Should you brake while turning? Motorcycle riding tips 

worst thing about braking in a corner (even smoothly) is that screaming anxiety of 'FUUUUUUUUCKK!!'

Finally, some hard, experimental data on a subject nobody seems to agree on. The conclusions are clear and definitive: as long as you are smooth, you can use the front brake. Many thanks.

Brilliant advice. I think outriggers and cornering should be part of the UK bike test. It would improve everyone's skillset

I'm 63 and been riding ever chance I got for 45 yrs but still learning more in the last 5 yrs than in the 50 yrs before thanks to UTUBE.

What an awesome demonstration. This totally clarified the technique. How can anyone give this a thumbs down??? Its genius.

An 'idiots guide to trail braking' - first clip on this technique that I've actually fully understood!

I think I've been trail braking by instinct since I first started riding and never thought about it until I started watching these videos. I was on a ride in the north of Italy recently and following a group of bikers down the twisties on a mountain pass. I noticed all of them braked fairly significantly on the straight before the corner, because coasting round the corner without brakes and then accelerating again. I gave it a go for a few turns but to me it felt a whole lot more sketchy than using the brake smoothly all the way into the turn, I just feel in complete control even if it just lightly on the brake. Seems like it's acceptable provided you're smooth

This is a great video for anyone who is planning a track day or even a rider school, because it is nice to show up with at least some braking knowledge. You guys really put out some real useful info. Great video!

one of the best videos i've seen on braking. An expert rider taking it to the limit over and over so we can see the results. So great! As others have mentioned, I'd love to see the results with the back brake progressively engaged. There is a lot of free advice out there that says that's the way to do it when you over cook a corner - would love to see that tested!!

I’m not a hard rider but get on a track day, or better still a IAM skills day and learn what your bike is capable of, far more than you ever imagined. Did wonders for my confidence and made me realise that even I could get rid of my chicken strips on my GS. Get it wrong and it’s amazing how a bike can get you out of trouble, being smooth is the key, especially so in the wet or on a poor surface.

I took my first m/c performance course more than 30 years ago. One of the exercises involved outriggers and high-speed, controlled braking. PANIC braking. Instructor asks for a show of hands at the beginning: "Who here likes to go fast?". Everybody raises their hands. Instructor: "Who here loves to brake fast?". Nobody raised their hands. We had to hit 60mph....and then lock it up. SCARY. But the lesson(s) have always stayed w/ me. FWIW: Been riding 41 years. Current ride: '87 BMW K75C. Because I lack ABS, I use a modified technique I call "Drop and Drag". I "drop" the front brake PRIOR to the corner; then release once I've scrubbed some speed, and drag the REAR brake thru the corner. This works especially well the tighter the corner. Seems to work; in 41 years, only been down once....and that was my front wheel hitting a fissure in the asphalt, locking the wheel, flipping me. Luckily, low speed (2nd gear), and aside from bruising, no serious injuries.

Practicing Trail Braking technique help a lot to be able to brake while cornering & to learn to be smooth with the front brake.

Fantastic advice and great footage on trail braking and it's limits.

Broke my fibula last saturday because i came in hot on a turn and reflex pulled in front brake in the middle of it. Wish i had been gentle. That and this video will help me improve my riding

Best way I ever heard this summed up by someone was 'don't surprise the tyre'.

Chris was my trainer a couple of years ago, he's awesome. Great video Chris. Cheers, Mark

Chris is a great guy, really enjoy his videos as he explains things very well.

i always apply gradual brake pressure before turn, continuing into corner and lean as i apply more or less brake depending on situation and speed. it's just a natural thing to do, even on my bicycle.

Nice one Chris. Brilliant test. We know this stuff, but seeing it tested and proved is awesome 👍

The rear brake is also good in a corner to balance the bike and slow you down but like the front brake be GENTLE !

Great Video!! Thanks for honesty, and realistic review on a controversial topic😎

I've always hear advice to the effects of "Even touch the front brake in a turn and you'll flippin' DIE!". And I've always though "well that doesnt make any sense", Glad to see someone test it and give a real answer.

This video did wonders for my confidence. Have always been nervous about this but now I know that if I'm super smooth, it'll be ok.

This is very good to know but another thing to know is to not treat public roads like bloody race tracks. There's no marshals or first aiders on standby on a public road somewhere and there could be a broken down vehicle, water run off, a wild animal, and so on, especially if it's blind and you're not familiar with that road. Very glad that I learned this early. For ages I've been riding up in the Brecon mountains on my own and often going so fast that I'm borderline at the edge of my personal skill level, which isn't that high anyway, I'm no Valentino Rossi, but it was just stupid. When you're in a group it can be worse, because then you sometimes ride to other peoples' pace. As riders of motorbikes, we all know deep down that you haven't got to go as fast as you would in a car to get the same thrill or enjoyment because all the elements are around you, you're exposed to the wind and are pretty much in harmony with the lovely machine rumbling in between your legs ; ) Slow down and enjoy the ride. If you can't enjoy ANY of the views, you're going too fast.

Great video, but a few thoughts/questions/comments... One: why not take the logical next step and discuss/show how to integrate trail braking into our riding technique? When to use it, when to avoid it (crap/slippery road surfaces, f. ex.). Show us how to integrate the use of throttle & brake (smoothly!) to help load the front suspension and therefore the front tire (or tyre- depending on your geography), increasing grip through the corner. How do I build that skill level when my entire life I’ve been taught to get your braking done while you’re relatively upright, before fully committing/leaning into the corner? Yes, I’m comfortable with gently easing off the brakes while entering a corner and transitioning to full lean, but once I’m into a corner, I don’t feel confident enough with the front tire’s grip/feedback to do much more than gently adjust the throttle, adjust the steering input, or just gently “drag” the brakes, trying to avoid any sudden, jerky inputs that could overcome the tire’s traction... Just as I think most of us have been conditioned to wait until we’re past the apex to start increasing the throttle, gingerly applying more as you come upright, or in really sharp/obstructed corners, as your view of the road ahead opens up... that sense of self-preservation (or cowardice?), has probably helped keep me alive for the more than thirty-five years I’ve ridden bikes, but has also limited my development as a rider- if you end up on your ass on the pavement just wondering what the hell happened without a clear understanding of WHY, there’s not much of a learning experience, or trust/incentive to explore the limits... Is there a more wholistic (not hollistic- although I’m happy to dance nekkid in the woods under a full moon with a cute hippie chick as long as she doesn’t reek of patchouli...) approach to developing this skill set for those of us who don’t have easy access to a race track and have an aversion to crashing our beloved bikes, as we get closer to exploring the limits of grip in the real world? Two: how about exploring the difference between using traction control and ABS versus switching them off? What would be the effect as it pertains to this video of having them on? I’m curious to see how that would impact those instances where the front tire let go? I’m fortunate to have a few bikes, but only one is new enough to have ABS and traction control. I know it’s a great improvement in not only safety, but confidence. However, all of these systems have their limits (and differences in capabilities), and can’t overcome the laws of physics, even if they can stretch them, so just what difference would they make in this test? You were there, with the outriggers, so surely it would have been simple enough to do an A/B comparison with the systems on vs. off? Which brings me to... Three: I want these outriggers!!! What an amazing learning tool these could be! Just for tire testing/comparisons alone- some basic data logging equipment providing hard numbers (braking distances in the wet vs. dry, f.ex.) coupled with seat-of-the-pants impressions and personal preferences (do you prefer a rounder or a more triangulated profile? These feel great, those don’t give much feedback at turn-in, etc.) could help select a set of tires that really are about as close to a perfect match for your use & priorities on an individual bike- how cool is that?!?! Then there’s the ability to explore (and cross!) the limits of you & your bike’s limits in relative safety without having your insurance company’s phone # on speed-dial or getting to know the staff at your local hospital by name (“Hi George- back again, are we? We’ve got your favorite bed by the window ready & waiting, and nurse Veronica will be by to give you a sponge-bath as soon as you’re out of surgery...”)! Never mind the fun you could have in the winter with studded tires... I’ve rambled on long enough- thanks for the great video, and the welcome mental distraction during all this Coronavirus crap! Now, back to my thoughts of nurse Veronica and that sponge-bath...

Well said. Done it this way for sixty years. You can take it one stage further, and correct the angle of the handlebars whilst you let the front brake off, and let the front wheel regain rotation, a bit of skill and experience needed, but it can save you in the wet.

Really great advice and well presented

How hard you can squeeze the front brake in the middle of a corner depends on how much lean angle you have. You have to trade lean angle points for braking/acceleration points. The more lean the less brakes and vice versa... Greetings from Germany🤙

thank u for taking ur time to show us what to do when the time comes :)

Very sensible, interesting , no ego upload. Would be nice to see this done with rear brake too and clutch out. I'll be doing an upload soon explaining why trail braking except in an emergency should be confined to track riding only. Thanks for this upload. Russ

Excelent video and Chris is as always a trooper and a great host.

Great stuff, well done! Cheers.

I’ve manned up and started to brake into corners more but bear in mind, track surface is very different to the street and to the backroad. Once you start breaking late, you’re hitting dirt on the side of the road, panic sets in and.... keep it cool everyone 😎

Super good advice! Thenk you.

Has Lorenzo seen this clip after Catalunya ?

Missing for me is one way to tighten up turn wo/ braking more is to increase lean angle. The rider was barely off center in every case. Bet if he tipped in more he could have done a lot before even needing to touch the brakes. Two things I see most often when folks see a tightening turn are either grab the brake or stand the bike up and pray for an exit route. Lean often I think a better solution. And if the bike goes, you've a shorter distance to fall! :)

Now THAT was some good information !!!👍👍

Nice video just what I was looking for

Awesome vid... I constantly brake deep into the corner using trail braking. 95% of the time I have no surprises, when I do Im able to correct them.

Had a crash last month. Entered a tight turn too fast, I panicked and squeezed the front brake too much and I wiped out. Dumbest mistake I ever did. Good thing I only suffered minor injury on my knee and wrist, and a few sratches on my bike. Ever since I'm afraid of turns and also of braking and just ride moderate speeds. Learned it the hard way.

exactly the type of video i was looking for

Although I have been riding for LOTS of years, I am always looking for 'improvements' in my skills, and discovering the advancements in technology & tires. So... there are some 'favorite curves' near by home, that I go thru often, even when just 'running errands'... and I have been practicing things like braking IN the curve -- as if there was debris in the road or an animal runs across -- to 'learn' how to slow down without standing the bike up, nor locking the front end, and while controlling the path of my bike... I have experienced 'reverse-counter-steering' when I limit the counter-steering as the bike wants to stand up, but I need to hold the line I am on, but slower. Other sensations I don't have a name for have come to light, as well. But I have found new skills, and sort of a 'game' to make even my 'mundane' riding more interesting... And each time that I can 'push' just a small bit further -- with more entry speed, or firmer braking, or even some acceleration to move a bit outward in the curve to miss debris -- I feel just a little 'joy' and sense of accomplishment.

Great video, good information and perfect length - not too rabbly! Would be great to see more of Chris. Maybe some videos on controlling front wheel lift or rear wheel spin during a launch?

Great vid thanks for sharing.

Thanks. Very useful bit of advice.

Just ride sane on public roads especially on curves,reserve the ferocity Ang aggressive riding to the race track,very helpful video sir,you got a new subscriber from the Philippines!👍👍👍

Brilliant video, thanks so much for making this. Might just save a few lives and broken bones.

Very useful tip...👍thanks

Thank you for making this video

I learned this the hard way. Should have watched this before shit hit the fan

can you please try the same tests but with abs and back brake?

There are very good arguments for braking in curves. If you must trail brake to negotiate a curve on public roads you are going too fast. And who doesn't do that once in a while? If you trail brake in all curves that you cannot see all the way around it is much easier to add a little (or a lot) more braking when necessary for safety's sake. I believe that too many riders subscribe to the notion that you shouldn't brake in curves. Practice it and all the other necessary skills to keep you alive.

Great public service video! Thank you!

Great video, please put more tests like this.

Great video!!

anyone else hate stopping on a steep hill? love your vids and very useful experiments. subbed!

Awesome. Definite thumbs up.

Great video. Thank you

Very educational, thanks for this. Do wish you talked about the back brake aswell though

Nice tip man

osm... i always wanted to know this answer. thank q bro

Your scenario is exactly what happened to me! I went to the peak district and was surprised by a hairpin, I had already been braking as I came down the hill to the bend and used my rear brake (Like slow manoeuvring) while taking the turn... it slammed me and broke my ankle. Still recovering

What you're saying has always been my understanding and practice, however the road based training courses I have attended lately recommend that if we see an obstruction mid corner, we should momentarily pick the bike upright, break firmly as you describe, loading the front, washing off as much speed as needed then tip bike back into the bend. Obviously a race track is another kettle of fish entirely, with other racers expecting you to maintain a smooth line but I think it is always valuable to know that there are other techniques.

I came from an ebike background into motorcycling and yeah. Easy braking is pretty safe. Rear braking works too. Your engine is already doing it. Don't just jump on and do it though. Learn first. Learn feel. Practice tons in a controlled environment. Practice often. You'll need it in an oh shit eventually, but while you have the chance, take it.

The "trail" in trail breaking is often misunderstood. It means "trail off" - so a strong bite then a steady trailing-off of brake pressure to the apex. This loads the front suspension through the corner until you can see the exit - so if you need to brake, you're front pre-loaded and it's less risky. I'm no expert but there are lots of great books on this :)

Tks nice vid Give us more tips on others as well

Very good information

This is great and what I expected. It would have been great if you had also shown footage that day of keeping the ABS system on, to demonstrate its effectiveness (good or bad)? Thank you.

Actually really useful video 👍

A long time ago someone told me to gently use the back brake in a corner if you need a little more or to settle the bike, though I cannot remember having needing to all these years, guess I've just been lucky.

I’ve always trail braked, mainly with the back, but I started with off-road for a few years when I was quite young, so I’ve always treated the controls with some respect anyway. Dunno if it’d work for everyone but I’m happy with it.

This was great! I'd be curious to see how different it would be with engine braking vs. hitting the brakes.

Alternatively on a road you're unfamiliar with and entering a corner that suddenly tightens up. You should already be going slow enough to stop within the area of tarmac you can see in front of you. You'd be lucky if it was a car in front of you that had suddenly stopped god help you if it was road works or, as happened to me once, a landslide had completely filled the road.

Understanding and using counter-steering is one of the most important techniques, with trail braking next. If the corner tightens, you just have to learn to counter-steer in harder and the bike will handle it. If you chop the throttle or brake you increase the chance of a crash. You mention "California Super-bike School" - just watch his "Twist of the Wrist II by Keith Code". 1 and a 1/2 hours of how to take a corner. Some corny dialogue but it's compulsory viewing for any biker who wants to improve and stay safe.

Welp my elbow and knee is **up rn after I use front brake on road that mixed with some kinda sand and rock it just slip when I turn just a little and thx you for making this video it help me alot.. 👍👍

Don't try this at home? Well I would love to give this a go as part of advanced motorbike training. I'm not suggesting that I'd reach 70mph going into a bend but practice like this in a controlled set up would be a great confidence booster and lesson in the capability of modern tyres to grip at the extreme. To be able to repeat the experience time and again would reduce the level of panic in situations which often throws fine control out the window. Off road and Wheelie school might be more obvious fun but exploring tyre grip in this way saves lives. I'd pay for that. How about it training schools?

I did this when I was younger on my 06 FZ1 just making a left at a light and a car stopped in front of me grabbed the front brake. Not very hard at all and the bike went down faster than I could comprehend next thing I know I'm in the road with the bike on my left leg, crushed my left ankle, broke my left collar bone and broke my right hand. Was standing up in shock after I managed to get the bike off me trying to pick it up so I could drive off. Wasn't happening. Went down so hard I cracked the block and completely warped my handlebars sideways.

Can you increase break pressure while cornering if you are being progressive or do you have to keep it the same/decrease it whilst turning?

Braking on corners is my nemesis, that’s how i’ve crashed most of the times but it also saved my ass a few times

Its clear to me that if you brake gently all the way into the turn then provided the road surface has good grip you can use more braking force than you thought possible.

As new uk direct access rider at a sensible 40yrs this is the very reason a am thinking about a bike with cornering ABS. In my opinion all big bikes aimed at new riders should have it as a safety margin for inexperience

What I thought was going to be a lesson in how to suck eggs actually turned out to be very interesting, thanks.

Thanks buddy.

on the street... (not track)... if im going to hot into a turn - i think the most important thin is to everything smooth - if you break, also think of releasing it if speed it fine for turning and making the turn. I have seen people breaking so hard that the bike gets upright and they are leaving the road - breaking way to much - they would have the speed to pass the curve easily. Secound thing in my oppinion is: If breaking is done - to the amount you thin you can handle it - lean over the bike .... if you fall off the bike - i want to slide out of the corner and not leaving the corner upright into the fences because i havent leaned as much as possible and maybe i would have made the corner. short - if im too fast - break smooth as much needed - next is to lean over so you make the turn --- if everything doesn't work i want to slide and reduce speed on the leather before hitting the fances and not driving into the fances. Best thing is of course - dont ride as stupid on road that you dont have any safety margin left... :-)

Of course you should brake while turning - IF you start braking before going into the turn.

You should've also tested what it would be like if you have ABS on just to see the difference

People: TRAILBRAKE ! Can't tell you how much important it is. Not only if you are behind someone who could suddenly brake, even for no reason! But also if you are alone (or you think you are)... there are tons of reason to pay extreme attention before and in the corner... and panic ist the worst thing can happen to you.

Do any new bikes (around 200CC) have cornering ABS? If not then how much time do you think its gonna take for new bikes to have Cornering ABS in/on them? (Googled it, couldnt find)

I sometimes use the front brake in a corner. No problem at all as long you do it smooth and soft. When you hit the brake hard the bike will want to go straight and upright and you will have a problem.

I've never lost a bike on a corner but I've never had a sports bike. Good information though. I'm not saying I never had to brake on a bend but I'm probably not going as fast as a sports bike which encourage speed. One corner was hard braking before I got into the corner and realised it was a 90° right turn on a Yorkshire country road with other tight corners..

Need front and back in perfect balance - without any skidding. To get a feel for this try experimenting on flat dirt surface slightly cornering gently braking front and back - the bike is controllable if the balance is across both - ease on until feel a hint of sliding then regulate one or other. Translate this feel you learn to a grippier bitumen surface. Need to practice to have been in situation before. If really too hot in, stopping in a straight line slows ten times better if possible - to slow aggressively before hitting anything. Can almost lock the front if straight on level ground.

Whilst on a road in the UK we are taught to use the limit point for our speed around any curve or bend. However once at that maximum cornering speed and needing to brake if we were on a dry road and going straight we could brake quite hard and in that distance to be seen but whilst leant over and on a bend with already using some grip due to speed and lean angle some of our braking capacity is lost and if we can only use some 60 to 70% of our braking capacity how much further would we need to see past that limit point [ say being a mere 120 ft ahead ] in order to come to come to a stop?. Also in the wet we are told to allow twice our dry braking distances on a wet road so if we can see the limit point is say 120 ft away and we are doing 40 mph., that's a braking distance on a straight line and in the dry, But just how much distance do we need and can we stop in in order to brake in the wet from that 40 mph with only 120ft of seeing distance. how much further would we need to travel in order to come to a stop? Can anyone hazard a guess. I cant but I know that it will take quite a few feet or metres of further travel to be able to stop and it will be well past the so called safe limit point. So it will bring into question all that we know about stopping distances and about the taking of bends and speeds relevant to the limit point.

Did you run any tests with the back brake or abs turned on?

What about braking also rear brake in a corner? Is it a good idea?

This video is actually about how deep into a turn you can brake, and the answer is: Pretty fecking deep. If you asked the question: Can you brake mid corner if you are on the limits and the turn sharpens, the answer is: NO!

Does anything change if you are trail braking and THEN have to apply more pressure on the brakes?

Where can we buy the anti-fall system ?

We all do actually brake on bends or rather when travelling round curves in the road we cant do otherwise and if we are gentle on slowing with or without the need to use the brakes nothing un towards happens so its something that we would do every day under normal riding conditions. Our roads in the UK are full of curves, bends and then corners. What we must not do is instinctively slap on or grab the front brake as that braking overloads the the front tyre grip on the tarmac and that is then a slide off. Not nice. Many times one can use the back brake but gently and that will not only slow one down, slowly but it also helps one to tighten the curve and possibly make the bend safer. Further one can also use more counter steering and push slightly more on the lower handlebar just a little more and that may also assist us to make a bend and come out the other side. However the speed going into any bends is of primary importance and many riders lose it by going in too fast and that could mean not coming out of it. As an example we are taking a bend at 40 mph so our good safe braking distance that we can see ahead is hopefully to the limit point which should be 120 ft or more. We then have to take into account our lean angle of say of 40 deg. from the vertical. That, basically for ease of calculation means that we are already using up some 40% of our grip level between the front tyre and the tarmac. That means that we no longer have 100% of our original braking capacity but its now limited to only 60%. If we exceed that 60% we will more than likely lose the front tyre grip level as we are pushing it over the 100% level. So we lose our front wheel grip and off we come. If we go back to our safe stopping distance as being that 120 ft. its not actually. That distance is for a car on a dry and straight road and we are on a motorcycle and leant over on a bend and with only some 60 % of our braking capacity left so that means that even if we can use all of what we have in terms of braking on that bend we will exceed that safe stopping distance of 120 ft. and maybe with moire gradual slowing and stop in 150 ft or more. That means that we have run past the 120 ft safe stopping space we had originally and have ended up running round that corner into whatever. we don't know. . So it beholds us to actually slow even more on bends , always presume or assume a hazard such as a tightening radius or stopped vehicle, horse etc. then if we are required to stop suddenly or even gradually we can stop without running out of road and neve ever grab the brakes

The MT09 has lean angle ABS. If you had left that switched on, would you have been able to brake hard in the turn with impunity?

I always ride with a GPS mounted on my dash. Even if don't need turn by turn navigation. That way I can always see what the next turn is going to be like and never get surprised.