Hey fans, I bought a motorbike the other day and have been riding a total of 2 hours. I have a braking question, and this is based off how I drive my car, do you or should you, engine brake coming to a stop? Or slow down, clutch in, shift to first and then use brakes? Or do both? And if that’s the case, in what situation?
Either only brakes or both. The reason is not really a technical one but rather a safety one: due to the different engine size/power to weight ratio, the engine brake slows you down much quicker that in a car. Combine that with a very small profile from behind and you are basically a huge surprise for the person behind you when you slow down that quickly without the brake light as an indicator; perfect recipe for disaster.
Always use your brakes when slowing down. Good practice is to slightly press the rear brake (foot) when you decelerate so the light goes on, but for now just always use the brake for everything.
Also, especially as a new rider, keep proper distance to the car in front of you. Stay safe and have fun!
Great point about no brake light being on when engine braking. That is something I’ll consider.
Yes, very aware of keeping a distance from the car in front as well as checking mirrors - I do this in my car, typically looking in them more often than the wind screen, do this is quite a good habit for me.
I’ll definitely use brakes in traffic… thanks for taking the time to reply. I’m so excited to ride…but very conscious of the dangers. I’m.in my early 40s so have all the recklessness out of my system and safety Is the priority
Ah, that are very good base conditions! I feel you; just started riding last year after having my license for more than 10 years (but always lacked the money to buy a bike) and since then, put nearly 20,000km on the bike. It’s just amazing but I’m very glad that I already have all this experience from a decade of driving a car and the lack of “urge to take risks”. Taking the bike everywhere and it is quite baffling how people sometimes look you straight in the eye and take your right of way, especially in residential areas.
I’m not a very experienced rider yet, but here’s some key points from my extensive classes (required in the EU, I can only recommend taking lessons!):
- always use both brakes. The front has the most power. Especially if you don’t have abs, practice hard braking but do so carefully, as front lockups are super sketchy but further away than you might feel at first
- if you have abs, practice braking as hard as you dare to make it come on. Drive straight and find when it kicks in (feels jittery) so you know more or less when it happens
- as others said, gently using the brakes so the lights come on is always a good idea
- engine braking is good, but only for controlled deceleration
- in an emergency stop situation, NEVER engine brake. The movement of the engine will slow down emergency stops. Pull the clutch and brake as hard as is safe to do
- always keep an eye on your mirrors, and look if there’s someone close behind before braking. Signal with a light tap of the brakes to get the light on if needed, or move aside before braking
- while you may accelerate faster than cars, due to the lower weight you may actually stop slower!
Always practice in an empty lot or street, while driving straight. Make sure the surface is clean and dry.
Happy riding brother/sister(or others which may apply)!❤️
Alot of these points I have in my mind as I ride. Conscious of them is one thing and then putting it into practice is another. Yes, I plan to practice techniques each time I ride. Focussing on certain ones each time to get better at them.
Thank you for taking your time to write a reply!
Same as a car. You do whatever you feel like. But because gearbox is sequential on a bike, if you’re in 6th and you pull the clutch in and come to a stop you’ll have a hard time shifting through all the gears to 1st when stopped. So downshift as you’re still rolling. Otherwise you do you. I like to downshift because the throttle blip is fun
Yep, cool points you’ve made. These are things I’m sure I’ll work out that suits me…always appreciate other tips and hints.
I started a few months ago. I generally use both brakes and progressively work down the gears as I slow down. You could do what you said and slow to a near stop on just engine braking, but it won’t engage your brake lights which puts you at risk. So even if you’re planning on engine braking the whole way make sure you are at least lightly pressing the brakes so the lights go on.
You could also do the other thing you said, pull in the clutch and jump all the way to 1st as soon as you start braking, but it could get you into some trouble too. I ride a 350cc bike with short gearing until 4th. The first 3 can comfortably get me to like 8, 15, 25mph. My 4th can take me basically to max speed and 5th is an overdrive. So say I’m coming to a red light so I rapidly go down to first because I plan on coming to a stop. Light turns green before I stop, I release the clutch and twist the throttle, and uh-oh I potentially damaged my engine because I just redlined it. If I remember I shifted into first I now have to figure out what gear I should be at and fumble to quickly reach it so I can accelerate. Both scenarios could be avoided if I just kept shifting to the correct gear for my current speed.
