Trail Braking Digital Bootcamp
Unlock the secret to confident, controlled cornering, in just 4 weeks
G’day Riders,
As you may have realised by now, I’m about data and research as we bring aviation black box principles to our motorcycle riding community.
Its probably the Engineer in me.
But its not all glum, its going to be fun.
As we become better riders we get more skill, and more skill = more fun.
I like to look at problems from a height - with a helicopter and 1st principles view.
This is to avoid insanity, you know the one.
Repeat the same process over and over expecting a different result!
I feel many road safety stakeholders have been stuck in this loop for decades.
Thats why I am here, and hopefully you too, and we disrupt motorcycling together to support our Mates, Mums, Dads, Brothers and Sisters so they stop crashing.
OK, lets lean in, what problem are we trying to solve today?
Its huge and the research is staggering.
Crashes on curves account for over half of all single vehicle motorcycle crashes*
Why?
After training 10k+ riders over the last 20 years, I believe we should be reviewing how riders are taught to corner when getting their license.
Brake before the corner, lean into the turn, and then accelerating out. This is often referred to as the "brake, lean, accelerate" or "SLLR" (Slow Down, Look, Lean, Roll) method.
What if I told you that in the corner, this method reduces grip on your front tyre, making the bike less agile and more likely to run wide.
Seems the opposite of what we want in a corner?
Trail braking
First, what exactly is trail braking?
The definition of trail braking is to carry some front brake pressure after starting to turn your bike into a corner. Then, as you lean the bike more into the corner, you reduce (or trail off) that front brake pressure.
To comprehend the benefits of trail braking, we must understand how grip and steering work on a motorcycle.
Grip comes from many things, such as road surface, tyre compound, tyre temperature, and tyre pressure, but most of these elements are outside the rider's control once they are moving.
The main contributor to grip is the weight or load on each tyre, which the rider can control. When we use the throttle to accelerate, weight and thus grip transfer from the front tyre to the back. When we brake or decelerate, weight and thus grip transfer off the back tyre to the front.
On the road, we do most of the braking with the front brake before the corner entry, so the front tyre is loaded with good grip. Trail braking can help to keep that initial braking load on the front tyre, providing good grip as we tip into the corner.
The next thing to understand is steering geometry.
Front-wheel trail (nothing to do with trail braking) is a measurement from where the steering head centre line intersects on the ground to the tyre contact patch.
Motorcycle designers use trail as a compromise to give the stability needed for higher speeds while providing enough agility to help the bike turn at lower speeds.
However, the front-wheel trail is also dynamic; it changes with suspension movement and is directly proportional to the bike's agility or stability.
Experienced riders know this and use this dynamic steering trail geometry to help turn the bike.
When we use the throttle to accelerate, the front forks extend, and the front wheel trail increases, momentarily making your bike turn like a big tourer. This slows the steering while improving the bike’s stability.
Conversely, when we brake or decelerate, the front forks compress, reducing the front wheel trail and turning your machine into a sharp-steering but less stable sports bike.
Now that we understand trail braking's grip and steering benefits let’s explore how it can work in a corner on the road.
Neutral throttle on the straight
On the road, we tend to accelerate to a speed we feel comfortable with and then ‘cruise’ on a neutral throttle until we approach a corner. Tyre grip and steering are also neutral, and the bike’s weight distribution is balanced as we position it for best vision and corner entry.
Initial braking phase
Then, we shut the throttle and enter the initial braking phase to adjust the bike to an appropriate speed for our skill. You should be able to stop within the distance you can see on your side of the road.
Experienced riders typically use around 30% of the available brake performance for everyday riding, slowing at around 0.4g. This is enough force to load the front tyre, increasing grip, compressing the forks, and reducing the front wheel trail, which improves turning performance while having plenty of grip in reserve.
Turn in and trail braking
We start turning into the corner while gently reducing front brake pressure (but not completely releasing the lever) as we add lean angle. As we slow down, we allow the bike to turn on a smaller radius as the bike—still with forks compressed—wants to turn tighter.
It's important to understand that less speed equals a smaller turning radius for a given lean angle.
Apex or middle of the corner
At this point, we are smoothly off the brakes, have relaxed our steering input, and the bike is rolling around the corner on the line we have set.
Now, we carefully take up the slack in the throttle – holding the bike on a neutral throttle.
This balances out the bike's weight distribution as the front suspension extends gently.
Now, we are back to having equal grip on both tyres, neutral steering, and maintaining our corner speed until the exit phase.
The bike is generally at its maximum lean angle in the middle of the corner.
Now, we need to be patient before opening the throttle to prevent us from running wide and allow the bike to turn.
Opening the throttle too soon will increase the corner radius, and the bike will want to run wide.
Corner exit phase
Now, we can see clearly around the corner and are happy with our speed and direction; we can add more throttle as we remove lean angle, pick the bike up and steer towards our exit point.
As we add throttle, we add radius - the bike wants to run wide.
Remember, more speed equals a bigger turning radius for a given lean angle.
Other trail braking benefits
Trail braking is fun and safe and helps riders react quickly to unexpected hazards in a corner.
When a hazard appears mid-corner or the bend tightens up, you’ll already have some brake pressure, compressed forks, increased agility, and front tyre grip.
Trail braking also makes the bike feel planted in control and increases that front-end feel.
Trail braking is especially useful for tighter turns with a higher approach speed and downhill hairpins.
You won’t use trail braking in all corners; rolling off the throttle may be enough to have the correct entry speed and give some of the weight transfer benefits we’ve discussed.
As trail braking is an advanced skill, you should practise in a controlled environment until your skill is intuitive and becomes second nature before using it on the road.
Thats where our Trail Braking Digital Bootcamp kicks in on the 1st June.
In just 4 weeks, you will unlock the secret to confident, controlled cornering, and become a proficient trail-braker.
Places are limited so get signed up now to secure your spot and I’ll see you there.
Cheers,
Mark McVeigh, Motorbike Coach
References*
https://www.roadsafety.mccofnsw.org.au/a/38.html
https://dro.deakin.edu.au/ndownloader/files/37374775