Braking in corners You choose your line, counter steer, the motorcycle leans and you commit to the corner and you begin to tap into the power - but you are in trouble! There is a surface hazard, obstacle or the corner itself is too tight. What now? Do not slam off the power and go for the brakes as this will probably cause the rear wheel to slide out. If this happens you will probably release the rear brake and the bike will "high side" (Find Lingo page from the Navigation Page). This is very dangerous as the bike can flip over on top of you and the rear wheel bites back into the road surface. The basic principal of solving this problem is as follows. 1) Snap the bike upright . . . . 2) Brake hard using the front brake (and a little back brake) 3) Counter steer and drop the bike again and go through the corner (the bike can probably go lower than you are comfortable with) If you are lucky the bike will corner sharply and miss the hazard. If not, the motorcycle may loose traction, fall down and slide away from you . . . this will damage your bike a bit but you should escape relatively unscathed (if you are wearing decent protective gear) Comment: The skill outlined above works well if you have chosen a good line through the corner . . . meaning that you do have some real estate to work with This type of exercise is an important skill taught at Bike School. |