Biking Do's & Don'ts

ConTRo13R · 26 Jun 2015 at 13:54

ttaskmaster said:
I'd argue - Learn how to properly front-brake in a bend!
You can do it and some schools teach it, but it must be used with care, else you risk overloading the front tyre and spinning the back out into a lowside.
Having binned a 125 doing just this, I find it works easier on heavier bikes.

Isn't this called trail braking.. a bit like dragging your rear brake through the corner for fine adjustment on the exit. Except with the front you want to be breaking before turn so the tyre is mashed into the ground before the corner so as you turn there isn't any sudden jerk of movement through the forks or on the discs. Brilliant for if your on a 'spirited' run and aren't to sure of the roads

EDIT: Well maybe not 'mashed' that sounds extreme, what you want is to be gentle and plant the tyre. Anyway works great for me.

acemastr · 26 Jun 2015 at 14:06

ConTRo13R said:
Isn't this called trail braking.. a bit like dragging your rear brake through the corner for fine adjustment on the exit. Except with the front you want to be breaking before turn so the tyre is mashed into the ground before the corner so as you turn there isn't any sudden jerk of movement through the forks or on the discs. Brilliant for if your on a 'spirited' run and aren't to sure of the roads

EDIT: Well maybe not 'mashed' that sounds extreme, what you want is to be gentle and plant the tyre. Anyway works great for me.

People actually are recommending trail braking up to the apex of a corner to load up the front... I do it if I've overcooked it but not sure I'd want to to do every corner, might work fine on a silky smooth track

Craig321 · 26 Jun 2015 at 14:09

acemastr said:
People actually are recommending trail braking up to the apex of a corner to load up the front... I do it if I've overcooked it but not sure I'd want to to do every corner, might work fine on a silky smooth track

Yup, lots of racing stuff doesn't translate very well at all into roads. People recommending racing techniques for the road must remember that tracks are checked for oil, maintained, cleaned, etc!

ConTRo13R · 26 Jun 2015 at 14:19

Its something to know, as like i said and you said, not sure of roads, corner is tighter than you thought/overcooked it, this can help keep you in your lane/upright. Not for every corner, that's just silly and asking for new leathers and helmet.

wazza300 · 26 Jun 2015 at 17:53

saw a chap with one of those green stick on mohawks today,i had to smile

ttaskmaster · 26 Jun 2015 at 18:12

Craig321 said:
Yup, lots of racing stuff doesn't translate very well at all into roads. People recommending racing techniques for the road must remember that tracks are checked for oil, maintained, cleaned, etc!

Not sure this is a "racing technique", as I was taught to do it on DAS... Done right, you can brake quite a lot and it mostly just stands the bike upright. We were taught it partly to prove that you actually can.
The skill comes in knowing how much you can brake at how much lean, and being controlled enough that you can steer against the initial direction as the bike stands up, rather than blasting across the white line.

Same for the back brake in the corner thing - Some is good, but too much will have you faceplanting the tarmac.

I use front brake while leant over a lot... but I don't SLAM them on. I just use it for control, which the bike does very nicely. I do it comparatively more heavily on roads I do know, whereas on those I don't I am more focussed on setting up before the turn. I wouldn't be using it while scraping pegs, though!!

Stovepipes · 26 Jun 2015 at 19:43

Don't give the bikers nod in London, no one does and there's too many bikers you'd be nodding every second.

Do buy second hand stuff, loads of people get into biking only to give it up a for various reasons. This means there's loads of used gear about some of it completely unused going for bargain prices.

Always secure your bike the best you can. I learned this the hard way, they're too easy to steal and someone will have it.

ttaskmaster said:
Not sure this is a "racing technique", as I was taught to do it on DAS... Done right, you can brake quite a lot and it mostly just stands the bike upright. We were taught it partly to prove that you actually can.

On your DAS? We were taught to keep our speed down going into corners to avoid having to brake which is probably sensible for new riders.

Craig321 · 26 Jun 2015 at 20:02

Don't buy Spada boots. They break after a year and they don't honour their 2 year guarantee.

One · 26 Jun 2015 at 20:18

That's the one thing I found I had to pay attention to most when transitioning from car to bike. Slow down way before the corner because if you need to stop in the corner you can't so try your best not to need to.

Do ABS systems know how cranked over you are or are they not that advanced?

wazza300 · 26 Jun 2015 at 20:23

abs is just a normal brake only it pulsates slightly so not to lock the wheel? doesn't know or care about lean angle as far as im aware

One · 26 Jun 2015 at 20:31

Is it as simple as that?

wazza300 · 26 Jun 2015 at 20:33

thinkso,ive never used abs but all it does is what youd do manually with your hand or foot,pump the brake to stop it locking (or if it locks let go and re apply the brake but as fast as you can,no abs)

Dogbreath · 26 Jun 2015 at 20:55

Do remember to lean your bike and turn into bends

On Holiday · 26 Jun 2015 at 21:00

Do not try to go through the drive thru at McDonald's no matter how large the queue is inside.

One · 26 Jun 2015 at 21:04

That's taking 'straight-lining a corner' to the extreme

McDonald's:

Sagalout · 26 Jun 2015 at 21:07

Dogbreath said:
Do remember to lean your bike and turn into bends

Haha, what the hell?!

wazza300 · 26 Jun 2015 at 21:08

Don't fix your motorbike in the kitchen,there was a chap on here he set fire to his cottage doing that

VoG · 26 Jun 2015 at 21:57

wazza300 said:
abs is just a normal brake only it pulsates slightly so not to lock the wheel? doesn't know or care about lean angle as far as im aware

Not anymore, Bosch introduced a cornering abs a couple of years ago which has been picked up by several manufacturers.

Oh and don't filter aggressively, all it takes is one annoyed plonker in a car sticking a wing out & it's bye bye bike at best, & bye bye leg from the knee down if it's really a nasty one.

Stovepipes · 26 Jun 2015 at 22:14

One said:
Is it as simple as that?

Yup, if you do your DAS on a bike with ABS you are either shown ABS working or got it working on your MOD 1 training. You just hear loads of clicks to stop the wheel locking up and you skidding.

Archeum said:
Do not try to go through the drive thru at McDonald's no matter how large the queue is inside.

I was just about to do that at a KFC the other day but my 'frunk' was full so I didn't bother.

One · 26 Jun 2015 at 22:31

I got my license on an ABS bike and never activated it myself, even on the emergency stop, and wasn't shown either. My current bike basically doesn't have brakes.