Trail braking vs conventional corners

[andyvh1959]

A few comments from a rider/teacher, 28 years as a MSF instructor, six years as an advanced skills instructor, Street Skills rider courses on the small track at Road America:

Foremost, ANY comments about techniques taught in the commonly available MSF rider courses is only a BEGINNER rider course technique. The MSF BRC is structured to teach very basic techniques to a very broad scope of riders, especially for brand new riders with no concepts of motorcycle control. And all done within only ten hours of riding on a flat level parking lot. The MSF BRC is intended to get enough basic riding skills to survive the first six months of riding, from which the real learning begins.

Trail braking is not just using the rear brake or applying just the rear brake into a corner. Trail braking is not just intended for slow speed tight maneuvers. In fact, slow speed tight maneuvers is NOT trail braking at all. Trail braking is a method to apply braking into and almost to the apex of the turn, in a way to minimize weight load changes (front to rear) on the chassis. On some bikes trail braking (both front and rear brake) causes the entire bike to squat down slightly and evenly, which shortens the wheelbase slightly while maintaining fork angle/trail, and can cause the bike to turn in more quickly. In fact trail braking both front and rear brakes is primarily a chassis stability technique. What can't be stressed enough, like Nick Ienatsch says over and over, is STEADY loading, especially at the front tire. Anything that is done to create and apply steady, linear, progressive loading at the front tire is what builds cornering confidence, and gives consistent cornering results. Steady consistent actions of throttle and brakes effectively "presses" the tire contact patches into the surface in turns. That, and current technology tires actually tend to increase tire contact patch size as the tires are leaned into a turn even up to significant lean angles.

Trail braking is applying both front and rear brakes, with a steady throttle applied, to get the entire chassis to squat down evenly into a turn to the apex point, at which the brakes are evenly let off while the throttle is rolled on. Again, mostly done to maintain consistent chassis geometry into and through the turn. And yes, it is a complicated advanced technique, probably not needed for most general riding. However, riding twisty mountain roads is a non-track environment to use effective trail braking.

The MSF BRC technique is just that, a Beginner Rider Course technique. It is not the only way to do braking for cornering/leaning. But I can attest that after 28 years of teaching MSF classes it is by FAR the easiest most effective way to teach set up for cornering/leaning. And for a LOT of riders I've experienced in those 28 years is that many riders can just learn the MSF technique within the timeframe given for the BRC. To effectively teach trail braking, especially to brand new riders, requires FAR more time than allowed for the 16 hour BRC.

The MSF ARC, Advanced Rider Course, does teach some aspects of trail braking, as much as can be applied safely on a parking lot range with mostly hesitant riders on their own bikes. To really learn trail braking take the Lee Parks Total Control rider course.

Dragging the rear brake only, and NO front brake at all, during slow speed tight maneuvers and U-turns IS a very effective method. Watch the tight maneuver youtube videos of officers, or Ride Like a Pro, and the riders drag the rear brake, use the clutch/friction zone and throttle, and strong visual control. But they are not using trail braking.