BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

Hi all!
I am a new rider (Sept 07) and I have already had a "misadventure" on my '03 R1150R. I had a brain fart and I braked in a curve. (ugh) I felt like a first class jerk, but I was able to ride home. Slighty shaken, I was wary about getting out there again but reading these posts have really excited me and I am looking forward to getting back out there when the weather gets warmer.
I have spent a few days reading the forums and I am really impressed with the quality of people posting (and postings) here. All very supportive and contructive and most of all useful. I hope that I can contribute eventually.

~Eric

Welcome aboard Eric..and sorry to hear about your little 'misadventure'

These things make us better riders in the end..and I hope your weather does get warmer soon so you can get back out there.

DJ

Eric,
Welcome to our most friendly and helpful forum. As DJ mentioned “These things make us better riders in the end”, every day we learn more and it is never too old to learn.
regards
Robert

Eric:

Usually braking mid-bend is best to be avoided if possible, but also depends on the circumstances:

- If I am taking 90 degree turn and it is slippery I trail my back brake to steady the bike a bit.

- If I do a U-turn (rarely, this thing has notable absence of steering lock, and I do not fancy falling) - again I trail the rear brake.

- The list continues ....

Just take it easy, especially when wet/drizzly, avoid going over manholes around corners (but do not avoid them at all cost, it could work against you).

Use the throttle more to control the bike - gently closing the throttle a bit may cause the bike to slow down enough without the need to apply brakes.

Good you have decided to continue instead of just giving up!

Cheers

Francisco

"I hope that I can contribute eventually"



You already have!

Wayne

Eric, There are lots of local folks to ride with and learn from. Also, there are a few books out there that explain traction as it relates to braking. How are your tires? Was it wet? I live in Fairfield so if you want to ride, let me know. Take it easy, Patrick

Welcome aboard Eric. You've found a great group of riders here.

If you're stuck in the cold and want something to read, try David Hough's Proficient Motorcycling. It's interesting, readable, and might save your neck someday! Available on Amazon too!

Eric - one incident of 'going agricultural' (i.e. plowing the shoulder) should not discourage you from riding. Be thankful it was a learning experience that you could walk and ride away from!

Learn from it and commit to becoming more proficient. And welcome to the forum. Lots of info for riders and lots of friends to be made!

Welcome, Eric.
X2 on what sunbeamer said.

Good to hear you're in once piece.

The issue is not whether you use your brake in a corner or not. The issue is having the experience to know how much you can brake in a corner. There is no way to gain this knowledge aside from experience. Braking while cornering is probably the most difficult skill to manage. Think about it though, if you're going through a corner, and a deer jumps out in front of you, are you not going to brake? You may have to.

There are two important points:
- If there is room, stand the bike up and brake as hard as you know you can going in a straight line. Scrub off all the speed you can before you run out of road, and then just flick it back into the turn.
- Don't just slam the brake on. Yes you have to do it quickly but still do it progressively.

The other thing to realize is that there are times when we think we need to brake in a corner, when it fact we would have been perfectly fine at the speed we were going. Judging speed through corners is a matter of experience, and it's particularly difficult on the street, especially if you're riding in areas you're not familiar with.

practice, practice, practice.... push yourself when you can safely, so that you develop the judgment for when you need it.

Thanks for all the replies. I took the rider safety course before I got my license so I knew it was less than ideal to try an brake in a curve. I had caught myself wanting to do it earlier on my ride. The fact that I knew what when wrong burned be up. I think that I just wasn't fully comfortable (I was only going 15 mph!) and so my brain told me to slow down. It difinitely gave me more apprefiation about what a real fall (>15mph) might be like. That was what frightened me more than anything else. I will certainly look into that David Hough book. One can never know enough about things.
Thanks again!

I am confused on how you went down braking at such a slow speed. I commonly scrub off speed with a healthy amount of rear brake even while in a turn. On my test ride I was overdoing it into a turn I knew when a flock of turkeys were in the apex of the turn, I applied a good bit of rear and a fair amount of front and the bike behaved very well. It was less then ten minutes before I bought this very well mannered bike. Braking in a turn takes a lot of practice but it should be learned!!

Here is a good quick read for a new rider...

http://www.micapeak.com/info/thepace.html