Which foot do you put down when you're coming to a stop?

[Whiskey]

Originally Posted by cadd

I noticed another rider yesterday. He was in front of me with a naked 650 (Gladius). When approaching the red light, he put his left foot down when stopped.

Since this is a long light, he shifted into neutral when he saw me fully stopped behind him. Then he put both feet down.

When the light turned green, he shifted into 1st and put his left foot back down while putting his right back on the peg. Mind you we are on a flat road. Then rolled forward.

So much shuffling! I wonder why he didn't just take off with his right foot on the ground when the light turned green.

It's similar to the one the Met police in London are (or were) trained in, but they never put both feet down.
Stop on rear brake, switch feet & flick into neutral, switch back & cover rear, as the light opposite goes yellow switch back, click into gear, switch & let the rear off as you roll on.

It was one that was taught in a lot of places for years, and was drilled into a lot of riders, me included.

Other forces went with different methods, West Midlands (Birmingham) used
Stop on the rear, right down, into neutral & cover the gear shift, use front brakes to keep brake light on, click into gear & right up as you roll on.

I've been trained in both, and generally do something in the middle,
Birmingham until I click it back into gear, then switch feet & cover the rear brake until I roll on.

The local cops seem to do the Birmingham one, so that's what's taught in the advanced rider training around here.

[LittleRedNinjette]

Originally Posted by akima

^ I do pretty much that exact same shuffle! It doesn't feel tiresome to me.

Me to. Noticed myself doing this a lot lately. Its easier when you're short.

[jschorr]

before this thread i never even though about what foot i was putting down or what others were doing, now i over think it. i switch it up a lot cause of the hills around here.

i tried putting down my left leg but i was giving every car around the stink eye and thinking someone was going to run over my leg any second. it just freaked me out.

i think i learned to snowboard goofy, that was a wile ago now so i just ride how i want to now. On a bike it is the same as a motorcycle, right down if i have to stop for a wile, though for most riding i just track stand and time the lights.

[akima]

Originally Posted by jschorr

i tried putting down my left leg but i was giving every car around the stink eye and thinking someone was going to run over my leg any second. it just freaked me out.

He he. "Stink eye".

[warlord]

Left foot down first, bike stays in gear and then I put both feet down with a quick departure path. You can take off faster with both feet down. I always look for dangers at this time I watch my mirrors to see the vehicle stop behind me. Only at long lights do I ever put my bike in neutral.

I ride my motorcycle like everyone in a car is trying to kill me, until they prove otherwise.

[jgcable]

The reason you put your left foot down is actually quite simple.
When you are coming to a stop you are supposed to be downshifting with your left foot to get into 1st gear when you come to your stop while you are glancing into the mirror to se whats going on behind you. The reason for this is you always need to be ready to take off if a cager is barreling down on you from behind. Once you are stopped your left foot is down, the bike is in 1st gear ready to go and you have either your front brake or your rear brake engaged (if you are on any type of incline). This is basic MSF stuff that is taught to every new rider. You will also appreciate mastering this technique when you are on a large bike with a passenger on the back. Its much easier to stop using both brakes as opposed to just using the front.

[jgcable]

Originally Posted by warlord

Left foot down first, bike stays in gear and then I put both feet down with a quick departure path. You can take off faster with both feet down. I always look for dangers at this time I watch my mirrors to see the vehicle stop behind me. Only at long lights do I ever put my bike in neutral.

I ride my motorcycle like everyone in a car is trying to kill me, until they prove otherwise.

Well said. If you assume everybody in a car is out to run you off the road you should be fine and NEVER assume just because you see a blinker on that the cager is actually turning in that direction.

[CZroe]

Originally Posted by jgcable

The reason you put your left foot down is actually quite simple.
When you are coming to a stop you are supposed to be downshifting with your left foot to get into 1st gear when you come to your stop while you are glancing into the mirror to se whats going on behind you. The reason for this is you always need to be ready to take off if a cager is barreling down on you from behind. Once you are stopped your left foot is down, the bike is in 1st gear ready to go and you have either your front brake or your rear brake engaged (if you are on any type of incline). This is basic MSF stuff that is taught to every new rider. You will also appreciate mastering this technique when you are on a large bike with a passenger on the back. Its much easier to stop using both brakes as opposed to just using the front.

The MSF gave slightly different reasoning to me. They want to ensure that you are using maximum emergency braking with BOTH brakes, which requires your right foot to be on the brake until the very end. If you are accustomed to taking your right foot off a little early in those situations where the front brake is perfectly capable of completing the stop on its own, then you may do it to stabilize the bike in an emergency stop out of habit. That's a bad habit to have.

[Bones85]

Originally Posted by cadd

I noticed another rider yesterday. He was in front of me with a naked 650 (Gladius). When approaching the red light, he put his left foot down when stopped.

Since this is a long light, he shifted into neutral when he saw me fully stopped behind him. Then he put both feet down.

When the light turned green, he shifted into 1st and put his left foot back down while putting his right back on the peg. Mind you we are on a flat road. Then rolled forward.

So much shuffling! I wonder why he didn't just take off with his right foot on the ground when the light turned green.

I do the exact same thing if I have to wait more than a minute. It's so that you can use the rear brake. Say that you take off and the traffic in front of you stops or slows down for whatever reason. You want to be able to use the rear brake in that situation because you're going so slow and slamming on the front brake while you're only doing a few mph is not a good idea. You also may need to drag the rear brake in low speed situations so it's better to have your right foot already up.

[jschorr]

isn't that simple, yes that is what the class says but it cuts down on your options in real life.

So you pull up at a light. To put your left foot down, you should be in the far right of the lane. That means you can go forward and left if something happens. (Assuming city riding)

Now say you are in the far left of your lane, this is where I stop usually, You can go left, right, or forward giving you one more option. It also mean that you can not get boxed in because your in the middle of the road. But on the same note since your in the middle of the road you put your right foot down so your not crowing the yellow line as much.

Someone mentioned passengers, personally if I was to dump my girl in the road I would prefer to dump her towards the edge not the middle, it has happened to me before because of a pot hole, she landed 3 feet to the right of where I did.

Someone also mentioned emergency brakeing. OK.....let's just say that if you have not trained yourself enough to know how to stop asap no matter what, then actually having your foot on the brake will by no means mean your going to use it.

I still think it is just preference with no right answer but like I said before, I tried putting my left down and it felt wrong. So I guess you should do what feels right.

[Kscreations08]

Originally Posted by jschorr

Someone also mentioned emergency brakeing. OK.....let's just say that if you have not trained yourself enough to know how to stop asap no matter what, then actually having your foot on the brake will by no means mean your going to use it.

See, I have an issue with this idea. Not in your point, as I agree with you here, but in the general concept for emergency braking. I might be doing it wrong when I practice but when you load the front for "almost" maximum braking ability, the rear gets really light and skids at the drop of a hat. Does it really help you to stop that much faster?

[BoBO]

on the flats I put my right foot down. Uphill I put the left foot down, while stepping on the rear brakes.

[LittleRedNinjette]

Originally Posted by jschorr

isn't that simple, yes that is what the class says but it cuts down on your options in real life.

So you pull up at a light. To put your left foot down, you should be in the far right of the lane. That means you can go forward and left if something happens. (Assuming city riding)

Now say you are in the far left of your lane, this is where I stop usually, You can go left, right, or forward giving you one more option. It also mean that you can not get boxed in because your in the middle of the road. But on the same note since your in the middle of the road you put your right foot down so your not crowing the yellow line as much.

Someone mentioned passengers, personally if I was to dump my girl in the road I would prefer to dump her towards the edge not the middle, it has happened to me before because of a pot hole, she landed 3 feet to the right of where I did.

Someone also mentioned emergency brakeing. OK.....let's just say that if you have not trained yourself enough to know how to stop asap no matter what, then actually having your foot on the brake will by no means mean your going to use it.

I still think it is just preference with no right answer but like I said before, I tried putting my left down and it felt wrong. So I guess you should do what feels right.

^^ This

The textbook answer is not always the correct one in a real world situation. We were also told this by the BRC instructors in my class.

Rider height is a factor to. When you can only get one foot or the other down flat, or just the balls of your feet down together you have to do what is/feels safest in each situation.

[jgcable]

Originally Posted by CZroe

The MSF gave slightly different reasoning to me. They want to ensure that you are using maximum emergency braking with BOTH brakes, which requires your right foot to be on the brake until the very end. If you are accustomed to taking your right foot off a little early in those situations where the front brake is perfectly capable of completing the stop on its own, then you may do it to stabilize the bike in an emergency stop out of habit. That's a bad habit to have.

I was assuming you were also using your front brake. You should always use both brakes but your left foot should be down at a stop, with your bike in 1st gear clutch in and READY TO GO immediately.

Also... think about it.. what if you are stopped on an incline (or decline). You have to have your left foot down because you need your right foot to be on the brake. Lots of riders who haven't taken the MSF will roll to a stop in neutral or whatever gear they happen to be in with the clutch pulled in. That's BAD NEWS when there is a cager barreling down on you from behind.

[LittleRedNinjette]

Originally Posted by jgcable

Also... think about it.. what if you are stopped on an incline (or decline). You have to have your left foot down because you need your right foot to be on the brake. Lots of riders who haven't taken the MSF will roll to a stop in neutral or whatever gear they happen to be in with the clutch pulled in. That's BAD NEWS when there is a cager barreling down on you from behind.

I will agree that you should always shift down to 1st before you come to a stop. That way you can't get stuck between gears. This was a newbie mistake i cured myself the first week i was riding.
And that on a incline its best the do left foot down, right foot on the brake to keep your right hand free for the throttle. But like i said before, each scenario is different. And we need to adapt accordingly to it.

[jschorr]

That's odd. I like both feet down on a decline(once stopped), Esp the super steep ones. So easy to overbalance on a hill. I have one right behind my house that is close to 40° that drops into a major intersection. It has made me good at u turns because I don't like going down it.

[Worldtraveller]

Originally Posted by LazinCajun

I put my left foot down as I'm stopping, with right foot on the rear brake. If it's flat, once a couple cars stop behind me, a lot of times I'll switch into neutral and leave my left foot on the peg for a quick shift into first. MSF would fuss at me, and truthfully it's probably a bad habit. Having said that, a lot of my riding is unfortunately around the city with lots of red lights, and getting a hand cramp is no fun.

This. And the MSF guys I took a course from pretty much said the same. Once there's at least one (or better, two) cars stopped behind me, I feel it's safe enough to shift to neutral and relax a bit.

Bike in first gear, clutch in, smoothly applying both brakes as I come to a stop. Left foot down, covering the brake(s), or holding the foot brake if there's a hill.
Before the light switches, I will switch to hand brake only, put the bike in gear if needed, then launch from my right foot.