My pre-season emergency maneuver self-assessment

One or twice per season, I find any empty parking lot or road and do some practicing. Occasionally someone will see me and wonder what the hell I am doing. Anyway, yesterday my challenge was to weave in and out of passing lines on a straight road, to see how fast I could manage that maneuver and to monitor my actions (head and body position, lean angle, etc.). I also was practicing threshold braking.

My highest speed doing the passing line weave was 27 mph. That means I could weave in and out, lane to lane, at 27 mph without a tire touching one of the passing lines. I notice that I kept my head looking forward and down, watching the lines. It is so true that where you look is where you go. Looking up really quickly resulted in a much less precise weave.

I give myself a C+ for that speed. I should be able to do 30 mph, IMO.

Threshold braking was attempted as well, from 30 mph. I locked it up for a second, at about 10 mph until a stop. I put my left down when the big bike got a little squirrely in the final few feet of that stop. I also hurt my left wrist, apparently from not bracing properly with my weight going forward on it.

I tried again, at 30 mph. I did better that time. I got a little bit of a howl out the rear tire but it did not lock. No feet down that time.

First attempt = D

Second attempt = B

I am not trying to practice to be able to replicate these attempts in an emergency, but to know how the bike feels when putting it through these motions. More importantly, developing some muscle memory, especially for abrupt braking. We all know that the best laid plans go to waste in an emergency situation.

This "self-assessment" as to skills, good or in-need-of-work, make for a safer rider and one that can respond to a situation, rather than have to react to that same situation if they haven't thought ahead to at least bust some rust off a few skill sets.

Practicing swerves - 2 consecutive counter-steer maneuvers - at 30 mph is a GREAT way to build muscle memory, enabling one to respond to idiots on cell phones, and I think I'd always rather swerve than try for an emergency stop.
Keeping the eyes & chin up - letting peripheral vision monitor the lines, the upper torso vertical and doing the "Shakira-Shakira Hips Don't Lie" while letting the bike move underneath you is the correct technique. Fun to practice and well worth it because it will save your bacon. Also, keeping speed up gives a rider more options, because once you are committed to braking/stopping, that's pretty much all you got. Just don't swerve and brake at the same time. Bad things happen....

Threshold braking - where the front tire almost locks and the rear tire stays on the deck and doesn't skid - is the epitome of the rider/bike dance. If you can do it routinely, you have a better chance for actually using it when you have to.

Again, well done to VStarRider.
Bravo Zulu.

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Practicing swerves - 2 consecutive counter-steer maneuvers - at 30 mph is a GREAT way to build muscle memory, enabling one to respond to idiots on cell phones, and I think I'd always rather swerve than try for an emergency stop.

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First, thanks for the kind words and recognition! Nearly every periodical I read, and I subscribe to MCN and get emails from Motorman, all have one thing in common: practice, practice, practice. Which, I do, though not as often as I should.

To get the bike to go in between the passing lines at 30 mph, I probably do need to get a little more jiggy with the hips. Ideally, in an emergency situation, one would hope to be able to scrub enough speed off to be able to engage in a maneuver like these I am practicing at 30, not 50 or 60 mph. That could be a disaster.


Question about the F6B linked brakes: On the cusp of locking the front, how much braking force is being applied to the rear? I could swear the howling I was hearing in the second emergency stop was from the rear. Not a full-blown skid, but the tires was rotating slower than the road speed of the bike, that's for sure.

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Originally Posted by VStarRider

...Question about the F6B linked brakes: On the cusp of locking the front, how much braking force is being applied to the rear? I could swear the howling I was hearing in the second emergency stop was from the rear. Not a full-blown skid, but the tires was rotating slower than the road speed of the bike, that's for sure.

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Well, is that with no rear brake pedal or a whole foot-full?

The front brake lever actuates one piston on the rear brake.
If no rear brake pedal is applied, then I'm supposing the front tire is braking harder than the rear, especially with the weight transfer to the front.
If threshold braking is being applied to the rear tire via both the brake pedal and the front brake lever, then yes, you might have heard the rear tire howling just before lock up.

To my knowledge, I personally have never heard the rear tire howl - I'm too busy listening for the front tire to talk to me.
I've locked the rear tire several times in practice....not a good habit...hence practicing until I got it right, then continued practice until I (hopefully) can't get it wrong under duress.

Keep at it!
Steve

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Originally Posted by 53driver

Well, is that with no rear brake pedal or a whole foot-full?

The front brake lever actuates one piston on the rear brake.
If no rear brake pedal is applied, then I'm supposing the front tire is braking harder than the rear, especially with the weight transfer to the front.
If threshold braking is being applied to the rear tire via both the brake pedal and the front brake lever, then yes, you might have heard the rear tire howling just before lock up.

To my knowledge, I personally have never heard the rear tire howl - I'm too busy listening for the front tire to talk to me.
I've locked the rear tire several times in practice....not a good habit...hence practicing until I got it right, then continued practice until I (hopefully) can't get it wrong under duress.

Keep at it!
Steve

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Sorry, should have clarified that...both emergency stops were done via the front brake lever only. I am worried that, in a panic situation, where the body becomes instinctually tense, that I would jam the rear brake pedal down and lock it up right away. Therefore, in practicing emergencies, I go for the front only which is what I want to program my muscles to do in an abrupt braking event.

Any other practice maneuvers you suggest? I am going to re-watch the Ride Like a Pro DVD and see what I have forgotten in the past couple of years.

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Originally Posted by VStarRider

Sorry, should have clarified that...both emergency stops were done via the front brake lever only. I am worried that, in a panic situation, where the body becomes instinctually tense, that I would jam the rear brake pedal down and lock it up right away. Therefore, in practicing emergencies, I go for the front only which is what I want to program my muscles to do in an abrupt braking event.

Any other practice maneuvers you suggest? I am going to re-watch the Ride Like a Pro DVD and see what I have forgotten in the past couple of years.

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Front brake = ~70% of the bikes stopping ability
Rear brake = ~30%
I'm confused if you are planning to do all your emergency stopping with front brake only.
Please do not get into a habit of NOT using the rear brake.
Even if you do lock it up, keeping the handlebars square will keep the bike straight up.
Practice with both brakes!
Cheers,
Steve

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Originally Posted by 53driver

Front brake = ~70% of the bikes stopping ability
Rear brake = ~30%
I'm confused if you are planning to do all your emergency stopping with front brake only.
Please do not get into a habit of NOT using the rear brake.
Even if you do lock it up, keeping the handlebars square will keep the bike straight up.
Practice with both brakes!
Cheers,
Steve

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I will take your advice!