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[tunnie]

£30 is half price, its usually £60! 

Got my new popup camping tent, maybe a bike trip up to haggis land in needed  8-) 

[albitz]

I tend to think of the rear brake on a bike almost like the handbrake on a car, as in I rarely use it. The only time I use it on a dry road is to tighten my line a bit in a corner if it feels like it might run a bit wide. Having said that I might be doing it all wrong, but it seems to work for me. :-/

[Darth Loo-knee]

When Tunnie was having his lessons there seemed to be another rather worrying thing he was taught... hold his clutch in if I remember correctly around corner or roundabouts.......

Tunnie it is the same as when you learnt how to drive a car, you learn when you have passed... hope that makes sense

[tunnie]

When Tunnie was having his lessons there seemed to be another rather worrying thing he was taught... hold his clutch in if I remember correctly around corner or roundabouts.......

Tunnie it is the same as when you learnt how to drive a car, you learn when you have passed... hope that makes sense

Don't hold cluch in, was taught to slip the clutch, keeping the engine busy, and applying rear brake.

I only tend to slip the clutch on mini-roundabouts now, as my throttle sensitivity is much better than it was

[albitz]

Cant imagine how holding the clutch in on corners or roundabouts would be a good thing :-/
Dont like the sound of linked brkes either tbh, if you want all that palava just drive a car imo.
A bike should be about the rider using the controls to get the best out of the machine, not the machine and itselectronics deciding whats safe. call me old fashioned.............

[Darth Loo-knee]

Cant imagine how holding the clutch in on corners or roundabouts would be a good thing :-/
Dont like the sound of linked brkes either tbh, if you want all that palava just drive a car imo.
A bike should be about the rider using the controls to get the best out of the machine, not the machine and itselectronics deciding whats safe. call me old fashioned.............

Yeap your Old Fashioned, I have seen your Bellbottoms
The only time I use the back break if I need to get rid of a little speed in a corner and to stop the tinker from flipping

[Turk]

Front brake first and foremost.
That is why most large modern bikes have two large discs on the front and just the one smaller single disc at the rear.

Also, regarding pads, you can fit sintered pads all round (as with a linked system) or just on the front with kevlar on the rear,  but never fit sintered pads to the rear only as this could cause brake imbalance.

I really hope whoever told you to apply the rear first is not an instructor. 

Ask a motorcycle racer what % of front to rear braking they use and they'll probably ask "What rear brake ?" 

[ChevetteNick]

I tend to think of the rear brake on a bike almost like the handbrake on a car, as in I rarely use it. The only time I use it on a dry road is to tighten my line a bit in a corner if it feels like it might run a bit wide.

Hear Hear
Ride a decent 2 stroke for a bit Tunnie and you will realise why you use the front brake

[Darth Loo-knee]

I tend to think of the rear brake on a bike almost like the handbrake on a car, as in I rarely use it. The only time I use it on a dry road is to tighten my line a bit in a corner if it feels like it might run a bit wide.

Hear Hear
Ride a decent 2 stroke for a bit Tunnie and you will realise why you use the front brake

When I got off 2 strokes for a 4's I thought the bloody brakes were binding

Liked the KR1's and RGV's a little to light for me... don't think they had the same Flair as the "Elsies" though

[ChevetteNick]

When I got off 2 strokes for a 4's I thought the bloody brakes were binding

It is surprising how much braking the engine can provide on a 4 stroke and how little it is on a 2 stroke

Liked the KR1's and RGV's a little to light for me... don't think they had the same Flair as the "Elsies" though

But at least they can handle a corner
I'd love a 350cc LC just for the acceleration

[Chris_H]

The reason for the big disks on the front is that they can lift the back wheel off the ground - not much point in having back brakes then!!!

I only use the rear brake in the wet to keep the back behind the  front and for hill starts.

I happen to disagree with "the system" when it says to brake and block change later instead of dropping down through the gears.  Reason:  you are presuming that no "event" occurs during your speed adjustment phase that might require an unforeseen change of plan!  Or put differently; you are not "always in the right gear at the right time" which was an old maxim.

[feeutfo]

alot of opinions and differant ways to skin the same cat, too right as well, no 2 people operate a single piece of machinary in the same way, be it cars, bikes, lathes drills...tractors, whatever. All an individual can do is use his common sense and experience.

Training is always a good idea, allowing others experience to advance yours. But at the end of it only you can ride it and take resposibility.

Personaly, i think the bike you have is a wiser buy than you/we realised . Probably the single most dangerous and common problem with bike riding technique is lack of rider confidence entering a corner, selecting turn in speed, selecting corner speed, and the easiest, exit speed. The main issue being trail braking into a corner, usually on the front brake, then, a little unsure how far the bike will lean over with the grip available, and usually in conjunction something unexpected like the corner tightening further, trail brake even more, then feel totally convinced the bike will not turn any tighter, run wide and into the weeds or worse...Or with BMW's thinking, brake too hard in similar situations and loose front grip altogether, all BMW's braking systems are designed to help the rider stay on, keep controle and prevent ham fisted and catastrofic loss of grip. BMW know thier customerd well it seems.

Problem is, it seems to me at least, non of these systems help improve rider confidence in a trail braking wide situation, and from previous posts i know its an issue for you, as it is for the vast majority early on.

As h21 says, training is very worth while, but there's more than one way to train, road craft is vital on the road obviously, but nothing in the world can give a rider more confidence than knowing exactly what his machine is capable of, he can then know what situations he can or cant get into.

Entry speed can be quite breath taking on a bike and there are several drills that can help achieve it, you wont find these in a road training progamme though, not a hope.

Make of it what you wish, examine your riding honestly, be critical, and work on week areas, we all have them. Then you start to realise, you dont need linked brakes and ABS.

[tunnie]

Cheers all 

Very tempted to take h21 up on his offer of having some pointers from ex-police rider. After i passed my car test, i went in for the car craft style thing, and i was actually appalled by style of driving, doing over takes in situations which were completely unsuitable in my opinion.

I do like the bike i have, it might not have the best image in eyes of other bikers, but i like it and thats what matters. Heck, i drive an Omega which does not exactly have a great image 

I find the GS suits my height, tried other bikes, liked the look of Yam FJR on the road, but actually on it? Didn't like it, even on its centre stand it felt way too small, and i felt i was just sat on top of it, rather than 'on' the bike if that makes sense.

I am always are speed in corners in dangerous, i have over-cooked a couple of them, and its made me wary, which is good thing i think.

Been trying to be smoother in everything i do into the bike, slow smoothly before the corner, swing in a single movement, not have to make corrections in the turn, then power on in a smooth way out again. Also trying to really lean into the corners.

Sounds like quite a few of us have bikes, when weather improves have to see if we can get an OOF biker meet going 

[Chris_H]

Cheers all 

Very tempted to take h21 up on his offer of having some pointers from ex-police rider. After i passed my car test, i went in for the car craft style thing, and i was actually appalled by style of driving, doing over takes in situations which were completely unsuitable in my opinion.

I do like the bike i have, it might not have the best image in eyes of other bikers, but i like it and thats what matters. Heck, i drive an Omega which does not exactly have a great image 

I find the GS suits my height, tried other bikes, liked the look of Yam FJR on the road, but actually on it? Didn't like it, even on its centre stand it felt way too small, and i felt i was just sat on top of it, rather than 'on' the bike if that makes sense.

I am always are speed in corners in dangerous, i have over-cooked a couple of them, and its made me wary, which is good thing i think.

Been trying to be smoother in everything i do into the bike, slow smoothly before the corner, swing in a single movement, not have to make corrections in the turn, then power on in a smooth way out again. Also trying to really lean into the corners.

Sounds like quite a few of us have bikes, when weather improves have to see if we can get an OOF biker meet going 

I would recommend Bikesafe if you haven't done much post test training.  It is all police riders AFAIK and is a good day out at low cost.  Ratios of 1:1 or 2:1 on rideouts are not uncommon.

[albitz]

Cant imagine how holding the clutch in on corners or roundabouts would be a good thing :-/
Dont like the sound of linked brkes either tbh, if you want all that palava just drive a car imo.
A bike should be about the rider using the controls to get the best out of the machine, not the machine and itselectronics deciding whats safe. call me old fashioned.............

Yeap your Old Fashioned, I have seen your Bellbottoms
The only time I use the back break if I need to get rid of a little speed in a corner and to stop the tinker from flipping

The first person in history who has needed to get rid of speed on a Fizzy.