I’m hearing it every day. First I see 99.9% of my students braking, and their performance is actually shockingly bad. Straight up… ‘BRAKING’ IS THE PRIOR SKILL TO STAY ALIVE. Then I ask them who taught them and what was the message, and their answers are even more shocking…
In fact, ANY curriculum of motorcycle drivers license giving institutions are telling new riders to “Stay away from the front brake when turning/leaning!” I believe that this is already a CRIME to say, because I would say that you gotta be be able to make a use of your brakes AT ALL FREAKING TIMES! But there is much more coming with this message- mental blockades which I as a Coach who is teaching the total opposite- have to remove manifested habits and overly produced fears!
Now how is that?!… well, if you tell a new rider stuff like that- you automatically manifest a certain hold back towards the front brake, which is actually our primary weapon against scary situations. The blockade is so deep in their heads, that most of the riders are not even using 50% of their front brake potential- which is another guarantee to get hurt or even to die. Besides this, it also leads them to an over-usage of rear brake which causes even more confusion and extends their learning curve… which is time they might don’t have.
You think a street rider don’t need this?… You’re dead wrong! Superbike-Coach teaches ‘Trail Braking’, a MotoGP riding technique since 10 years in Cornering School Day 3, and that is the key to lots of good things the top racers of this planet take advantage of. Priority for them… to lower lap times- and for the street rider to gain the chance to SURVIVE dramatically. Why and how?… find out in the class and learn it, because reading and learning won’t work here.
Is this a guarantee to get out of everything?… no it’s not, because there is always a ‘point of no return’, but it gains you chance to make it exponentially. Are there other schools teaching to trail brake?… probably- are they doing it right?… I don’t know. I do know that Superbike-Coach does it right- and that we have the environment and drills to do this even better. The curriculum and their message in this regard of license giving institutions has to change, because it is wrong and dangerous.
Headcoach Can Akkaya, Superbike-Coach Corp
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Yes, I'm one of those that has this fear of braking while leaned over. It's so ingrained that I'm having a lot of difficulty overcoming it. I've enjoyed your classes and track days so much and look forward to moving on the wheelie and knee down class but not until I get this skill you are talking about mastered. I'm signing up for Day 3 again and again and again for as many times that it takes until I can get this braking mindset out of my head completely.
Realizing is a big step forward. Congrats Terry.
Use your CSD repeater discount.
Come and see us in the Cornering School program.
Coach
It never surprises me what I'll learn from Coach. I've been riding for over 4o yrs and I'm STILL learning. I find for me, the use of the back break depends on the bike I'm riding. On my old FZR600, I hardly EVER used it except maybe coming to a stop at a light or stop sign. With my FJ1200 it was maybe 50/50, unless I was in a canyon then I only used it if I panicked. On my current ride, Ninja650R, I use it maybe 10% of the time...usually more around town. Point is, most, if not all, your STOPPING can be done with your front brake only. Sure, you say why not use it...racers do. Watch again...sometimes they do and sometimes they don't...jyst depends on situation they are in. And, what happens if your rear wheel cones off the ground? NOTHING!...youve just waisted energy using something that isn't helping you. So come join in on the fun...you just mifht learn a thing or two and have a BLAST at the same time...i know I do...LOVE YA COACH...!!!
I agree with you about the power and necessity of the front brake. Kevin Schwanz once said that the only time he used his rear brake during a race, he fell. I have gone for years with no rear brake due to various mechanical issues, and I'm doing OK. I prefer to use the rear brake for easy cornering and stop signs, but if you need to stop in a hurry, you have to use the front brake. Watch MotoGP, and you can see their bikes' rear tires coming off of the ground while the guys are braking for a turn. With heavy braking like that, the rear brake is un-necessary and in fact useless, because the rear tire is in the air! Front braking squashes the front tire contact patch, giving it more contact space for grip, and it also lessens the bikes front fork steering angle, making turn-in easier.
You've learned a lot with coach Tim
I would love to attend a cornering day in Willows... I'll check it out.
I was trained in a 12 hour CHP-sponsored class in Red Bluff. They taught us to always use both brakes, mainly because you want that muscle memory to kick in when you need to do a panic stop. Not sure why anyone would recommend against using the front brake... Fear of tipping back over front? I cannot imagine the amount of force necessary to tip my bike up on the front wheel. I'd probably have to be going well over 100 to even approach that.
Tom, it's not a question about speed, to lift up a rear end- more of how good the brakes and the tire grip levels are. The pic shows a drill at 25 miles an hour
That is shocking! I ride a 2015 Kawasaki Vulcan 650S... I have trouble believing it could do that no matter how hard I tried.