survive the unexpected which is a road skill that needs to be learned. Before the advent of courses my old man used to say that if you can survive the first two years of motorcycling you'll survive a lifetime. He wasn't wrong as I made all my silly mistakes and had low speed crashes on an old 250cc Honda.
Especially when riding on dirt, I've adopted some recent training which recommends using the rear brake as a bike stabliser. Not grabbing is great advice, but also especially wary of grabbing the front. In spite of that it was also demonstrated that only using only the rear brake does not stop you easily, especially downhill.
Truth. Tires can handle a good amount of force, but they need a little bit of time to grab onto the road surface. Don't 'shock-load' them, they'll just slide over it. I'm not sure how I'll behave in a real panic situation, but I usually try to 'caress', then start a progressive squeeze. Tried hard braking in a training on a wet cobble road, it's amazing how much grip that still can generate.
every time you use the front brake, do a few things. Make sure you never hover over it while riding. That's because in a panic you'll grab a whole heap of everything. Every time you do use it: setup then squeeze. Over time it will be a habit - even at panic. Traction in the wet is around 90% on motorbike road tyres.
I don't know the video, but if you want to be safe you would check mirrors, roll off and then set up front brake. Not only does it mean you are ready to brake, it puts this little red light on at the rear of your bike. I am not 100% confident in what you mean there though and whether I am responding to your comment correctly... If want safe technique, which means you are conservatively managing your speed, use 4 fingers. If you are on a race track or decide to go high-risk and ride like you are on the race track, use 2 after totally rolling off throttle, which would allow you to trail the front brake into corners at high lean angle, not pogo the front suspension after braking is complete, and roll the throttle smoothly and continually on after you have reached maximum lean angle. Maybe point me to the video that describes everything I just wrote there in detail from Motojitsu, and how you practice that.
Can never be repeated enough. Thanks! I'd love a video on coping - mentally and/or physically - with those really bad worn patches on roads that are now found all over the damned world.
Thank you for all of your content. I've watched hundreds of your videos over the last few months and picking up my first bike, CB650R, tomorrow morning. Eager to learn, train, improve and ride!
“Prelooading” is the key word here. FortNine had a nice explanation on this: Tyres can take a lot of force without slipping, but they cannot handle too much rate of force. Especially in the beginning. Tyre rubber has to build up load, and you achieve this best by pre-loading the brake, thus you simply cannot “grab through” them anymore.
You are 100% correct. I’m no pro but i mention to new riders to practice emergency braking techniques so you can develop the good habits BEFORE a real emergency arises.
Thankyou! You just explained how & why I busted my ass on the “The Tail of the Dragon”. Advice I needed back then but was a hard-headed rookie that learned a lesson the hard way. Luckily I wasnt killed but came damn close to it. I’m fine now & still riding but I listen, learn & practice. Thanks for yor time & sharing these safety tips.🏁🏍
I learned this the hard way. Thankfully I had enough experience to not panic and saved myself from going down. But it's a lesson I'll never forget. Great video!!
Glad someone else said it about braking in the middle of a turn. So many people say don't do it don't do it, don't brake into a turn, don't brake while turning. That's great advice for a noob.... but if you know what you're doing, you're good. I brake in turns all the time. You just gotta ease on it at first then load on the pressure, and you gotta understand the bike will wanna stand back up when braking in a turn, so you have to compensate for it.
I always ease into the brakes, I learned that early on, experimenting lol I think a lot of people rely on abs to much, just because you got them doesn't mean you should depend on them
Good advice here, thanks for sharing! My experience with emergency braking is the smooth initial application can transition very quickly to full braking once the suspension reacts and compresses.
Key word.... PRACTICE. Repeat the squeeze over and over again until you can see the benefit. Everyone learns at their own pace. Practice practice practice, make it a conscious effort. Good advice man...
As mad as this sounds, I've been using this technique for my cycle now (Giant Roam 2!) and really liking it! For over 40 years, I've been slamming on the brakes lol. I also use the front brake a lot more after this as I was trained not to use it so much as a kid in case you flip over lol. The front brake use increase has defo improved stopping.
Just went through advanced riding course, on every turn and even at emergency stop, coach was yelling to us smooooooooth. So your tires won't squeek or slide, even a tiny slide was a fail per rating. Smooooooth.
GRADUAL braking is the ONLY way any motorcycle rider should use the brakes. Great information for all watching this! It's also why trail braking is so very, very effective instead of slow, look, crash, and burn. "Gradual" is a bit relative based upon circumstances, but NEVER "surprise" the bike by grabbing a handful or foot-full of brakes. You'll crash. Period.
This is spot on. Al the TH-cam 'experts' say things like: 'YoU CANNOT bRaKe In CoRnErS, yOu'Ll CrAsH 🤡'. That's just plain bullsh*t. It's all about controlling your throttle/brake and you will be perfectly fine. Thumbs up for you pointing these things out! 🙌
I always cover the front brake with two fingers during spirited riding or city areas with lots of traffic hazards. That way I'm never "grabbing" for the brake when I need it, it's already under my fingers. That gives me a little more time to load the suspension and be more subtle with how much force is needed. My bike also has linked brakes and that helps spread braking inputs, too.
Yep! Same thing driving your car. I’m totally in the habit of the smooth brake & people often tell me how they notice I never jerk anyone around. Well I don’t want to spin out or jerk myself either lol
as a rookie I've learned this the hard way. what I found helpful is pumping the brakes almost like its ABS. if I have to stop quick I downshift and pump the brakes at the same time. I know it sounds bizzare pumping the brakes, but it actually helps you stop quicker and prevent locking up of the tyres
It's a natural response which has to be 'unlearnt' which is tricky to master & is why so many new bikes have a brake assist. As a London courier from the 80s i'd cover both breaks in anticipation & hone those observational skills to the max: even if you're eyeballed people would still pull out & make unpredictable manoeuvres. In town you always had to be ready for the unexpected.
Love your approach! It is hard to get people to believe that slow is fast - but it is! There's a great quote in the movie "Shooter". "Slow is smooth and smooth is fast!" Nice.
Great point that you delivered exceptionally well. I have adopted this over the years without ever actually pinpointing this specifically. Different bikes and their breaks in curves very much very, for example breaking and setting your line into a curve in a road glide is a science. That is where I started studying and applying trail breaking. Wasn’t all that satisfying but it was effective. Now I’m riding a Pan America with all the modern tech that my RG didn’t have. To make a long story short I am so happy I did adopt trail breaking. The satisfaction and tremendous increase in stability has me reevaluating all of my breaking techniques with very awesome results. I’m thinking the key to this could be your point of don’t grab and drop. The difference of the chain opposed to the belts I have been riding for 35 years has me treating the throttle very similarly.
I had an emergency situation in a curve where a lady came over into my lane. I was in full lean and I had to apply my break quickly. My options for exit were to go to the left into opposite traffic or apply my brakes, soft but quickly and i hit a guard rail. My right hand was broken and elbow crushed because I was applying the brake but it stopped me enough that I didn’t go over an embankment. Thank you for your lesson, sir it saved my life. If I would have hit my brakes hard, I would’ve either slid under the car or I would not have been able to control where I was going again thank you.
Very good advice. This would definitely save someone if an animal runs out in the middle of the road in front of them. Have to ingrain it enough so even if that emergency happens, the slow-on-the-brakes-initially reflex happens automatically.
Man no matter how long you ride, sometimes you will still panic brake at least a bit. But the more you focus on it the less you do it. I really love this video. TRUTH! is FACT! right on man. Great! video.
Thank god I found this video! I once cornered and hafway into this long long sweeping corner I panicked and felt I was going a little too fast… braked, back wheel slid out, the bike held but I got a fright and thought I couldn’t brake on corners
Ouch, I'm sure that this clip will hurt alot of professional you tubers who believe otherwise about making u turns and such with front brakes slightly engaged,like i was told that stopping is mostly the front brakes and slow speed controlling the bike is rear brake only ,but I'm learning new things every day and this is a new one for me .
Smart rider! I do the same and never slipped for over 20 years, exactly if you break already a tiny bit then the breaks can be squeezed hard, I always tiny little wee breaking while going to almost each intersection in the city, never had issue break hard and saved me like a million times already. Plus breaking a tiny bit already means the reaction time is immediate so really there no need to break hard then like ever.
Agree with your gentle on and off the brakes. Should be done gently to increase / decrease as suspension travel increases / decreases and contact patch and hence traction increases / decreases. Police riders on advanced riding courses teach to use rear brake lightly for slow riding as well as a constant rpm and use the clutch to control speed. Works for me! 👍
I'm on a Kawasaki Ninja 400, that bike has braking on the engine due to the air pressure in the exhaust when you roll off the throttle. Together with a brake lever, you got plenty. It's just being smart is all.
@@Smitty_1703 Smooth progression and calm nerves. My V Star 650 has a heavy clutch that grabs like a bastard. Her friction zone rides like a horse that's been in the stable too long. If I'm not smooth on the controls, she bucks hard.
What else causes crashes in corners is riding down the center of the lane. Pay attention at stop lights and you will notice the center is darker from oil leaks from cars, that oil is also dripping on the center lane on rest of the road and building up on your tires. Just a little can make the difference of staying up or going down.
Over the years I have had the privilege to learn and mold my riding skills for both track and street with the assist of a handful of pro racers and school instructors. When it comes to braking, I was taught and feel most comfortable using just my index and middle finger. When I am riding in the canyon’s I always have these two fingers resting on top of my brake lever. I will generally lightly tap my front brake just prior to entering a turn to settle the front end and many times will trail brake thru the entry and up to the apex of a turn depending on speed, and if the turn is an increasing or decreasing radius. It all comes down to feel, and having confidence in your front end. The key is starting with a light squeeze and increasing the squeeze, (If necessary) based on body position and lean angle.
Having ridden a bicycle daily for almost 40 years before starting on motorcycles was a lot of help, many of the skills translated directly to motorcycle handling with a bit of practice (and a lot of getting used to a lot heavier and more powerful machine). Judging by the amount of attention the correct use of the front brake gets, that was probably one of the most valuable of those skills :)
(It was probably better to learn that being too aggressive with your front brake will result in you flying over the handlebars and your vehicle somersaulting on top of you - it was probably better to learn that as a pre-teen with a vehicle that weighed 10 kg than as a middle-aged guy with a vehicle that weighs twenty times as much ;-P)
Great advice 👍 I'm new to motorcycle riding 🏍 it makes perfect sense when I'm driving the car I never grab the brakes I apply pressure gently so why would you do it on a motorbike
I really like this video, good explanation. Yes, you can definitely squeeze faster, just because a car jumps out in front of you doesn't mean you have to grab the front brake. I believe it.
I was on a roadking.Car i was following, at about 3 car lengths, hit the car in front of them when lead car stopped suddenly to avoid missing their turn. This technique saved me, although my brakes locked up for the last few feet. I missed their bumper by inches but maintained control.
Following a vehicle, 3 seconds should be a minimum if possible which is a lot more than 3 car lengths. This is true for motorcycles AND cars and trucks. Of course in the City thats pretty hard to do. But open highway. I do my best to give myself 3 seconds usually 4. Why rush on a bike? I'm not trying to get anywhere I'm just riding.
I keep my pointer finger resting on the front brake almost all of the time, plus it helps to steady the throttle inputs. Obviously this is dependant on how strong your index finger is, but once you begin to do this regularly you will find after a while that you really dont need more than one finger anyway. Been riding sportbikes since I was 16 on a GSXR750 back in 94', long before motorcycles had traction control, ABS, or even fuel injection. Not to say that there is anything wrong with a set of well tuned and syncronized carburators.
Lately I’ve been using my fingers to pull the brake lever nice and easy all while blipping the throttle to downshift and engine brake. Engine braking along with front and rear brake makes for a really quick stop. But ultra emergency I just get heavy on the front brake progressively loading it more and more and heavy on the rear and slowly easing up as the weight shifts forward. Practice emergency braking randomly. Try it in corners. Then when you need it, you’re good. Had a massive dirt hauler pull out in front of me on a highway and was able to stop quick. Also, don’t speed. I know when I’m coming up up on heavily trafficked intersections and pull outs. Just slow your pace ahead of time. Just my $0.02. MotoJitsu has definitely made me a more relaxed but capable rider. Don’t be in a hurry. You won’t save much time. You lose much more time from an accident than you would taking it easy. Ride safe everyone!
Love it how you say.. .stop grabbing the damn breaks.. write it down 100 times... because the problem is that no matter how much time you say it, new riders do not understand it!!
Also know how your bikes brakes are designed. ABS on one or both wheels? Are the brakes linked and at what percentage differential? Condition of tires? Replace tires when necessary. And of course, number one, brake application. I almost wrecked on a wet slick curve and luckily my speed was moderate. I did not panic and carefully applied minimal braking at first and gradually increased pressure and kept it from the back wheel further sliding out. I went home and noticed my tire was worn a little too much. New tires were put on and I don’t let my tires get that way anymore.
You are absolutely right in everything that you said, but you forgot to explain why. When entering a situation where you will be tempted to abruptly brake, the weight on the front tire is light. Applying 30% braking will cause the lightly loaded tire and suspension to wash out. Applying 5-10% at first causes the front suspension to compress, the weight on the tire and braking ability to increase, thus avoiding a front end washout. The same technique that allows a fast moving moto-crosser to enter and exit a slow speed turn with maximum braking is important for street use also. The increased rake angle of the forks under braking is also something to consider, but a rider can anticipate that and lessen turning inputs.
Good discussion in the video, MotoJitsu given you got so many video, you might already have this in the collection, if not might be worth a video or drawing people attention to that video if it exists in your collection where you explain and demonstrate how the bikes frame, suspension, tires etc are all loading and unloading when you pull the brakes/release the brakes, throttle etc. That helped me a lot when I was learning, then one is able to understand what is happening to the bike itself when applying brakes. For the majority of people they don't always have that understanding.
I've been riding for 20+ years and always have just used 3 fingers on front brake (not pointer finger). That way you always use less pressure and it also helps with trial braking as well.
Smooth inputs are best for everything in a vehicle on the road. Sudden changes like hard acceleration, hard braking, hard turning, all of these things run the risk of overcoming the friction between your tires and the pavement and it only gets worse when the pavement is wet or uneven or covered with gravel etc. where the friction level is lower.
When you grow up in the country with dirt bikes on gravel roads and winter riding you develop good riding fundamentals down at a early age. Allows you to try/fail/learn/try again while you are still young enough to bounce back from a drop.
Secondly, this man's message: "don't grab the brakes" is the beginning of this journey not the end. it is a skill that must be practiced to the point of instinct. You don't have time to coach yourself through how to handle the brakes when a car pulls in front of you. By that point, it's only how well you prepared for making that braking method instinct, EVEN WHEN YOU'RE PANICKING" that makes this advice work properly.
I will admit i was taught to use the rear brake and slowly apply in a corner to help turn but to not use more then 30%. I have used both rear and front during corners even 2 up riding with no issues at all. Like you have said its all applying the brakes slowly.
Been riding over 30 years. Whilst riding with friends in France, my mate asked me why I was on the brake mid corner?…I was using the back brake very lightly to help me turn in on a sharper corner than I was expecting.
Even long term riders do it. The reflex to being surprised is to grab a handful of brake. It takes a lot to build in the muscle memory and experience to overcome the reflex. There's so much to process in milliseconds and the reflex doesn't require processing. I tell people when they get in over their heads to stay with whatever the situation is because the bike can probably handle it even if they think they can't.
BE SOFTER ON THE INITIAL TOUCH OF THOSE BRAKES!! Highly recommend signing up for ChampU...online program by current professional racers...lots of good information. ridelikeachampion.com/courses-page/
"Truth is not a Democracy"
Hmmm, so MANMADE climate change might be bs after all?
I would think is important to get used to have two fingers on the brake lever at all times. This would prevent grab because the fingers are already there for the initial 2% or a bit more. If full brake power is needed the other two can help with additional pull.
Load the tire, before you work the tire.
compressed front fork (by weight transfer) also helps the bike rotate into the corner
Motorcycle training courses are compulsory for new riders here in Australia. One of the first lessons is how use the front brake correctly, along with an explanation of WHY you are using the building squeeze method, even under emergency conditions. The aim is to pre-compress your front suspension and thereby force rubber into the road.
Grabbing with uncompressed forks lets the lightly loaded tyre break traction during the moment that all your forward moving energy is being used to compress the fork springs. The very energy that you want to burn off by making your disc rotors hot. It is not burned off in the fork springs, actually, it is stored there until the traction breaks
I was a Instructor for the Motorcycle Safety Foundation for many years, my wife and I have been all over our country on Motorcycles. When we were younger. Watching your video made me feel much better, We taught the Rider Course, Not a lot of on the highway. I liked you video very much. I'm 79 and still riding, not like we did before. Thank You !
Awesome dude. I'm late 60's. Started riding again after 25 years off. You are now my hero.
I got my motorcycle license in 1976 at 15 years old and have been riding daily ever since. I'm at about one million miles . What do you think you have? It's more what not to do when riding then trying to learn what to do. I think you can only get by with bad habits for so long.
Been riding 43 years. Youre right but really its common sense and ability more than anything else
As a current MSF rider coach I believe the curriculum should update at least the BRC 2 to using this analogy I often get asked about trail braking and front brake usage . Also it could be used in the BRC 2 LW which is for riders who want to get their waver card and have been riding long enough where the BRC is going to be boring . Here they do not need to go over the basics and they use their own motorcycle.
I bow to you, sir.
‘Don’t grab ‘ is the golden rule for most situations in life
My hamster approves
Tell Creepy Joe.
@@shawnmclean7932 Wonder which carrot top said "Grab em by the *****" 🤔
That's what she said
Grab life by the pussy
I couldn't agree with you more, after working years as a motorcycle instructor, so many people dropped their bikes, even at low speed, due to grabbing the brakes. Gently braking, loading the suspension gently is a skill to practice till it's second nature.
This saved my tail once. I came up to a curve at a good rate of speed and the entire curve was covered with pea gravel where a truck had lost some from its load from shifting around the curve. I eased on the brakes like described in the video and took the curve wide as possible, all the while I could feel my heart pounding in my throat. Yea, I'll never forget that one.
Been riding for 38 years, back in Germany for two decades in the winter too and then a decade and a half in California and Texas. I LOVE YOUR VIDEO.
"Wait for the weight" is exactly what is right, and trail braking is where the turning actually really becomes effective.
Thank you.
Doing the emergency braking practices really helps with modulating and applying brakes smoothly. I’ve always been pretty smooth on the brakes since I raced bicycles for a decade on the road before riding motorcycles but those 25-0
Absolutely. And look at the exit not that rock on the side of the road.
The other day I was, as DanDanTheFireman puts it, in the white zone as I was careening down a street at 10mph over the speed limit. I didn't notice the light was red until I was right up on it and instantly shifted into red zone. I stopped the bike in a freaking hurry... I ended with my rear wheel just a foot past the white line for where you're supposed to stop, and then backed it up to behind the white line. As I did so I looked over to my left because I was in the right most lane and there was a cop... right there... I looked at him and he rolled down his window and said "I've never seen someone brake like that, holy shit"
Avid rider for 45+ years. I do exactly as you have presented, but never had it explained this well.
Thank you.
It's TH-camrs like you, MC Rider and DDFM that have saved my sorry old butt more than once! Getting back on a motorcycle as a senior citizen was scary as hell. But I watched videos here, practiced, got training, practiced some more and got more training. I've put over 10,000 miles on my bike this year riding in San Francisco and cross country. I've had 1-2 close calls in all that time. I know they could've turned out a LOT worse if I hadn't put in the effort with practice and training.
I LOVE my front brake! That's why I caress it gently at first, then gradually, slowly but surely add pressure as needed.
I see you live in San Diego, lived there for a bit after my Navy daze in Ocean Beach & North Park. Where do you go to ride?
I watch a lot of DDFM but I don't really care much for his ATGATT attitude... I mean, ATGATT is great and all, but for a lot of people it isn't practical. I tried to do a small road trip to the next state over back in July and if I'd been wearing the gear he wants everybody to be wearing whenever they're on a bike I would have passed out from a heat stroke a lot sooner than I almost did.
Remember, bikes don't have air conditioning and when it's 97 degrees outside and 98% humidity, the gear is just as likely to kill you as not wearing that gear. If I have to choose between death by heat stroke and possibly some road rash, I'm going to go with the road rash, because at least that's survivable.
Mind you, I've only ever had one accident, and it was the middle of the night about 5 years ago, caused by a drunk driver who was using the street lights to see and was all "oh I can see just fine, I don't need my headlights" and so I didn't know he was coming up behind me because he had his headlights off and it's really hard to see vehicles at night when they're blacked out like that.
He ended up running me off the road and it busted me up pretty bad. Broke 2 ribs and shattered my collar bone... 10 years before that, and the 5 years since, no accidents.
The greatest piece of safety equipment you have is your brain, and the most dangerous thing on a motorcycle is the nut that connects the seat to the handlebars.
@@BerryTheBnnuy I got ABS on my new Monkey as I started again riding. In the meantime I was a defensive driver of a Volvo. In both vehicles ABS never used automatically, because I am super careful.
@@BerryTheBnnuy mesh jacket?
As I’ve progressed in my riding skills my main objective has been to be as smooth as possible with the throttle, steering , and brakes under all conditions. My mantra is “less is more” meaning smoothness leads to less effort which yields more control. And above all try not to panic when something weird happens. Try to anticipate and stay ahead of the bike in order to maximize your reaction time so you can still be smooth on the controls.
Thanks for all your great videos. You have contributed greatly to improving safe riding practices for the motorcycle community.
There is a corollary to this: if breaking hard while leaning freaks you out for fear of crashing, never ever release the breaks abruptly. If you do, you will instantly run wide and possibly crash.
Being smooth is paramount while leaning, be it for adding or removing break pressure.
There are on YT, some footage from grand tours cycling stages, involving downhill on twisty roads. Some Go Pro cams mounted on bikes, are showing the way the high ranked pro cyclists use the brakes, when turning at high speed. It is very interesting to see the modulation the action on the levers, and the bike reaction. It would be interesting that you, Greg, would put a camera on handlebars, filming the front brake lever, one somewhere in front of your right foot, filming the brake pedal and the third one, in its usual position on your helmet. And then make a video with synchronized footage from the three cameras. That would be a very comprehensive instructional video for any motorcyclist, especially for the beginners.
I agree with most of what is said and in then 60's I learned to brake gently and still do to this day. It means that first I am looking well and planning well ahead which is something some bikers do not do. So looking far enough ahead helps and then a realisation of what speed I should be doing at that time, ahead of what I am doing now. So being early on the slowing down and early on the brakes, if necessary means that I use little of my brakes capacity . My mechanics both for cars and bikes say that the brake pads are hardly worn on one side and less worn on the return side which indicates a slow and low use of brakes,.
Combine that with again a slow and low use of acceleration, meaning don't abuse the throttle as well and go faster, too fast and so easy on the brakes and easy on the accelerator makes for a much smoother rider and a better, safer biker.
Truth....
Very true planning ahead is the key.
This subject doesn't get talked about enough. You're exactly right. If you want to save yourself and your bike the best thing you can do is constantly practice this and THINK about it every time you ride and then when that car pulls out in front of you "no-grab" breaking is already in your muscle memory.
Greg, when approaching a tricky intersection where cars could enter my lane from multiple directions, then I usually approach with the brake pads on the rotors (say 2% braking).
This tiny bit of squeeze on the front lever makes it much harder to accidentally lock the front in a panic situation.
During testing I found that it's actually quite difficult to lock my front wheel, I really have to hit the lever quite hard to do that.
When the hand is already applying the lever, hitting the lever hard enough for front-wheel lockup becomes much harder. This means that even a tiny amount of braking when approaching the intersection creates a significant amount of safety. In tricky intersections that don't have good escape routes, I can't really imagine approaching without a few percent of brake pressure.
Also you improve your reaction time by like 0.5s because your hand and the breaks are already ready. It doesn't sound like much, but it is 10m at 70kmph (30ft at 45mph) everything else being equal.
I generally “cover my brakes” with a couple fingers, but I like the idea of putting a bit of pressure on them. 👍
Thank you for your grate information, I ride with my hand on the ready just in case! I think a lot of ego gets in the way, of safe riding with others who push fellow bikers past, there reaction times causing accident
You are doing something very smart, it called pre loading the brakes and it can and will be a very useful to you in advance accident.
You should maintain speed, and move away from traffic as you approach the intersection, but "cover" your clutch and brake.
Also consider that no matter how fast and smooth your braking is, you won't have the reaction time to go 45mph-0mph in avoidance of a left turn car at an intersection.
This is why we are taught to swerve, and you can't swerve as well if you're on the brakes
Well stated. This is exactly why all riders should routinely be practicing progressive braking in a controlled environment (empty parking lot) - to get the muscle memory set! I personally like to do this a few times, both straight and in a curving situation) prior to heading out for a ride - just to reset that muscle memory (decades of riding experience) in getting the weight transfer to load up the front tire as the pressure on the lever is applied progressively. As was also said below, chopping or rolling off the throttle also helps to initiate that weight transfer. Ride safely!
Just ride bicycles, no better practice for braking properly.
These videos are a life saver for new riders like me. I am riding for almost two and half years now and never crashed or fell from my bike. I am not bragging btw because I ride a p***y according to my friends. They say all time that if you don't fall, you don't learn. I learn from these videos and I would rather be a p***y than paying my hospital bills.
MJ is 100% right on this. I took the Champ school on line version a few months ago and they heavily stress this. Last week, was on a 2 lane highway doing about 58 mph into a corner. That was a bit too fast. So since I already was at about 10% front brake only and my first two fingers were already on the front brake lever, I applied additional brakes to tighten my radius from going any wider in the curve. Good thing I did because I would have gone right into a Mack fuel truck.
Even when I don't ride my bike I do shadow practice of squeezing front break with my finger. Man that shadow practice really helping me a lot. Specially on panic breaking. It is like setting up a software in the brain that will automatically trigger a soft to hard break.
What is shadow braking. I've not heard this term 🙃
@@jeanettesalisbury6153
Didn't OP write "shadow practice"?
Thank you for this reminder, I just recently got back into riding and had that same thought in my head “don’t use the brakes in a turn” but this makes much more sense.
Now i am just running with the Yamaha Tricity after driving a car for a little while, it felt natural to what i did in my early years. I have no bike license but even as a car driver, i know just slowly put the brakes on. My experience is listen to the bike, it tells you everything. Now i could be telling complete nonsense but it's what is helping me. In a emergency yes you might hit the brakes hard but with normal driving, keeping the speedlimits, it's very easy. Thanks for the video and drive safely
I’m a new rider @ 68 & greatly appreciate you & your wisdom on riding T Y
Touch fineness on the brakes is the most important thing to learn (or in that mix). Even coming to a stop right where you want to with no front dive takes practice. When I first started riding again after 25 tears off, I thought my new bike had front fork issues but they disappeared after some seat time. Finesse on the brakes is critical in about every riding mode. High speed and low speed.
Its just so hard when you get surprised your instinct is to grab a handful, I learned the hard way, at least I hope learned
@@caspar_gomez Yes, that's true. But with some seat time that 'touch' will show up.
What you teach here will probably prevent many accidents or even save lives for many inexperience riders. Thank you and God bless.
Back in the days when riding my CX500, I was able to lock up the front wheel in a straight line while it barely dives by grabbing it momentarily. Of course you don’t keep it locked up. Best video for safety!!
I have taught 2 of my sons to ride, and I am now teaching my wife to ride (at age 48), and one of the first things I teach them, and get them to practice, is to start soft on brakes, then squeeze more IF needed. I learnt EARLY on (been riding over 40 years), NOT to grab brakes.... Great Video mate.
Abrupt anything on a bike is a bad day probably.
CHAMPU-such great info & price is a DEAL.
Absolutely correct, if driving normally on public roads. The only exception to using brakes softly could cause a crash, is if you exceeded the limits of speed and lean (already dangerous) that any amount of braking will cause you to lose traction, but this is usually during racing where a lot of safety rules are ignored for the speed benefit and done by professionals. So if you are racing on a public road and crashed, you either grabbed the brakes too hard or going so fast that using the brakes at all will cause a crash as most bikes aren't setup like the racing bikes.
When I took the MSF beginner course in Austin, TX, they told me to not touch the brakes in any turn or with any lean. They said to release throttle and LEAN MORE if necessary, which I knew was BS after watching many videos like this by guys like you. Thanks for helping me not develop bad riding habits!
they hated that I always had two fingers on the brake lever they said I should have all four fingers when I break but I was like f that deduct the points I'll still pass this stupid class lol
I think if you follow the "enter with the correct speed for the bend" philosophy the "no touch" edict automatically results in "no grab" which for beginners might be indicated. The problem as we all know is that road conditions can't always be predicated and you have to adapt to them to survive. I guess the balance is struck by MSF to help people to ride safely quickly but not necessarily to survive the unexpected which is a road skill that needs to be learned.
Before the advent of courses my old man used to say that if you can survive the first two years of motorcycling you'll survive a lifetime. He wasn't wrong as I made all my silly mistakes and had low speed crashes on an old 250cc Honda.
Especially when riding on dirt, I've adopted some recent training which recommends using the rear brake as a bike stabliser. Not grabbing is great advice, but also especially wary of grabbing the front. In spite of that it was also demonstrated that only using only the rear brake does not stop you easily, especially downhill.
Truth. Tires can handle a good amount of force, but they need a little bit of time to grab onto the road surface. Don't 'shock-load' them, they'll just slide over it. I'm not sure how I'll behave in a real panic situation, but I usually try to 'caress', then start a progressive squeeze. Tried hard braking in a training on a wet cobble road, it's amazing how much grip that still can generate.
every time you use the front brake, do a few things. Make sure you never hover over it while riding. That's because in a panic you'll grab a whole heap of everything. Every time you do use it: setup then squeeze. Over time it will be a habit - even at panic.
Traction in the wet is around 90% on motorbike road tyres.
@@scottquayle7754 MotoJitsu was saying in another video to always cover the brake (with 2 fingers) when rolling of the throttle.
I don't know the video, but if you want to be safe you would check mirrors, roll off and then set up front brake. Not only does it mean you are ready to brake, it puts this little red light on at the rear of your bike.
I am not 100% confident in what you mean there though and whether I am responding to your comment correctly...
If want safe technique, which means you are conservatively managing your speed, use 4 fingers.
If you are on a race track or decide to go high-risk and ride like you are on the race track, use 2 after totally rolling off throttle, which would allow you to trail the front brake into corners at high lean angle, not pogo the front suspension after braking is complete, and roll the throttle smoothly and continually on after you have reached maximum lean angle.
Maybe point me to the video that describes everything I just wrote there in detail from Motojitsu, and how you practice that.
@@scottquayle7754 th-cam.com/video/aS5uGl2Ec9E/w-d-xo.html
it's this one I think
Several thousands of miles on a bicycle in your childhood does help a lot, too. It‘s physics after all.
Can never be repeated enough. Thanks! I'd love a video on coping - mentally and/or physically - with those really bad worn patches on roads that are now found all over the damned world.
Thank you for all of your content. I've watched hundreds of your videos over the last few months and picking up my first bike, CB650R, tomorrow morning.
Eager to learn, train, improve and ride!
“Prelooading” is the key word here. FortNine had a nice explanation on this: Tyres can take a lot of force without slipping, but they cannot handle too much rate of force. Especially in the beginning.
Tyre rubber has to build up load, and you achieve this best by pre-loading the brake, thus you simply cannot “grab through” them anymore.
Love this Greg. I ride and repeat things you say, out loud as I ride. You rock 🙃
You are 100% correct. I’m no pro but i mention to new riders to practice emergency braking techniques so you can develop the good habits BEFORE a real emergency arises.
Thankyou! You just explained how & why I busted my ass on the “The Tail of the Dragon”. Advice I needed back then but was a hard-headed rookie that learned a lesson the hard way. Luckily I wasnt killed but came damn close to it. I’m fine now & still riding but I listen, learn & practice. Thanks for yor time & sharing these safety tips.🏁🏍
Love how you call out others bullshit. In my experiments / learning, yeah, brake control is one of those non-obvious critical skills.
I learned this the hard way. Thankfully I had enough experience to not panic and saved myself from going down. But it's a lesson I'll never forget. Great video!!
Wow, 3k miles/month?! I thought I was doing good having my bike for four months and almost putting 1.5k miles on it.
I'm retired, & I usually average 1k / month, when spread out over a year. Actual mileage is higher in nice weather, lower when it's snowing.
3 months 8k km 👍
Glad someone else said it about braking in the middle of a turn. So many people say don't do it don't do it, don't brake into a turn, don't brake while turning. That's great advice for a noob.... but if you know what you're doing, you're good. I brake in turns all the time. You just gotta ease on it at first then load on the pressure, and you gotta understand the bike will wanna stand back up when braking in a turn, so you have to compensate for it.
The bike will want to stand up and go straight when accelerating. The opposite is true when braking: it will want to lean/turn tighter.
I always ease into the brakes, I learned that early on, experimenting lol I think a lot of people rely on abs to much, just because you got them doesn't mean you should depend on them
Good advice here, thanks for sharing! My experience with emergency braking is the smooth initial application can transition very quickly to full braking once the suspension reacts and compresses.
Key word.... PRACTICE. Repeat the squeeze over and over again until you can see the benefit. Everyone learns at their own pace. Practice practice practice, make it a conscious effort. Good advice man...
As mad as this sounds, I've been using this technique for my cycle now (Giant Roam 2!) and really liking it! For over 40 years, I've been slamming on the brakes lol. I also use the front brake a lot more after this as I was trained not to use it so much as a kid in case you flip over lol. The front brake use increase has defo improved stopping.
Just went through advanced riding course, on every turn and even at emergency stop, coach was yelling to us smooooooooth. So your tires won't squeek or slide, even a tiny slide was a fail per rating. Smooooooth.
As a new rider, i love your videos and how much you break down the simple stuff. Also, i love this road from your video I run it about once a week.
GRADUAL braking is the ONLY way any motorcycle rider should use the brakes. Great information for all watching this! It's also why trail braking is so very, very effective instead of slow, look, crash, and burn. "Gradual" is a bit relative based upon circumstances, but NEVER "surprise" the bike by grabbing a handful or foot-full of brakes. You'll crash. Period.
I don't watch your videos as much anymore. But they have helped me a ton on braking. Thank you.
This is spot on. Al the TH-cam 'experts' say things like: 'YoU CANNOT bRaKe In CoRnErS, yOu'Ll CrAsH 🤡'.
That's just plain bullsh*t. It's all about controlling your throttle/brake and you will be perfectly fine.
Thumbs up for you pointing these things out! 🙌
I always cover the front brake with two fingers during spirited riding or city areas with lots of traffic hazards. That way I'm never "grabbing" for the brake when I need it, it's already under my fingers. That gives me a little more time to load the suspension and be more subtle with how much force is needed. My bike also has linked brakes and that helps spread braking inputs, too.
Yep! Same thing driving your car.
I’m totally in the habit of the smooth brake & people often tell me how they notice I never jerk anyone around.
Well I don’t want to spin out or jerk myself either lol
as a rookie I've learned this the hard way. what I found helpful is pumping the brakes almost like its ABS. if I have to stop quick I downshift and pump the brakes at the same time. I know it sounds bizzare pumping the brakes, but it actually helps you stop quicker and prevent locking up of the tyres
It's a natural response which has to be 'unlearnt' which is tricky to master & is why so many new bikes have a brake assist. As a London courier from the 80s i'd cover both breaks in anticipation & hone those observational skills to the max: even if you're eyeballed people would still pull out & make unpredictable manoeuvres. In town you always had to be ready for the unexpected.
Thank you very much. Getting ready to brave my first ride. Glad I watched this before I took off.
Great line " truth is not a popularity contest" . So many implications in everyday life. Keep learning and thinking .
Thanks for the videos, helps a bunch.
I appreciate the short and straight to the point videos👍
Love your approach! It is hard to get people to believe that slow is fast - but it is! There's a great quote in the movie "Shooter". "Slow is smooth and smooth is fast!" Nice.
Great point that you delivered exceptionally well. I have adopted this over the years without ever actually pinpointing this specifically. Different bikes and their breaks in curves very much very, for example breaking and setting your line into a curve in a road glide is a science. That is where I started studying and applying trail breaking. Wasn’t all that satisfying but it was effective. Now I’m riding a Pan America with all the modern tech that my RG didn’t have. To make a long story short I am so happy I did adopt trail breaking. The satisfaction and tremendous increase in stability has me reevaluating all of my breaking techniques with very awesome results. I’m thinking the key to this could be your point of don’t grab and drop. The difference of the chain opposed to the belts I have been riding for 35 years has me treating the throttle very similarly.
What would be the difference between belt and chain in braking situation?
Mine is chain (Speedmaster)
I had an emergency situation in a curve where a lady came over into my lane. I was in full lean and I had to apply my break quickly. My options for exit were to go to the left into opposite traffic or apply my brakes, soft but quickly and i hit a guard rail. My right hand was broken and elbow crushed because I was applying the brake but it stopped me enough that I didn’t go over an embankment. Thank you for your lesson, sir it saved my life. If I would have hit my brakes hard, I would’ve either slid under the car or I would not have been able to control where I was going again thank you.
Very good advice. This would definitely save someone if an animal runs out in the middle of the road in front of them. Have to ingrain it enough so even if that emergency happens, the slow-on-the-brakes-initially reflex happens automatically.
Man no matter how long you ride, sometimes you will still panic brake at least a bit. But the more you focus on it the less you do it. I really love this video. TRUTH! is FACT! right on man. Great! video.
Thank god I found this video! I once cornered and hafway into this long long sweeping corner I panicked and felt I was going a little too fast… braked, back wheel slid out, the bike held but I got a fright and thought I couldn’t brake on corners
I agree. It’s the “panic response” and or lack of practice
Ouch, I'm sure that this clip will hurt alot of professional you tubers who believe otherwise about making u turns and such with front brakes slightly engaged,like i was told that stopping is mostly the front brakes and slow speed controlling the bike is rear brake only ,but I'm learning new things every day and this is a new one for me .
You’ve earned a subscriber. Thanks.
Smart rider! I do the same and never slipped for over 20 years, exactly if you break already a tiny bit then the breaks can be squeezed hard, I always tiny little wee breaking while going to almost each intersection in the city, never had issue break hard and saved me like a million times already. Plus breaking a tiny bit already means the reaction time is immediate so really there no need to break hard then like ever.
Agree with your gentle on and off the brakes. Should be done gently to increase / decrease as suspension travel increases / decreases and contact patch and hence traction increases / decreases. Police riders on advanced riding courses teach to use rear brake lightly for slow riding as well as a constant rpm and use the clutch to control speed. Works for me! 👍
So fine teaching..it helps me learn alot..n it helps me get my driving license test passed this month..keep it up
I've noticed rolling off the throttle while progessive braking acts as a total brake system.
Especially if you have a big single cylinder 4 stroke engine!
If I snap off the throttle, the rear brake can skid on dirt roads!
I'm on a Kawasaki Ninja 400, that bike has braking on the engine due to the air pressure in the exhaust when you roll off the throttle. Together with a brake lever, you got plenty. It's just being smart is all.
@@Smitty_1703 Smooth progression and calm nerves. My V Star 650 has a heavy clutch that grabs like a bastard. Her friction zone rides like a horse that's been in the stable too long. If I'm not smooth on the controls, she bucks hard.
Agreed. YCRS really improved my riding with regard to braking. We teach it on Leod Escapes tours as well. Nice road for the topic.
What else causes crashes in corners is riding down the center of the lane. Pay attention at stop lights and you will notice the center is darker from oil leaks from cars, that oil is also dripping on the center lane on rest of the road and building up on your tires. Just a little can make the difference of staying up or going down.
Thanks man, this makes a lot of sense - new rider myself and have been guilty of grabbing the brakes. Will be using this technique from now on.
I instantly almost grabbed the like button on this video, but then I just squeezed it...
"Touch the break pads to the rotor gently" was some of the best advice I got for my ridding.
Over the years I have had the privilege to learn and mold my riding skills for both track and street with the assist of a handful of pro racers and school instructors. When it comes to braking, I was taught and feel most comfortable using just my index and middle finger. When I am riding in the canyon’s I always have these two fingers resting on top of my brake lever. I will generally lightly tap my front brake just prior to entering a turn to settle the front end and many times will trail brake thru the entry and up to the apex of a turn depending on speed, and if the turn is an increasing or decreasing radius. It all comes down to feel, and having confidence in your front end. The key is starting with a light squeeze and increasing the squeeze, (If necessary) based on body position and lean angle.
Having ridden a bicycle daily for almost 40 years before starting on motorcycles was a lot of help, many of the skills translated directly to motorcycle handling with a bit of practice (and a lot of getting used to a lot heavier and more powerful machine). Judging by the amount of attention the correct use of the front brake gets, that was probably one of the most valuable of those skills :)
(It was probably better to learn that being too aggressive with your front brake will result in you flying over the handlebars and your vehicle somersaulting on top of you - it was probably better to learn that as a pre-teen with a vehicle that weighed 10 kg than as a middle-aged guy with a vehicle that weighs twenty times as much ;-P)
Great advice 👍 I'm new to motorcycle riding 🏍 it makes perfect sense when I'm driving the car I never grab the brakes I apply pressure gently so why would you do it on a motorbike
I really like this video, good explanation. Yes, you can definitely squeeze faster, just because a car jumps out in front of you doesn't mean you have to grab the front brake. I believe it.
I was on a roadking.Car i was following, at about 3 car lengths, hit the car in front of them when lead car stopped suddenly to avoid missing their turn. This technique saved me, although my brakes locked up for the last few feet. I missed their bumper by inches but maintained control.
Following a vehicle, 3 seconds should be a minimum if possible which is a lot more than 3 car lengths. This is true for motorcycles AND cars and trucks. Of course in the City thats pretty hard to do. But open highway. I do my best to give myself 3 seconds usually 4. Why rush on a bike? I'm not trying to get anywhere I'm just riding.
I keep my pointer finger resting on the front brake almost all of the time, plus it helps to steady the throttle inputs. Obviously this is dependant on how strong your index finger is, but once you begin to do this regularly you will find after a while that you really dont need more than one finger anyway. Been riding sportbikes since I was 16 on a GSXR750 back in 94', long before motorcycles had traction control, ABS, or even fuel injection. Not to say that there is anything wrong with a set of well tuned and syncronized carburators.
Lately I’ve been using my fingers to pull the brake lever nice and easy all while blipping the throttle to downshift and engine brake. Engine braking along with front and rear brake makes for a really quick stop. But ultra emergency I just get heavy on the front brake progressively loading it more and more and heavy on the rear and slowly easing up as the weight shifts forward.
Practice emergency braking randomly. Try it in corners. Then when you need it, you’re good. Had a massive dirt hauler pull out in front of me on a highway and was able to stop quick. Also, don’t speed. I know when I’m coming up up on heavily trafficked intersections and pull outs. Just slow your pace ahead of time.
Just my $0.02. MotoJitsu has definitely made me a more relaxed but capable rider. Don’t be in a hurry. You won’t save much time. You lose much more time from an accident than you would taking it easy. Ride safe everyone!
Love it how you say.. .stop grabbing the damn breaks.. write it down 100 times... because the problem is that no matter how much time you say it, new riders do not understand it!!
So, my new ‘squeeze’ is my brake lever. Got it.
😀
@@patrickmba7638 😚😚😘
Also know how your bikes brakes are designed. ABS on one or both wheels? Are the brakes linked and at what percentage differential? Condition of tires? Replace tires when necessary. And of course, number one, brake application. I almost wrecked on a wet slick curve and luckily my speed was moderate. I did not panic and carefully applied minimal braking at first and gradually increased pressure and kept it from the back wheel further sliding out. I went home and noticed my tire was worn a little too much. New tires were put on and I don’t let my tires get that way anymore.
You are absolutely right in everything that you said, but you forgot to explain why. When entering a situation where you will be tempted to abruptly brake, the weight on the front tire is light. Applying 30% braking will cause the lightly loaded tire and suspension to wash out. Applying 5-10% at first causes the front suspension to compress, the weight on the tire and braking ability to increase, thus avoiding a front end washout. The same technique that allows a fast moving moto-crosser to enter and exit a slow speed turn with maximum braking is important for street use also. The increased rake angle of the forks under braking is also something to consider, but a rider can anticipate that and lessen turning inputs.
Good discussion in the video, MotoJitsu given you got so many video, you might already have this in the collection, if not might be worth a video or drawing people attention to that video if it exists in your collection where you explain and demonstrate how the bikes frame, suspension, tires etc are all loading and unloading when you pull the brakes/release the brakes, throttle etc. That helped me a lot when I was learning, then one is able to understand what is happening to the bike itself when applying brakes. For the majority of people they don't always have that understanding.
I've been riding for 20+ years and always have just used 3 fingers on front brake (not pointer finger). That way you always use less pressure and it also helps with trial braking as well.
Smooth inputs are best for everything in a vehicle on the road. Sudden changes like hard acceleration, hard braking, hard turning, all of these things run the risk of overcoming the friction between your tires and the pavement and it only gets worse when the pavement is wet or uneven or covered with gravel etc. where the friction level is lower.
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Truth is not a popularity contest.
- MotoJitsu
This is my new favorite quote
When you grow up in the country with dirt bikes on gravel roads and winter riding you develop good riding fundamentals down at a early age. Allows you to try/fail/learn/try again while you are still young enough to bounce back from a drop.
Secondly, this man's message: "don't grab the brakes" is the beginning of this journey not the end. it is a skill that must be practiced to the point of instinct. You don't have time to coach yourself through how to handle the brakes when a car pulls in front of you. By that point, it's only how well you prepared for making that braking method instinct, EVEN WHEN YOU'RE PANICKING" that makes this advice work properly.
I will admit i was taught to use the rear brake and slowly apply in a corner to help turn but to not use more then 30%. I have used both rear and front during corners even 2 up riding with no issues at all. Like you have said its all applying the brakes slowly.
Been riding over 30 years. Whilst riding with friends in France, my mate asked me why I was on the brake mid corner?…I was using the back brake very lightly to help me turn in on a sharper corner than I was expecting.
Couldn’t agree more 👍 The only time I’ve ever laid the bike down was when grabbing the brakes too hard
“Stop grabbing the damn brakes!” Indeed! Thanks MJ! 🏅👏
Great teachings! thanks so much. very pleasant voice btw, makes a lot of difference😎
Even long term riders do it. The reflex to being surprised is to grab a handful of brake. It takes a lot to build in the muscle memory and experience to overcome the reflex. There's so much to process in milliseconds and the reflex doesn't require processing. I tell people when they get in over their heads to stay with whatever the situation is because the bike can probably handle it even if they think they can't.
Best advice is to keep both your hands on the handlebars!