RIDING TECHNIQUES: Braking No.2
Stop that right now. Steve tells us howPart Two - Braking to 'set the speed'
In part one (more here), I put forth the idea that the brake lever is a decelerator, or a reverse accelerator, which is used to regulate the speed at which the motorcycle decelerates, and sets the speed for the next thing you are going to be doing. The unfortunate fact is that many riders treat the brake lever as if it were a light switch, meaning it's either off or on, and there is only one intensity at which it works. I know you don't just snap the throttle open when you want to accelerate, so why do it with the brakes when you want to slow down?
If you needed to change your speed from 100kph to 60kph for the corner you are about to enter, the brakes can be used in a number of different ways. In fact, if you gave yourself enough time, you wouldn't even need the brakes to set the speed for the turn, you could do it just by backing off the throttle early enough. However, if you wanted to compress the braking into say, 15 metres, then you would have a vastly different deceleration requirement.
These examples highlight both extremes, from no pressure on the lever at all, to maximum braking force.
One of the exercises we do on a school day is to have riders complete an entire session without using either brakes or gears. Keith Code assures me that he developed this as a tool to help riders understand the way the throttle works, but he has this glint in his eye when he says it that tells me there's more to it than that. Think about it. If the purpose of the brake is to truly 'set the speed' for the next thing you're going to do, then wouldn't it make sense to get you to do it without the brakes first? I mean, if you don't really know what speed you want, and you can't regulate it without brakes, can you do it correctly with the brakes? It is amazing how many people tell me they stop having problems with over or under-braking for corners after doing the Level One school, and they learn it from not using the brakes!
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