http404
Active Member
I can't even count how many times I've heard people recommend that you should keep it in gear when you come to a stop so that you can get out of the way if someone is going to rear end you. Makes sense, right? I do that as I'm slowing down, watching the person behind me for signs they are NOT slowing down, but as soon as I see that they are stopping, I switch into neutral and stop with enough gap the I still have an escape route. I always thought I was wrong to do it this way--against conventional wisdom that we've all heard a million times--but I feel a little vindicated this morning after watching this excellent safety video. Coming from sport bikes, I do heavily favor my front brake and I absolutely DO hold the front brake at a stop...not realizing what the risk of doing that was. Until now. The entire video is interesting and you will probably see a lot of good things you already do, but I'm referring to the description from about 6:30 to 7:45 in the video. That's vital information I've never heard in 40 years of riding and it will change my riding style a bit. I thought I would share it in case anyone else might benefit from it.
Coincidentally, I think a lot of NC700 riders already do some/most of this because neutral is often hard to find when completely stopped so we find it while we're still rolling, inadvertently using good safety process...just don't hold that front brake at the stop.
As with most things motorcycling, YMMV.
Coincidentally, I think a lot of NC700 riders already do some/most of this because neutral is often hard to find when completely stopped so we find it while we're still rolling, inadvertently using good safety process...just don't hold that front brake at the stop.
As with most things motorcycling, YMMV.