Re: A real riding question

 
You'll get twenty (at least) different answers to this one, but the
way I was taught it  -and the way we taught it at track days-  is that
"trail braking" simply means braking well into the turn rather than
using the classic "do all of your braking in a straight line and then
accelerate through the corners" routine.

I trail brake quite regularly.  It has advantages under certain road
conditions (decreasing radius corners) and disadvantages (you wear out
the edges of your front tire faster than you would otherwise, and
trail braking requires a countersteering skill set that straight-line
braking does not).

Ready?  Let the flames begin!

 
Bryan, To me "trail braking" is a gradual "hard at 1st then softer as
you reach the apex then completely off the brakes at late apex turn-
in. Truth is, I try not to use the brakes at all on families roads,
rather relying on my twin's compression braking to gauge my apex turn-
in speed. It just seem safer that way on the street. You having an
inline i4 however must rely on some trail braking it would seem. When
I had two lower legs I would use the rear brake more to settle the
chassis on or prior to high speed sweepers or on a bike that had a
jumpy on-off throttle response like most the new ones with lean EPA
setting & without a power commander installed and set properly. I
thing track riders and racers really need to rely on trail braking the
most and with today's very linear radial master cylinder, front brakes
and SS lines it's a god send.

Bob...

 

Depending upon the radius of the corner and the speed at which the
corner can reasonably be negotiated, I trail brake with either the
front brake or the rear brake, but trail braking with both brakes at
the same time is just silly, it uses up traction that could be used
for propelling the motorcycle forward or for cornering.

I trail brake with the *rear brake only* to tighten my line in slow
hairpin corners in the mountains.

This causes weight transfer to the front tire and causes the
motorcycle to turn into uphill hairpins more easily.

I trail brake with the *front brake only* to tighten my line in fast
esses in the mountains.

This causes weight transfer to the front and increases front tire grip
while causing the motorcycle to turn into the corner easier.

I'm trail braking with two fingers.

At the same time, I'm adding power to the rear tire by twisting the
throttle slightly with the other two fingers.

This causes the rear tire to move slightly toward the outside of the
corner, tightening my line slightly.

(Some cars, like the mid-1980's Mazda RX7 had rear steering that
worked by weight transfer; the outside rear tire was steered slightly
to the outside of the corner to tighten the line in hard cornering.)

When Keith Code talks about doing all your braking while straight up
before the corner entrance and then adjusting the throttle to a
neutral setting (neither accelerating nor decelerating) he's advising
*the exact opposite of trail braking*, he's advising the student to
use the same steering geometry as the motorcycle has when riding
straight down the road.

Racing school owner Jim Russel advised his students to do all their
braking before turning, and then to *shoot the corner* in a four wheel
drift, but told them not to trail brake at all.

Skilled amateur motorcycle roadracers and motojournalists talk about
"carrying speed into the corner."

They aren't trail braking either. They're "throwing the dice" and
shooting the corner because they are *commited* to the line they set
up at the corner entry.

When Mitch Boehm said that "you can go slow in the west half of Willow
Springs, but you have to go fast in the east half of the course, or
you'll get passed."

Skilled riders were "carrying" 135~140 mph into Turn 8 at Willow
Springs, they were using their motorcycle's *inertia* to propel the
motorcycle and whilst slipping and sliding the bike and fighting the
wind, they were *throwing* 650 pounds of man and machine *at me*,
whilst I was trying to learn the course.

I had one rider brush past me doing 120 as I was trying to set up my
entrance to 110-mph Turn 9.

I started wobbling and thought I was going off the course for a ride
through the desert but I regained control.

I didn't want to risk get center-punched by such a rider, so I retired
from closed course racing after that episode.


You're guessing because you don't know what you're talking about.

Because you don't know what trail braking is, or what the brave
alternative to trail braking is: "carrying" speed into corners.

So go find a tight twisty and practice trail braking with the rear
brake to tighten your line.

Then go practice 2-finger front trail braking and throttle modulation
with your ring and pinky fingers in fast esses.

Anybody can do those two exercises in line modification through brake
dragging.

When you really feel your Cheerios, try "carrying" a lot of speed into
a corner and sliding both tires *without touching either brake*.

Make me the beneficiary on your life insurance policy.

 

Um, yeah, *sure*.


--
BMW K1100LT  Ducati 750SS  Kawasaki GPz750  Honda CB400F  
Triumph Street Triple Suzuki TS250ERx2  GN250.  
Try Googling before asking a damn silly question.
chateau dot murray at idnet dot com

 

A skilled rider can front trail brake the all the way to the apex of
the corner while applying some throttle.

OK, so you don't know what you're talking about. Why am I not
surprised?


Maybe some day you'll realize that you have a sour and obnoxious
personality and just go away.

You will not be missed.


Hopefully it's a burst apprendix, but go ahead and laugh.

Maybe you'll die of peritonitis.