Quote:
Originally Posted by Misti
Great! Practice will help- like Bob suggested- good stuff  what other things might help with emergency braking? Should you do anything special with your arms or lower body? |
Immediately get into a position like you discovered a small tree across the road and you were going to go over it... elbows up, back straight, "full control posture" none of this slouching and use your body weight to keep the bike upright let the bike move under you.......cruising corners is not the same thing as going over obstacles.... you need balance
....
a while back I was on the Ninja going into a corner at a brisk pace and got there a bit too fast.... the classic going too fast for what I was ready for
I didn't have enough lean into the corner to make it and I knew it....
it prompted a quick grab on both brakes, to slow me down... but now I wasn't heading through the curve any more I was headed into the embankment on the right side instead ( applying the brakes will straighten the bike up) I had about 3' of pavement before the dirt on the right side
at that point I layed the bike over to the left in a sharp lean while my body was vertical .... and it gave me just enough cornering to keep the front and rear wheel about 3" from the dirt .... if I'd have hit the dirt I would have gone down and into the ditch ....I was probably only doing 35mph on a 20 mph corner.... but I was set up for the corner all wrong and I knew it....
switching to leaning the bike and not me saved my ass that time but only barely as there was no way to lean the bike any more ....my arms aren't that long !!! LOL... but my balance was fixed at that point.
i made it through that corner with my heart in my mouth and eyes wide open thinking "You know Old timer, your out'a practice!" so the rest of my ride was much slower and alot more enjoyable.....
.... but i DID NOT LOCK UP EITHER WHEEL but the bike slowed down so much that I could have actually stopped before going off the road I think...
the Ninja has real good brakes ! I think my problem stemmed from getting off the brakes too soon..... and I made a mental note of that more braking practice is needed for me as well......
....
Bob.........