QuestionHi, thanks for your help...
I've been riding bikes for a long time now and would consider myself to be a pretty good rider. The other day I was talking with someone about bikes and the subject of braking in corners came up. For some reason I've always taken the pressure off the front wheel brake when I've hit the corner (to lower the chance of having the front tyre locking up and sending me sliding), is this what is actually taught at riding school (been a while!) or should I still be ascerting a degree of pressure through the corner with the front brake (Obviously I am also using the rear brake in conjunction with the front brake)?
many thanks again in anticipation.
Regards,
Paul
PS. My bike is a Yamaha xvs1100a 2003
AnswerPaul, please forgive me for being so late in this reply. Due to a partial state government shutdown, I was unable to access my email here (which is how I communicate with Allexperts).
Corner braking. Hmmm. There are two schools of thought: street riding, and racing.
On the street, your goal is to maximize traction at all times. This gives you traction "reserve" to react to surprises. Cornering uses traction. Braking uses traction. So, using both at once would use unnecessary traction. Ideally, a smart street rider would not brake in a turn unless it was absolutely necessary, i.e. some surprise debris or animal in the road or something that would require you to slow down. Tires only offer so much traction: being leaned over in a turn and suddenly braking could indeed cause the front wheel to lock and the rider to fall. So, get all your braking done before the turn so you can smoothly roll on the throttle all the way through the turn.
On the racetrack, the goal is to spend as much time on the gas as possible in order to go faster. This means minimizing the amount of time used for braking. For good riders, this means braking (front) all the way to the apex of the corner. Some riders even trail brake (rear) all the way to the exit, even while on the gas, for more control.
Look at it this way: as you're approaching a turn on the race track, you wait as long as possible before you start braking--remember, you minimize the amount of time you spend on the brakes and maximize that which you spend on the gas. When you do start braking, you brake HARD. 100%. Most of the time, the rear wheel ends up in the air. During this time, no turning is done. BUT, as the bike slows and approaches it's entry speed, the braking is backed off a little bit: 90%, 80%, 50%...and that allows riders to initiate the turn while still braking hard.
But then again, racers are riding at the absolute limits of traction: Not advisable on the street.
Hope that helps.
Pat
