Braking before corners

[Fallout]

Ok, so this has only really come to the forefront of my mind recently. It's always been at the back of my mind, but on the last rideout with Tim it suddenly made sense (sorry Tim, not bashing you at all. You just made me think).

I don't really brake for corners, and a good proportion of other GMers don't seem to either. There are a few examples when you do need to brake for corners:

1 - Overtaking just before a tight corner, so going in hot
2 - Hooliganism down a straight before a tight corner
3 - Spotting some sort of hazard/traffic around the corner
4 - Other examples I can't be arsed to think of

Other than those you really don't need to brake. All you need to do is roll off the throttle, select the right gear in plenty of time, then smooth power on through the bend. The majority of braking I've been seeing is obviously fear braking because when I roll off the throttle I'm hardly catching up at all before the bend. It's obviously a case of feeling unsettled approaching the bend, applying some pathetic amount of brake to regain confidence, then going in at a lean angle of about 2 degrees.

I find it really good for confidence to forget the brake. No need to unsettle the bike or quickly go from brake to throttle just before the corner. Remove that extra control from the equation, and force yourself to just decelerate, down shift, settle then tip in. It's good for confidence and a nice easy way to defeat the panic braking which to me seems to do more harm than good.

I'm not trying to come across as perfect. I tap the brakes often when I didn't need to, and usually the corner isn't great afterwards, but we're not GP riders. We're not going fast enough to need to brake on 90% of bends. There's no point making your life complicated and giving yourself that false sense of safety by only scrubbing off 5% of your speed with a gentle braking touch. Just roll off early, use all that lovely extra time off the brakes to find the right position and prepare yourself to tip it in, then get back on the throttle gently.

This isn't directed at anyone in particular, and I've not really been scrutinizing anyone enough to even remember who the culprits are! Just thought I'd mention it to those who feel they brake unnecessarily, and hopefully with that in your minds you might have a go at making your life easier.

I see most of the gm lot flash some brake lights into most corners (even when youre not blatting down a straight beforehand) but i wonder if that just comfort braking (ie: just applying some pressure to the lever but not really braking at all) or a slight bit of 'fear braking' as you mentioned..

Obviously i brake before most corners but that comes from fear/inexperience/lack of gonnads

[MisterTommyH]

Sorry to barge in on the GM (feel free to tell me to bugger off back to Madlanders).

Are most of you SVs or other twins? - Tend to get more engine braking on these and therefore not need to brake as much before a corner as somone on an IL4 might.

Also I've been on a few .org rideouts where the organiser has asked twin riders to member this fact and, when rolling off before a corner, just tap the lever (front or back) enough to activate the light and let the rider behind know you are slowing - especially when the person behind isn't on a twin.

Not intended as criticism in any way, just trying to understand where you are coming from - and I'm in no place to criticise anyway as I am, by my own admission, sh1te at cornering.

[Mark_h]

Braking is fine if it's part of your plan for that corner. If however you are braking because you've found yourself going too quick for comfort at that point then that's not so good.

Jammy, not sure who you end up behind to see all those flashing brake lights as in the main I'm seeing fewer and fewer "unplanned" brakelights from the regular GMers.

I brake when I'm slowing even if its all engine braking and brake light flash.

The brake light is an indicator, an indicator that you're slowing.


Front braking into the corner can also help shift weight over the front wheel as long as you come off it smoothly.

Originally Posted by MisterTommyH

Also I've been on a few .org rideouts where the organiser has asked twin riders to member this fact and, when rolling off before a corner, just tap the lever (front or back) enough to activate the light and let the rider behind know you are slowing - especially when the person behind isn't on a twin.

This is good advice - we give it to all of our associate members, as the engine braking on a bike isn't opposed by the momentum of a ton of metal, so it's useful information to give to all following vehicles.

I would say that I'm not inclined to brake that often when I'm riding on my own, but I'm not a fast rider these days either.

[Sir Trev]

I also agree with Tommy's point about notice and after ten years on a v-twin I got into the habbit of dabbing the brake if another vehicle would benefit as I made full use of engine braking. Now I'm on an IL4 with a lot less of it I tend to plan more but oddly enough my car has altered my cornering a bit too. I suspect Ford have engineered a bit of flywheel effect into their current models to aid fuel consumption (my '11 Focus coasts for ages in gear on no throttle) so I tend to brake more on the aproach to bends as I drive the car more than the bike...

[Tomor]

most of the brake lights you see me putting on are 'braking indicators' with some being to scrub off some speed before a corner but not many.

[Fallout]

The slowing indication makes good sense, but I don't see it as necessary all the time. When we're on a rideout and there's a bike behind me and we're going into a corner, nobody is stonking up behind you planning to get their knee down. Or at least, none of us lot. That's not how we ride. However when slowing down on a straight, or if a car is behind you, or you're slowing for another reason our of the ordinary, it makes sense. Agreed.

As for engine braking, I'm on an IL4 and get enough engine braking for most corners, but I do downshift to decelerate.

My point here isn't to criticize using the brakes. Use them whenever you want! My point is, from personal experience, I find the whole riding experience much more enjoyable without using the brakes. It feels smoother and cornering feels more fluid. I'd just like to see some of the newbies slow down gradually for the corners and just have the confidence to go round them without feeling they have to brake all the time. It'll feel much better.

I do it when it's not necessary so that I don't forget to when it is.

Same as using my indicators to turn into a junction on an empty road.