PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE

First thing to learn is: above all !!! look where you want to go!

Rear brake.

On clean pavment...
Get up to about 20 kph and work the rear brake.
Find how hard you have to push before it locks up.
Do this in a straight line only!.
Once you are use to the back locking for a short distance go for longer distance and learn how you can move the bars and swing the back wheel and stay in control even with the tire locked. Similar to doing this with a bicycle.
The point just before the rear locks in the rear braking threshold.
It doesn't take long to master this brake in a straight line. Amount of use in corners is debated to no end.

Front brake (main brake).

These brakes have huge stopping power.
Same as before.... get up to 20 kph. very lightly riding the rear brake as you use the front brake for all your stopping.
You'll quickly notice that you can slam your balls into the gas tank without a problem. After that happens a few times and you learn to squeeze the tank with your legs you'll be able to learn how hard you can use the front brakes. (always squeeze the tank while riding)
Keep applying more and more front brake until you feel the rear wheel lock a bit (because the back gets lighter as you brake with the front)

Once you get a handle on that go to higher speeds.
Use both brakes and find out how fast you can stop.
The point where you keep the rear on the ground without it locking while using the front brake hard is your total braking power.

If by chance you lock the front, release it as fast as possible. Nothing will drop a bike faster than locking the front tire. BUT it is possible to lock it for a very brief moment with no ill effects.

Road conditions and braking.

Under poor road conditions we use the rear brake as a main. (Conditions such as gravel, snow, ice, grass, dirt etc. EXCLUDING WATER).
The front tire will grip well in a straight line under wet conditions unless your on smooth concrete or running race tires.
Road conditions can change in a flash!
Even pro's tuck the front wheel by using the front brake when they touch dirt. Training yourself to use the right brake at the right time will come with experience and learning to remain calm.

Which brings us to ....?

Vision.

In a car your use to looking for much larger problems.
such as other cars, kids, etc. because of this you don't really pay much attention to the road surface unless it's bumping you around.
On a bike it's a whole new ball game.
Not only are you looking for the same things but your also looking for dust on the surface of the road that's just beyond braking distance. Scanning the road surfaces close and far away. Looking into the corner before you take it (is there a hole? tar snake? gravel? water? how tight is the corner?) and planing on how to deal with it before you get there. Once you enter the corner you should be looking through/past it for the same reason.
sand or gravel=snail pace and rear brake.
You will learn to become more aware of what's around you, how traffic is moving, what the street lights are going to do and will that car turn left in front of you.

Visibility.

Beeing seen has a major effect on your life when you ride.
Ever sat at an intersection trying to turn left in your car and a van or truck is doing the same from the opposite direction?
Can't see shit can you? so you slowly keep poking your front end out to look around him/her. Sooner or later they hope no one is coming and gun it. How easy would it be to see a bike if he was coming along side that van/truck?
Impossible!
If the bike is speeding by even 10kph it's game over.
When approching an intersection and you see 2 cars both making left turns slow down and move to the right. This allows the on coming driver to see you much sooner.
IT WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE.
Stay out of blind spots. If you can't make eye contact with a driver make him look for you. rev the bike so he/she hears you and you see them look for you.
Because bikes run single headlights it's harder for cars to judge your speed.
When you see a motorcycle coming toward you, you can see their head light jiggle as they go over bumps. Use this to your advantage. Flash your high beam to get their attention and make it appear your traveling faster than you really are. It works quite well.

Corners.

The more you corner the more your tire rides on it's side.
As a new rider it's highly unlikely you will break this surface in to the point it will have the same "contact patch" (surface touching the road) as the center of your tires. Thus less braking power is needed to lock the tire.
Locking a tire in a corner is never good.
So be careful. Learn to use the brakes before the corner, ride through it then re apply the power. Even in the corners your front brake is still strongest due to the weight shift and suspension compression but if it locks up it gives the worst results...so be light on it.
As you ride you'll learn how much brake you can use by scaring the shit out of yourself and grabing at them.

Tires.

They stick a hell of a hell of a lot better than you think!
If your in a corner too fast...above all!!!
look where you want to go! lean as much as you need to. a bike will stick like glue even when your halfway through the foot peg. I know.
as your scared and leaning like hell apply light pressure to the brakes and the bike will right itself
don't panic and nail the brakes, you'll only lay it down.
or you'll bring it upright so much that you can't complete the corner and you'll hit the ditch on the outside.

I think that's enough from me for now.

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