rear brake on turns

[CamDayKX125(4)]

hey guys, just wondering how many people use the rear brake when on berms or turns. ive heard and seen that using the rear brake(after pulling in the clutch) gives you a much sharper turn. any different methods or techniques are appreciated :nod:

 

[High Lord Gomer]

I try to get all of my braking done before I enter the turn so that I can (try to) accelerate through the turn. There are some guys who drag the rear brake while accelerating through choppy sections, but I don't have the control for that.

 

[HajiWasAPunk]

I 2nd Gomer's response.

Everything I've been taught is to brake before you enter the turn, sit and roll the power on simultaneously. I've heard of that dragging the rear brake through bumpy stuff but I don't understand/have the skill for that.

Ocassionally I've ridden turns that the accelaration bumps coming out of the turn were so bad it paid to just stand through the turn so you could accelarate out of it without slapping your brains out. :)

 

[JST122]

It completely depends on the turn. In most situations I will do the majority of my breaking before the corner. However if it is a steep, banked type - 180 degree, bermed corner I will often times come in hot and then brake slide power slide out of it. I think this is what you are getting at. You want to keep your momentum up entering the corner and stay on the gas longer then you normally would. You will pull in the clutch lock up the rear wheel and use the elevation of the banked corner to assit in slowing you down. As you lock up the rear wheel you want to begin turning to assist in sliding the rear end around. As your bike begins to slow and turns toward the exit of the corner you want to begin releasing the brake and clutch simultaneously while rolling on the throttle. This will assit in bringing the rear end around the rest of the way and complete the turn as the wheel begins to spin and power out of the corner. This method is only smooth and effective if you correctly time the roll on of the throttle, In otherwords, you dont want to wait until the bike comes to a complete stop before you begin removing the clutch and applying the gas. It should be a fluid continuous chain of events in which the bike never actually stops moving completely. I certainly dont claim to be an expert at this technique but this is the basics of the skill as I understand it. You could get much more specific and detailed explaining this but for the purposes of explaining it in a forum this is the best I can do for you. Again it depends on the type of corner you have whether or not you attack it like this. If you are looking at a 90 degree, or off camber or just plain flat corner, this method is not as effective. Try it on the banked 180's it is a great skill for ducking in under another rider and making a good clean pass on the inside.