Scared myself so bad I need to ask a question...

[BigFootIsBlurry]

Basically, to cut a long story short I c ocked up when overtaking a line of cars and ended up approaching a corner way too fast on the wrong side of the road with traffic coming at me. I swung back onto the right side and I chucked on the brakes hard before it was too late but locked up the back end.

I held it and made it home to tell the tale and while it was obviously all my own naivety that caused it, my question is should I have been on the back brake at all? I know the fact I'd loaded up the front makes the back more likely to lock but I really didnt think I was pressing on the back that hard and considering things were pretty hairy anyway I really didnt appreciate a death wobble as the back end locked up.

Stupid thing was that I really thought I was coming off but all I could think of was how much of a tit I would look if I slid into the oncoming stream of bikes.

Basic principle is you don't want to be braking at all when turning, although if you must just very slightly use the back brake, although you'd be suprised how easy it is to lock up while turning.

Anyway, uhm when riding in the dry you want to use about 75/25 F/R brake force, although around town I tend to use the back brake much more as it's smoother, and when riding more aggresively I use both, although in "general" use I use only the front. Of course in the wet you want to use a bit more rear brake.

Don't forget that if you pull the clutch in it's much easier to lock up the rear wheel.

Hopefully you'll think twice about overtaking approaching a corner

ive locked up the back before when coming up to trafic lights not pressing hard on the brake. could be caused by **** road surface where you put the brake on and the wheel isnt sticking to the road enough to keep turning so locks up.

just an idea i dunno if thats what caused it but glad your ok

Originally Posted by Jamiebridges123

Anyway, uhm when riding in the dry you want to use about 75/25 F/R brake force,

Indeed... however one thing with the SV, if that if you're heavily engine braking while you've got the front loaded on the braking, even the smallest dap on the rear brake will make it lock up.

As a general rule of thumb, I only use the rear when I want to be smooth at slow speeds, and just use the front + heavy engine braking at higher speeds.

[dizzyblonde]

put it down to experience. Slow down slightly and learn how to make the SV do more braking for you.
I very rarely use either brake these days unless coming to a controlled stop. In fact I can't remember the last time I actually used the back one.
Relax a bit, and widen what you see around you. Your higher up on a bike, so can spot things that could potentially be a problem a lot further away.
As james says I was always taught 70/30 on the brakes anyway. Its always worked for me.

Someone tell me I'm waffling.

dizzy your waffling

[dizzyblonde]

Originally Posted by chompy

dizzy your waffling

well ta very much but does the waffle make sense?

[yorkie_chris]

Right.
Centre of gravity is above the floor. So any braking will transfer weight off the back wheel and onto the front.

The harder you brake, the harder you can brake with the front, and the less pressure you can put on the back.

75/25 is utter b0llocks when you want to stop quickly. Why do you think suzuki decide to give you something like 8x the braking power at the front? Just because big vented rotors look purdy?

If you want to stop or scrub off some seriously unhealthy speed then use the front brake, use it in a straight line, use it progressively and use it hard.
Dry tarmac, upright, warm tyres you will do a stoppie way before you slide the front.

Banked over, I don't use the rear brake at all. The front must be treat with respect here, and it will feel like it is standing the bike up to run wide. So it is best to brake before the corner.

If in the situation where you are hammering on the brakes trying to scrub off far more speed than you wanted to, then brake progressively, downshift as you do it, keep the bike in the powerband above 7k (you need to get out of the corner as well as around the apex), brake hard until you run out of space, then turn in hard, drop your inside elbow, look at the exit and get some gas on. Remember the bike is better than you, you will make it around the corner.

Originally Posted by dizzyblonde

well ta very much but does the waffle make sense?

indeed it does, experience is a wonderful thing, my dad very experienced and me not so experienced, he can tell what im doing wrong by just looking

experinece a wonderful thing

Aye, there is a reason for it to be there. You just got to modulate the pressure to suit