use of clutch throttle and brakes

I read all of it but couldn't find that how clutch should be used while braking ("slowing down" would be a more proper word as per as my concern)
I present a condition here. suppose you are riding at 3rd gear at 60KM/Hr and there comes a barrier.OR when going down the flyover. What would be a more prefered way to slow down?
1. Just release the throttle OR
2. Pull the clutch and slowly engage the brakes

I use the 2nd method more often. it has just come to my riding style. I use too much of clutch. someone asked about "engine braking" I guess its the same what i am talking about. also
What effect is there on fuel consumption if i use too much of clutch with brakes every time to slow down rather than just releasing the throttle. obviously brakes would wear soon but am i consuming more fuel?

When you pull in the clutch, you effectively disengage the engine from the rear wheel, making it the exact opposite of engine braking. In engine braking, you would begin by down shifting to a lower gear, releasing the clutch, enabling the engine to slowly reduce the amount of drive momentum your rear wheel has. I find engine braking to be very suitable in situations where you are planning to slow down, say when you see a speed bump or a red signal coming up. In situations when you need to stop asap, by all means, brake hard, brake often and use whatever means necessary to slow down.

I suggest you scour these forums for more on engine braking, there is a wealth of information on the topic, presented in a much better form than my feeble attempt above.

Cheers,
Shrek

You are taking your favorite corner at a decent clip, suddenly to spot a lorry parked in your side and a big, black fast SUV in the other lane.
What would you do?

What should the braking be like once you are leaned, but need to slow/stop the Motorcycle?

Yes, it does stand up the Motorcycle and once the pace slows you can steer (counter-steer) and safely avoid the hazard. (no target fixation).

Any further inputs?

2nd question:
Can one modulate the brake better by using all the 4 fingers or is it very specific depending on person to person?

Thanks

P.s- I always SEE and then go and the scenario depicted above is a hypothetical one.

In the very first post of this thread, there is a picture which says that to get the shortest possible braking distance, one should use both the brakes. then later on teh thread suggests to forget the rear brake at all. why so.

i have read at lot of places that to get best braking distance both the brakes shoud be used, ofcourse the rear should be used only slightly. the reason--
1) for however small the benefit may be ...of using rear brake also.......even if it results in reducing the braking distance by only a feet. it can sometime make the difference between life and death.
2) it prevents the bike's rear tyre from lifting off the ground. so it increases the stability.

some experts say that apply rear brake only slightly and half a sec earlier than front brake, then apply front brake the way it is told in this thread i.e. progressive breaking in stages. and after you apply front brake release the rear brake or reduce and maintain only small amount of pressure so that rear does not lock. what do you guys say...

also in street riding, during a turn if you find that you have entered a corner too fast.....just hold the throttle at whatever it is and apply slight rear brake, that will shave off some speed while still maintaining momentum and there are no chances that your front end will lock and skid.

wht do you guys say about this....a lot information can be found on google......

I'll quote one of my earlier posts from here

This 'case 2' is here to help you appreciate the effect of the location of the C of G of the bike/rider on the bike's braking performance.

Case 2: assume the CG higher by some 5 inches:

New CG height: 25 inches = 635mm = 0.635m

New ratio = 0.635/1.335 = 0.475

Weight transfer (case 2) = 2156 x 0.475 = 1025N = 104kg

Total weight on front tyre: 104 = 110 = 214kg




Thats a pretty valid technique provided you don't overdo it and inadvertently lock your rear wheel. In fact using the rear brake during a turn with the throttle open is quite useful in the hills especially when handling an ascending turn. Lets you keep the bike's energy up while controlling the speed through the turn.

i got your point that rear wheel will lock easily and so it is best to just leave it .......but my question is ---if we use very small amount of rear brake, so that it does not lock and actually help in braking......is it possible.

next question is ---

on my pulsar150 UG3, what should be the best braking distances for
60kmph to zero and 100kmph to zero.

Yes, a limited and judicious use of the rear brake is fine. The numbers in my post were just to stress on how easy it would be to lock the rear wheel and also to show the very small percentage of braking benefit you will garner by using it.

Depends upon your braking skill, the tyre condition and inflation pressure, the tarmac condition, your body weight etc etc . In short its almost impossible to predict the best braking distance for any bike/rider combo. For reference figures, just look up a road test somewhere on the net.

Good question, I can't come up with a good answer. I quickly skimmed through Hough's Proficient Motorcycling, not a good enough answer there. I will ask some local motorcycling experts, see what they say.
Hmm...I was more thinking of leaned in and then a deer suddenly jumps in front. The best case scenario would be for the motorcycle to stand up and come to a complete stop. Again I will let you know what the local motorcycling experts say.

It is very specific depending on person to person. My boss is excellent at braking (both front/rear, almost Rossisque). I always brake early, VERY early because I am not that good. I don't know what you mean by "modulate", but I progressively squeeze the front brake lever with two fingers only (my brakes are too "powerful", I can easily lock them if I apply brakes abruptly). I also simultaneously apply the rear brake (how much depends on situation).

Personally I would say brake early rather than try being Rossi.

Ride safe, later.

Bartman

So, my buddies responded. Here is a gist of what they said:
--

Stand the bike up first and apply maximum braking.

The problem with braking while leaned over is: if either tire loses traction your bike starts to tip over very quickly and you'll lose it.
When you brake while standing up, even if the tires lose traction, the rate at which the bike starts tipping over is slower (torque = r X F = less when the CoM is above the pivot point).

You can brake lightly while still leaned over but it's a finesse game. I like to think of it as Max_braking_ability = 1/lean_angle.

Take your bike to a racetrack, you will learn all this stuff.
Trail braking is the art of settling a race bike chassis by lightly maintaining brake pressure through a turn. Might work! Kevin Schwantz ( Kevin Schwantz - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) claims that the only two times he ever used his rear brake in a race he crashed.

--

I am going to a couple of race track clinics in the next few months. I am planning to ask them a lot of braking questions, I will include this one.

Also notice the use of the word "art" when describing trail braking. I have actually been practicing this but I suck at it. I am continuing to work on it but hopefully be better at it after the race track clinics.

Ride safe, later.

Bartman

Learned a lot from here... Thanks everyone who had posted their views here..

I have a small question here... Until now I'm using a 100cc bike with drum brakes on front and back and I usually press the front back once and then move to rear brakes along with holding the clutch.. Is that a good way to do it? Holding the clutch while braking is a bad way?!

Now I moved to a 220CC bike (ZMR) with front and back discs.. So what would be the effective way to brake.. I loosened the rear brakes so that I get not more than 10-20% braking power and my front brakes are very effective..

Don't hold you clutch whilst braking, this can and will in the case of emergancy braking lock your wheels, as far as I know your braking bias should be between 60-70% front and 40-30% rear for road use, practice emergency stops on a straight empty road, it helps, I have only been riding for 3 weeks, i have done lots of practice braking and have had to do many real emergancy stops and braking since. Maybe I have got a few things wrong here, if so hopefuly someone more experienced will correct.

.................

Pritish: would help a lot if you could reveal the reason behind this mystifying smiley!

Sandeep Sir, it is written that on slippery surface, one should use the rear brake instead of the front brake. What are your opinions on this and if so, will the rear not skid because of the loading factor?

Yes, using the rear brake is recommended in 'low traction' conditions. Reasons? Two:

1. If you lose the front wheel i.e. if the front wheel slides, it is almost impossible to avoid the resulting fall. With the rear sliding, the chances of recovery are still bright.
2. Since you will anyways be riding at slow speed in slippery conditions, just using the rear brake can give you enough 'safe' retardation to get you to a safe stop.