New Rider: Downhill Braking

[Jaywu]

If Im riding on a constant downhill slope, with a lot of curves... whats the best way to keep my speed in check?  Should I use engine braking?  Front/rear braking?

Thanks,
-J

[Paulmuphesto]

i personally would select the gear that corresponds to my speed (normally 3rd/4th @ 30mph on a downhill) and use the back brake to keep it around 30 mph...not constant on i tho cause it would heat up and possibly overheat.

[Jarrett]

If Im riding on a constant downhill slope, with a lot of curves... whats the best way to keep my speed in check?  Should I use engine braking?  Front/rear braking?

Thanks,
-J

Use them all unitl you figure out whats best for you.  I don't ever use my rear brake.  Speed will get you into trouble when riding down hill twisties, but even more dangerous is off-camber down hill turns.  When riding twisties down unfamiliar hills, slow down before the turn, look through the turn, lean into it, and roll on the throttle.  If you're new to riding, take an MSF course.  Remember to ride within your limits.

[nightrider]

I like engine braking to start slowing down, let off at 3500 rpm or a little higher and switch to almost all front brake, with some light back brake.  Needless to say check speed before curves.

[The Antibody]

I use all options. Engine braking is good, just be aware if a car is tailing you. Engine braking slows us down a lot without showing it in the tail light. I use both of my brakes most of the time. I never use my rear only when going down hill. I do use my rear only when I am slowing down just a tad on flat surfaces though.

I agree with Jay... experiment with all options well under "max speed" and make your own decision.

Enjoy!

   -Anti 

[scratch]

If Im riding on a constant downhill slope, with a lot of curves... whats the best way to keep my speed in check?

Start off slowly, in a gear that's appropriate for the speed that you wish to go through the turn at.  If it's a posted 25mph road/turn, 2nd or 3rd gear should do.  You want to enter the turn slower than you think you should, the reason being is that you still want to be able to accelerate out of the turn, and the reason you want to be able to accelerate out of a downhill turn is that all your weight is on the front tire, the only way to transfer some of that weight off the front tire is to accelerate.

Advanced: if you begin to go too fast, adding rear brake while on the throttle counteracts the acceleration through the turn while still adding the benefit of transfering weight (or cornering load) off the front tire.

[Cozzy]

before you turn, apply you brakes, both front and rear, I use mostly the front brake and drop a gear,  and then gentle accelerate out of the coner, in case you need to do some adjestment apply your rear brake lightly.

up you twisty you normally use you 2nd,3rd gear, sometime you will use the 4th..............remember slow in slow out first and then slow in fast out later......

[genEricStL]

remember slow in slow out first and then slow in fast out later......

You can't buy advice any better than this  Each bike is different , as is each rider - certain things only come with experience , and you can only gain experience on your GS as long as it's not wrapped around a tree 

Once you've read all these posts with most all of the different methods , you can try them all and find which one feels natural to you . If it doesn't feel natural and you have to talk yourself through certain steps , you're gonna get into trouble eventually . Just as in martial arts , you have to train yourself to have a certain response to certain actions ... if you have to overthink it you're losing valuable time
-Eric

[Jughead]

Brakes Downhill?? Whats that.

[RVertigo]

I always use engine compression to keep my speed in check when riding downhill, twisty or not...

When I'm riding twisties downhill, first I tend to ride downhill twisties slower than when I'm riding the same road uphill.  I use the engine to set my general speed.  I use both front and back brakes to slow down and set my entry before I lean into the turn...  I generally enter a turn slower than I need to so I can speed up through the turn...  If it turns out I was wrong and need to go slower, first I try to lean harder or lean off more...  Lately, I've been hanging off so I don't need to lean quite as much...

So...  If I'm downhill into a turn, I'm going too fast, I've leaned/hung off as much as I can, and it's still too fast I will use the rear brake to burn off some speed...  Being VERY careful not to lock the rear...

In that situation, if you used the front brake the chances of you losing traction on the front tire are higher than if you use the rear brake... AND... Losing traction on the front is far more likely to drop you on your head than losing traction on the rear.



I have been in the exact situation once when I was riding 2-Up with my wife on the back.......   I'd ridden the road before and thought I'd have a little fun around a tight left-right...  The first problem was my trying to ride faster than I safely should have, the next problem my own terrible memory.  I thought the first (left) was the harder corner and the second (right) was the lighter one...  I had it backwards...  So, I took the first one slower and sped up to find that the second one was the killer........

So, I'm down-hill, going to fast, and I have a passenger.  I wasn't hanging off, so I need to lean the bike more, which I did...  I leaned HARD...  So hard that the center-stand started scraping on the road...     OK... No more leaning the bike...  I tried leaning my body off more, but I don't think my wife followed me....  So, leaning off was useless....  I was totally off the throttle as soon as I saw the corner was too tight, but I didn't want to drop a gear too quickly for fear of loosening the rear end....     I started burning speed with the rear brake, but it simply wasn't enough.

I ended up dragging the center-stand and riding the rear brake around the whole corner, but I still ran way too wide and ended up in the opposing lane.  Luckily there wasn't a car coming the other way..........  I was able to regain control and get back on my own side of the road a short time after the corner.


I pulled over as soon as I found a safe spot, profusely apologized to my wife, checked my pants for changing, smoked three cigarettes while still apologizing...  And spent the rest of the day on a pleasure cruise.

[Jaywu]

Thanks for the great advice, guys!
-J