Bonneville America Forums Forums Rider Safety Forums Riding Technique Covering the front brake

I've gotten in the habit of covering the front brake lever with two fingers. It was a real pain at first especially with thick winter gloves but MSF says it gives you an addtional 1/2 second reaction time. Yesterday it paid off.

I was on a busy street where the right lane was coned off for a couple of blocks-no traffic allowed- so everyone was on the inside lane. I was the second vehicle in line to turn right at a stop light which was red. On the other side of the blocked off lane was a convenience store. The light changed and the car ahead started to turn right and a few seconds later I let out the clutch and started moving also to turn right.

A jerk apparently came out of the convenience store and turned into the blocked off lane. He was a red blur as he went by me and turned right with squealing tires, barely missing the car ahead of me who was turning right.

I hit the brakes and skidded right up to within inches of the car ahead of me. If I had not had that extra 1/2 second of reaction time I would have hit the car ahead.

Of course since I had just started my turn, my front wheel was slightly turned. Consequently with the front brake locked, all the weight of the bike shifted right and tried to go down. Somehow I got my feet down and held the bike upright. The pickup behind me came very close to smushing me into the car ahead of me.

The jerk, of course, took off like a bat out of he11. My first impulse was to run him down and have a discussion but I realized that was stupid.

Ya did the right thing. Time will catch up to that idiot.

You maintain your bike, your skills, keep good situational awareness,
but it never hurts to have some good old-fashioned luck.

Amen! Like the truck behind me stopping quickly. I've been rear ended in a car and that is no fun, being hit from behind on a bike is my greatest fear.

Yep, that's why I practice these types of procedures every week. I'll spend a good 1/2 hour keeping my skills as sharp as I can. You never know......

When I get into one of those situations that makes my spidey-sense tingle, I cover everything...
Horn button, both brakes, clutch, and gear shift lever. The brain goes into survival mode...

Goodonya for keeping your head and keeping that brake covered.

Also, there's never too much room between you and the car ahead. It can help avoid those nasty rear end surprises too by giving the guy behind you a little more time.