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Braking Techniques To Help You Slow Down Faster
In my early days of riding I had no concept of proper braking techniques. I used to sit down most of the time, often resulting in my crown jewels receiving a royal beating over the petrol tank. Not fun. Then I started watching the good riders and how they positioned themselves when leading up to corners. Ah-ha! With a few words of wisdom from a couple of fellow riders, and some practice of course, I found myself slowing down a whole lot smoother and faster.
Line selection is important. You want to choose the smoothest and hardest piece of ground - though this is not always possible or realistic.- Stand on your bike, in the
central standing position
- but have your weight towards the rear.
- Grip your bike firmly with your knees. This prevents you from bouncing off the foot pegs over rough terrain and/or moving to the front of your bike.
- Use the front and rear brakes smoothly together. Your front brake will be doing most of the work because of your forward momentum. Try not to lock up the wheels, esp. the front as this can slip out and kick you off. If you do lock up the front wheel, ease off the front brake to get the wheel turning again. Otherwise you may end up with your face in the dirt.
- Change down the gears to assist you in slowing down. This is more relevant with four strokes - if you're not sure why, ride one... you'll soon find out. This also sets you up to be in the right gear to accelerate out of a corner.
I'll say it again, if you really want to improve your riding, and ride safer, learn the correct techniques and apply them! Gary Semics MX Technique Downloads is probably the cheapest, and best program available. Take the time to watch them and watch your riding skills fire up.
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