Wet weather braking.

Slam the anchors on full pelt, shut yer eyes and hope for the best!

HTH

Ok, thought I'd join in the fun here ...

Firstly, I'm with a few others on here ... I ride like a pansy in the wet. Carefully, and as smooth as possible, so that when I have to brake it's never (or as close to never as possible) ... an emergency, and therefore my chances of locking wheels are greatly reduced.

I've had a few slips n slides in the wet, and on diesel and it's the least fun thing you can do on a bike (well apart from coming off) IMO.

As for braking advice ... I've only been riding just over a year so I ain't really in any position to offer up any advice of my own ... just what I was taught by my riding school and what I've read on the subject.

During my DAS I was told no matter what the weather it should be front brake first, smooth but quick - progressively harder on the brake, but a split second after applying the front, to apply the rear in the same manner, but to a lesser extent ... in the wet, though, that should be an even lesser extent to the point at which you are almost not using any of the rear braking at all.

Now, from an article in Bike, by a very respectable ex-motorbike cop ... who basically says ...

You have 2 brakes so I don't hold with all this theory about hardly touching the rear in the wet ... 2 brakes are better than 1 so why not LEARN to use them both!?

He also said that you should find a stretch of road and practice ... and practice OFTEN, and in different weather/road conditions, so that when you HAVE to do it in an emergency it becomes like 2nd nature (muscle-memory).

And finally, how many of you have practiced emergency braking from the speeds that you NORMALLY ride at?

I found that last one a particularly sobering thought ... Last time I practised an emergency stop was shortly after my test and I was doing no more than 30mph ... and yet I regularly (not these days, someone shouts!) ride at NSL ... yet I have absolutely no idea what my stopping distance is on a bike from 70mph ... in ANY road conditions so maybe I should get myself out there and start practising that on those ever-so-empty motorways

The whole article about braking was very interesting and included a little bit of math about if you learnt to apply the rear in different ratios to the front, how much extra braking that could give from say 50mph, and how much sooner that would stop you ... something like, progressive braking using both brakes (50:50, rather than say 60:40 in favour of front) from that speed might actually save you 20ft (something like that?!) ... which could be the difference between stopping short of that car in front, or going straight into the back of it ... don't quote me on those figures tho ... I'll have to see if I can dig out the article (I think it was last Octobers issue, but not sure about that either)

In the summer I was reading "Sport Riding Techniques" and it prompted me to go out and practice. I did an "emergency" stop from high speed in the dry, circa 80mph, and it was an eye opener, but it was amazing how quickly I got used to the sensation. It made me so much more confident. I also did some, although not from as high a speed or with as much commitment, in the wet. It's nothing like a real emergency stop, but it does wonders for your confidence. Been too long since I practiced.

Who passed their test? Where's the first post? What are brakes?

I use the sole of my boots a la the flintstones. I find that it stabilises the bike and I've never had either wheel lock up!

Originally Posted by teriyakimonkey

Who passed their test? Where's the first post? What are brakes?

I use the sole of my boots a la the flintstones. I find that it stabilises the bike and I've never had either wheel lock up!

Rubbing your feet against the wheels works so much better

Wow, reading through this thread shows a ton of different techniques but i'm glad i'm not alone in the dodgy 'never touching the front brake' brigade. I know its not the way to do it and it goes against everything i was taught but following a low speed front wheel lockup not so long ago on a dry road i've just lost the bottle to touch it when i'm doing any decent speed.

If it immediately locks at 15mph in the dry when i've not even given it a good squeeze then i'm worried what would happen at 60mph. Gotta get out and get into the habit of using it again as i never had any problems with the front in the past. Just this one incident made me think f*ck that, its engine braking and hard back brake from now on. Back wheel slides are easy to control and even fun sometimes but theres going to come a time when some nob pulls out and i've got to slam on the front anchors big style so i need to get out of this habit.

Need the practice so's i can work out when to actually try stopping in an emergency and when to just bin the bike and jump clear in the direction of the softest landing.

[RingDing]

I don't quite know how to put this so please don't take offence. Can anyone not using the front brake, in wet or dry, please either:

a) practice using your front brake in emergency stops, building up the amount of braking force you use slowly. Use a predictable road surface but don't be terrified of a front wheel lock whilst you are upright and braking in a straightline. If you release the brake straight away it will all come back in line.
or
b) get some more training.

Riding and not using the front brake is lunacy and is putting you and other road users at risk.

I had a newbie on a ride out with me who crashed as he was only using the rear brake in greasy winter conditions. It locked, he released it and reapplied it, it locked, he released it and he was out of road. If he'd have used the front he'd have stopped in time. Back wheel skids may be easy to control but you don't have to brake hard for them to occur. In an emergency you are extremely unlikely to stop in time.

I couldn't believe it when 'my' newbie said he hadn't been using the front brake.

Originally Posted by RingDing

I don't quite know how to put this so please don't take offence. Can anyone not using the front brake, in wet or dry, please either:

a) practice using your front brake in emergency stops, building up the amount of braking force you use slowly. Use a predictable road surface but don't be terrified of a front wheel lock whilst you are upright and braking in a straightline. If you release the brake straight away it will all come back in line.
or
b) get some more training.

Riding and not using the front brake is lunacy and is putting you and other road users at risk.

I had a newbie on a ride out with me who crashed as he was only using the rear brake in greasy winter conditions. It locked, he released it and reapplied it, it locked, he released it and he was out of road. If he'd have used the front he'd have stopped in time. Back wheel skids may be easy to control but you don't have to brake hard for them to occur. In an emergency you are extremely unlikely to stop in time.

I couldn't believe it when 'my' newbie said he hadn't been using the front brake.

+1

It terrifies me when i hear that people won't use the front brake, but i wasn't sure how to convey my feelings without causing offence.

Originally Posted by ASM-Forever

+1

It terrifies me when i hear that people won't use the front brake, but i wasn't sure how to convey my feelings without causing offence.

I wouldnt take offence about being told i was in the wrong as i know how i'm currently using the brakes aint the way i should be doing it.

Sure lots of people go through the same thing, getting bit by something like a slide and then losing confidence is something most newbies go through. The importance is realising what the problem is and how to correct it.

Goes back to DAS training, we really need a decent bit of braking from real road speeds in there, the 10 mph emergency stop is not use whatsoever. I could have stopped the bike with my feet at the speeds we used to do emergencies at. Heard they are bringing in more high speed stuff in the new tests so hopefully noobs will get a better grounding in that sort of stuff.

Originally Posted by Durbs

Goes back to DAS training, we really need a decent bit of braking from real road speeds in there, the 10 mph emergency stop is not use whatsoever. I could have stopped the bike with my feet at the speeds we used to do emergencies at. Heard they are bringing in more high speed stuff in the new tests so hopefully noobs will get a better grounding in that sort of stuff.

Could also be the place you do ya training at too cos we were required to do our practice emergency stops from 20mph - 30mph. Plus, some of us were fortunate enough to have to practice one on our lessons due to some idiot cager LOL

I'm not one to talk though ... as since my test I've only ever had to perform 4 "emergency" stops:
1. from 35mph whilst filtering - didn't stop in time - hit pulling out vehicle and ended up on going ar$e-over-t*t and landing on my back
2. from 45mph on a blind bend when I discovered there was a junction just round the bend ... I now know what braking whilst cranked over can do ... had I known there was no traffic coming from the right, I should have just leant a bit further and carried on ... and perhaps I wouldn't have slid on my ar$e out in front of the van (stopped) about to turn right into the junction I just flew out of
3. approaching traffic lights @ about 30mph - amber not working - suddenly went red, and managed to do a small stoppie (front brakes are quite powerful enough on the SV )
4. went through traffic lights with an eye on what was in my mirrors and not the car in front of me about to turn right. I managed to lock up at least one wheel, but released the brake levers (when my brain was telling me otherwise), and managed to keep it upright.

I hope I never have to perform an emergency stop from greater speeds, but one thing is for sure, I will be out practising as soon as I can ... 'cos ya never know when you might need to.