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Tips,Tweaks, Fixes and Facts: The two-wheeled ownership experience, explained
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Emergency Braking 101 Even the best riders get surprised, so here’s how to optimize your stops BY MITCH BOEHM
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n March we covered the scan technique, which nearly everyone does, though not always as optimally as they could. Doing it right will keep you out of most iffy situations out there on the mean streets, but even the best rider/scanners can get surprised by a sudden-left-turner (or sudden-lanechanger) — and then you’ve gotta decide what to do, and almost always in a split second. Basically, your options are brake, accelerate or swerve, or some combination thereof, and none are easy or a guarantee of success, especially given the short time frame. We’ll deal with emergency braking here, as getting slowed down quickly can give you more time and space to react and deal with the situation — and slower speeds are often helpful 70
if you do end up being punted by an errant four-wheeler. First off, emergency braking on the street is totally different than braking on the track despite the fact that both demand technique and skill to do correctly. Unlike on the track,
pull off a perfect braking application (if braking is your best choice). The big issue with street-going emergency braking is that, while you can practice the actual braking part (we’re getting there, trust me…), you can’t practice the decision-
your options are brake, accelerate or swerve, or some combination thereof, and none are easy or a guarantee of success, especially given the short time frame. where repetitive laps allow you to plan, practice and revise your braking acumen over and over, emergency braking on the street almost always happens suddenly and out of the blue, which leaves you little time to a) come up with the right reaction (brake, accelerate or swerve?) and b)
AMERICAN MOTORCYCLIST • APRIL 2022
making element. Success there only comes with experience — or luck, unfortunately. Most of you know this, but it bears repeating: The majority of stopping power comes via your bike’s front wheel, though unlike on the racetrack, where the front brake rules
