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hi all - could use some tips - on occasion when I go to brake, especially if it's an emergency or - potential emergency brake/stop, i actually roll on the throttle while simultaneously braking.

does that happen to anyone else?

I'm pretty good with the clutch, so when it happens, i'm already clutching so the engine just blips a bit - but it makes me nervous.

Cap'n crash? anyone? or am i just a crappy noob?

-z

just need to practice with separating the two hand motions. maybe try keeping your grip on the throttle a little lower to start with so that you don't need to roll it to get a firm grip on the front brakes?

another thing you can try is controlling the throttle with just your thumb--leave your other four fingers resting on top of the brake lever so that they aren't actually wrapped around the throttle at all and then after you've done that for a while start loosening your thumb so that it's just the weight of your palm holding the throttle in place. i do that to kinda teach myself that i don't have to hold the throttle as tightly as i sometimes find myself gripping it, plus it really helps the blood flow through the hand better when you feel your fingers starting to go a little numb from the vibrations.

I would hit the parking lot, and practice emergency braking over and over and over and over again until I replaced that undesirable psychomotor skill with the correct one. Eventually, I would vary speed and conditions until I was sure I was proficient at instinctively making the best stop. Would be good to recruit a friend with a whistle to randomly assign when I stop. That is an important skill to have under your belt, so I review it whenever I can.

What they taught at the MSF was to roll the throttle on with the wrist. Then in order to get to the brake you HAD to roll off the throttle to reach the brake lever.

Of course, this could affect your timing to getting to the front brake, but I haven't had a problem with this.

Of course, what I think I do and what I actually do when riding may be two different things. I can say I don't have issue throttling up when I brake.

That would be a big issue on my bike.

RhadamYgg

My guess is that you're gripping the throttle too tight to begin with. Why don't you go out and consciousy think of what your doing when you ride. Look for things that you learnt to do and where you are currently doing it different.

zeligman wrote:Cap'n crash? anyone? or am i just a crappy noob?

Don't be too hard on yourself, riding a bike is an on going learning experience, the day you think you know it all, is the day to hang up the keys forever...[/quote]

One tip that I read in a mag a long while ago seems pertinent. When you make consistent errors, go to a place you can practice, then try to actually re-create the errors on purpose (as long as that's not dangerous I guess). It'll give you some insight into what you're doing wrong. I tried it once when my shifting was not-quite-smooth, and it really helped out (though I looked pretty stupid driving around a parking lot purposely trying to make bad shifts). As always YMMV.

OK, here's my guess. You're riding and tense up (feel your shoulders hunch?) you reach out to brake, your WRIST punches UP in anticipation and is now higher than your hand and fingers.

You squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeze and as you do, your wrist flattens out, causing you to roll on the throttle.

That's my bet anyway.

CaptCrashIdaho wrote:OK, here's my guess. You're riding and tense up (feel your shoulders hunch?) you reach out to brake, your WRIST punches UP in anticipation and is now higher than your hand and fingers.

You squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeze and as you do, your wrist flattens out, causing you to roll on the throttle.

That's my bet anyway.

while im now answering this nowhere near my bike - that sounds/feels right...

i practice fine, i actually am fairly confident in my quickstops - i practiced those a LOT... i ride in suburbia mostly, and know that while the lawns can lull you into thinking that everyone is mellow, the truth is that there are more maniac car drivers than i can count... ever.

i feel like when i experience the brake/throttle issue, it's a tense and multi-tasking moment.

when riding today, i concentrated on
1) keeping my wrist down on the throttle to begin with (one of my only original bad habits... MSF was my first time on a bike .... i hope that the more i consciously practice placement the more it will become natural

2) making discrete (separate) movements to throttle/brake.

the thumb thing didn't work - throttle is too tight for that.

i wonder if i should try to adjust brake lever higher up on the bars (rotate it up and toward me) a bit more to shorten squeeze distance...

thanks for all the support - man, i don't know what i'd do without being able to pick all your brains

-z

Ya know, I've heard of a lot of people that do that on purpose... As Buzzz will testify, it produces great white smoke clouds that can be used to signal fellow motorists for help!

Safety first.