So is it better to t-bone acage that has stopped in the middle of the intersection in front of you or lay it down and take the slide? This is saying you know that you don't have the distance to come to a complete stop before you get to the vehicle in the intersection. Particularly if you are 2 up and know the passenger will do a flying Whalenda impersonation if you t-bone the cage.

 

Actually....yes.

In police motor school they explained that exact scenario in excruciating detail complete with accident investigation photos and lectures from motor officers from multiple agencies who had been in accidents. Here is their findings.

When you lay a bike down, you give up everything, tires, traction, brakes and control, since none of those are now in use. You and your bike are just sliding along the ground, metal and plastic on pavement.Sayyou go down at 30mph at a distance of XYZ from a car. For that distance of XYZ, you WILL hit that car at 30mph because there is NOTHING actively slowing you down. You are sliding a bike across the ground, not braking. You may scrub off a little speed, but nowhere near what you could if you had braked. You are Michelle Kwan on ice skates sliding across the pavement. Now hold that thought, and consider..... Good threshold combination braking under that same scenario.

A car pulls out in front of you while you are going 30mph. You apply good threshold combination braking, and for XYZ you go 30, 25, 20mph- hit the car. I would rather hit a car at 20mph, than 30mph. That's 10mph less energy and damage you will have to experience. I would rather get hit by a 60mph fastball, than a 90mph fastball.

Here is what else they found. When you lay the bike down, you loose the horizon and can no longer see. While you are upright and braking, you can see what you are going to hit. They interviewed a lot of officers, and most were able to pick which part of the car to hit. The front and sail over the hood, the rear and sail over the trunk. Some said they were able to see over the cars enough to even pick a landing spot on the other side. One officer said that upon impact he was able to jump over the hood of the car, land on his feet, take three large running steps before falling and sliding to a stop. Those that laid it down saw nothing.

Impact. Those that hit the cars and sailed, benefitted from a slight reduction in speed from the impact alone, in other words the impact helped slow them down just a tad more before landing. Those that laid it down had no such benefit because the impact often kicked the bike back over on top of them crushing them further. Sometimes those that laid it and slid experienced a tire, or some other part of the bike suddenly catch the road and catapault them over the bike crushing them between the car and the bike like a sandwich. Those officers that sailed over the cars, benefitted from the protection of clothing, jackets, pants, boots, all that stuff that absorbed energy and kept them protected as the slid the final few yards to a stop.

Those officers that braked right up to impact usually suffered from bumps, bruises, road rash, and a broken right wrist caused by keeping the front brake applied up to impact. There was not as many reports of internal injuries versus the officers that laid it down and went from 30mph to 0 mph at point of impact.

There is no police motor school today that endorses "laying the bike down", EVER!
That is what I was taught, that is what I will do.
Those who do not agree and still prefer to lock up the rear brake and "lay it down" can do as they please.

 

Great post paniolo.

 

Good info, well written.

 

I locked up the rear once and started to skid sideways, the read end sliding to my right, i let off the brakes and the bike was already going left, so i went around the suddenly stopped car. i was only going 15-20MPH, not fast enough for that skid to make me bail.

since then i keep an eye out for openings in situations, just today on the freeway i was pulling 55, and had maybe 40 feet space between me and the car in front, and he suddenly slowed fast, all i could do was swerve in between lanes and use that space to slow to safe speed and then get back in line, i dont normally share lanes, even if it does save time on the freeways.

 

That's some great information, Paniolo. That exact scenerio happened to once when a Suburban pulld out from a gas station and stopped sideways across both lanes in the road as I was going about 30 mph. I locked up the rear brake and since the road was smooth asphalt the rear end began fishtailing. Luckily the front brake on my SofTail didn't lock up (it's so crappy it acts like ABS- impossible to lock up) so I was able to maintain control and stopped just short. I remember clearly seeing the driver and the look on his face frozen in fear and stupidity. I remember looking for the best place to hit the Suburban because it was too big to go around and blocked the entire road. Luckily I stopped in time, but it sure did rattle me.
Your post did a great job explaining the situation. Thanks for the information.

 

Excellent post, great replies! I feel compelled to add my 2 cents.
The real trick, the hardest part in an emergence stop is NOT TO LOCK THE REAR WHEEL! As soon as a wheel locks, you are beginning to loose control. You need to be in touch with your bike, know the instant when that rear wheel locks up and if you catch it immediately its best to release and reapply the rear brake.
It has happened to me twice, rural backroads following too close and a car suddenly stops to turn in a driveway with no signals or slows downfor some reason. Both times I hit both brakes hard andrear too hard, and locked the rear wheel. I was fortunate to have enough "feel" to know immediately the rear wheel was locked and released prior to "angling" too far.

 

In a serious scare,your instincts take over,that is when you need the best brakes and the experience to know how to avoid bodily harm.

 

Both times it was my own stupidity. Followin too close, itchin and lookin for an opportunity to pass then HOLY CRAP! I am glad I do not have double front rotors, or overly strong front brakes. I have hit it very hard, effective for sure but never had the front wheel lock. Close calls, and learnin from them, build skills and make ya a better, safer rider IMO

 

Exactly,

And that's where regular practice comes in. A lot of riders don't practice, they just ride their bike. There is nothing wrong with that, except thatthey are not doing anything active to keep their skills and instincts from erroding. If there is one skill that should be practiced regularly (once a month weather permitting), it is good threshold combination braking. Bringing both brakes to the point of imminent lock up WITHOUT locking them up. Like the man said earlier getting a feel for the bike and what it does. Good instincts only comes from experience. Sadly, those who do not ride their motorcycles a lot lack that experience andoften go back to what iscalled "driving a car". When something pulls out in front of them, the do on their bike, what they do in their car, slam on the foot brake and ignore the front brake. Thenthat screeeeching sound from the rear, along with the rear end sliding around to the right, may cause an inexperienced rider to release the rear brake causing a highside. So practice braking, using both brakes in combination with a progressive application, and all four fingers on the lever. All you need is 20mph. Do it over and over again until you have built up enough muscle memory that it is an instinctive natural reaction.

ABS. ABS is excellent, but do NOT let is become a panacea of your mind to the point that you feel you do not have to practice braking. You still need to practice keeping your head and eyes up and gently pressing the palms of both hands forward onthe bars to keep your body from leaning forward into the tank as the nose of the bike dives down from weight transfer.You still need to practice rolling off the throttle, and wrapping all four fingers around the lever and usinga progressive squeeze. You still need to practice downshift-stop-left foot down, keeping the clutch pulled in. Do not compression brake (for emergency stops). Police departments with ABS equipped bikes, BMWs and HDs, still requiretheir motor officers to regularly practice braking.

All that other full lock, lean the bike, drag the boards stuff I teachmakes you lookrealnice when pulling into the Starbucks parking lot, but good threshold combination braking skills is what is going make the difference when someone pulls out in front of you.