In a previous article, “Traction Can Be Tricky” I reviewed a crash where traction had been lost during a curve. Reading that article, it becomes clear that the tires on our motorcycles have a finite amount of traction. This makes it important to learn the limits of our traction, and to develop a strategy to stay within those limits.
On two wheels, the biggest traction hogs are braking, and turning. Both are regular and routine actions, but they don’t always play nicely together!
Imagine being in a high-speed, hard-leaning curve on a country road. Halfway through that curve, a deer materializes directly in your path. Perhaps there is oncoming traffic, eliminating the possibility of swerving around the deer. You have to stop, right? Unless you know how stop properly in a curve, there’s a good chance that you’ll go into panic mode, grab your brakes and create a situation where you need more traction than you have available. This creates a loss of traction, which usually means you’re going to crash.
Watch the affect of improper braking in a curve in this YouTude video
In order to avoid this crash scenario, it becomes important to separate riding actions that require high amounts of traction. Since braking and turning have high traction requirements, good practice demands that they be performed independently of each other.
To do this, practice straightening the motorcycle out of the lean first, and then applying both brakes fully and properly. A second, less recommended technique is to begin braking gently, increasing pressure on your brakes as you straighten the motorcycle to an upright position. Both of these techniques require lots of practice, and an understanding of how to use the brakes properly to maximum potential.
Braking in a curve is a potentially life-saving technique. It should be practiced until it becomes second nature. Only then will you “default” to it in an emergency situation.
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Comments
Thanks for the article Tom. It's surprising how quickly things can go wrong if the handlebars aren't straightened before a quick stop. Stopping quickly in a curve is a technique taught in the Motorcycle Safety Foundation's Basic Rider and Experienced Rider courses, just for that reason.
So - the way to brake in a curve is apparently to go in a straight line. But the reason there's a curve is because there isn't a straight line to go in, so the plan seems to be to brake by using the scenery. Which will probably hurt. And, as such, isn't very helpful.
Why not simply explain how to brake in a curve? It's not as if it's hard to do.
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