Help me to work on my stop

[bbq]

I've another noob question for all the motorcycle god/goddess out there... 

I've been riding my bike for about two months, and somehow I still have problem with coming to a complete stop smoothly.  In my MSF class we practiced a lot of quick energency stop, but there weren't any exercise for a slow and smooth stop. Can you guys/gals give me some tips on this?

i.e. Do you use your rear brake or front brake or both to come to a complete stop? At what point you put your foot down? Do you put one foot or both?

Thanks!

[scratch]

Smooth stopping: the clutch is your freind.

Pull in the clutch, and use the rear brake to stop the last 10 feet (or 5 meters; yes, I know they are not to scale).  Put your foot down when you have come completely to a stop.  Put both feet down if you don't know which way the bike is going to fall.

The reason I state to wait until the bike is completely stopped is because you don't know which way the bike is going to fall.  But, there is a way to control this...

Usually, at the last moving instant I turn the handlebars to the right, to initiate a lean to the left.  This way I know the bike will fall to the left and I can extend my left leg to catch the bike.

Questions for you: Are you downshifting into each gear as you come to a stop?

[hmmmnz]

use you gears to slow you down and gently use you brakes to bring your self to a complete stop.
im sure you can do it on a mountian bike or bmx.
its exactly the same principals except you have gears to help you as well, keep playing with it, and you'll get it

[porsche4786]

I was told in msf to apply the front and rear brake, then ease off the rear brake as you slow. Unless you are stopping very fast, then apply both brakes to the max (without locking up) untill you stop.

[Yankee Punker]

 I use about 70% front brake and 30% rear also while down shifting so that about balances it out to 50/50. And also with the down shifting part, I only down shift the gears to second and then when you get good you will be able to hit neutral or just go to first and just keep holding in the clutch, at this time you should only be going about 5-10 mph and then just stay easy on the front and rear brakes until you come to a stop, and then I use only my left leg to hold myself upright, but if your not comfortable yet use both legs.

[calamari]

I use around 357.6% of my front brake and also 27.45% of my rear brake. never fails me

[TarzanBoy]

When I still had my GS, I often used both brakes to bring the bike to a stop (one front disc/caliper = shitty stopping power).  IMHO, that is the #1 thing that should be fixed on stock GS500 bikes.

[GSnMARAUDER]

the simple way is pull in the clutch. do a front brake and back brake simultaniousely then if you are bad on control to a full stop drop both feet and ease the bike to a stop with the front brake. but really the way to stop comfortably just comes with experiance,  eventually you will fine the sweet spots and know when and were to use them

-Max

[06GSowner]

When I need to come to a stop I just hold in the clutch and downshift through all the gears till it gets in to first, then keep the clutch held in untiil it is time to go again. I put both feet down to be safe. I usually get my feet close to the ground a lil under 5 mph. As long as you have the clutch in, It doesn't matter what your speed is when you downshift correct?

[bbq]

Thanks for all the tips!!! 

From reading the responses, sound like my problem is that I am trying to use the rear brake alone for the last few feets. I do remember initially I use more the front brake for the last few feets and my stops were smoother, but somehow I thought that's a bad habit and I was trying to "correct" it.  silly me!

How about my arms and my legs? I assume my arms should be fairly relaxed, and my legs should be tight around the tank until I am ready to lower them, right?

[annguyen1981]

I'm not sure if anyone brought this up yet...

But the reason you wanna put you LEFT foot down first is because you right foot is supposed to be applying the rear brake.  If you put the right foot down first, the rear brake isn't being applied.

[Altephor]

Do you guys actually let out each downshift as you're coming to a stop?  As in:

Clutch in
Downshift
Clutch out
etc

Obviously that's the more 'correct' way to downshift but I'm just asking because I drive a stick with my cage and never do that.. usually I go from whatever gear I'm in to 2nd and just keep the clutch in til I'm stopped.  Different on a bike?

[annguyen1981]

According to my MSF course instructors, you DO NOT wanna let the clutch out while stopping.

You want to stop, so why let the clutch out.  That'll make you go forward.

On that note...  Yes I let the clutch out.

[Altephor]

Well I mean on gradual stops, not quick ones.  Letting the clutch out would allow the engine to brake, no?  Which slows you down.

[domahmegok]

Well I mean on gradual stops, not quick ones.  Letting the clutch out would allow the engine to brake, no?  Which slows you down.

it could help you stop, but unless you rev match each gear, your going to have some jerky stops. and you dont want to have your weight thrown fwd everytime you let out the clutch.  It might also be a bad idea if you just started riding and while still having trouble coming to a smooth stop you start trying to rev match. It will distract you and could lead you to trouble. Practice the clutch in stops first and get that down smoothly then you can try engine braking.

[porsche4786]

I'm not sure if anyone brought this up yet...

But the reason you wanna put you LEFT foot down first is because you right foot is supposed to be applying the rear brake.  If you put the right foot down first, the rear brake isn't being applied.

Why would you need your rear brake when your stopped? Unless you don't have your front brake on.

According to my MSF course instructors, you DO NOT wanna let the clutch out while stopping.

You want to stop, so why let the clutch out. That'll make you go forward.

On that note... Yes I let the clutch out.

Well, I think you want to have the cluth out mostly because you want the engine to help you slow down, shifting thru the gears also helps. If you just pull it in you will need to apply more brakes.

[Altephor]

It's also been kinda difficult because I've been having trouble clicking down rapidly.. (by the way this is all happening in a parking lot due to my little 'situation').  In my car it's no problem to pull it straight from 4th to 2nd but clicking down from 4th to 1st quickly is giving me problems.

[PapaFox]

Hmmm, my bike seems to be able to shift as quick as I can when down shifting. Sounds stupid, I know, but I mean, as quick as I jump on the lever, it never seems to hang onto the last gear. This is while holding the clutch in the whole time during a hard brake to a stop.

[pandy]

bbq:

Take all the good suggestions here to the parking lot, and practice a hundred times or so (basically, until you're exhausted, but still have enough energy to still be upright). Do this for a week, and I guarantee that you'll be a lot smoother stopping (ask me how I know this  ).   

[bbq]

Take all the good suggestions here to the parking lot, and practice a hundred times or so (basically, until you're exhausted, but still have enough energy to still be upright). Do this for a week, and I guarantee that you'll be a lot smoother stopping (ask me how I know this  ).   

Thanks! Luckily there is a hugh parking lot near my home that is always empty during the weekend, so I'll go practice as much as I can. However this morning on my ride to work I'm already feeling a lot better about my stops! 

You guys/gals are great!!!