Leland Kornhaus

09/26/97

Sooner or later, if you travel in an urban area, you will find yourself in the position of being caught in heavy traffic. When this happens It is unlikely you'll be able to stay out of everyone's blind spot(s). When I'm in this situation I cover a different instrument: the horn. I'm long past getting upset at being cut off or being unable to maintain a safe distance. (The "hole" in traffic created by a safe following distance seems to suck cars in like a black hole.) I cover the horn to alert those who attempt to move into the space occupied by my motorcycle. By keeping my thumb over the horn I can _try_ to gain attention as soon as it appears the driver next to me is going to move into my lane. This is combined with moving to the opposite side of my lane and accelerating / decelerating in case the cager does not respond to the horn. So far, knock on asphalt, the instant application of the horn has not failed to alert the driver of the other vehicle into action. -Leland

 

Clem Colman

06/24/97

When I first started riding motorcylcles a motorcyclist I knew recommended this habit of covering the front brake with two fingers at (almost) all times. Over the past couple of years I have come to the conclusion that I do not agree with the arguements which are used to support this practice. There are a number of counter arguements. - If you enter an emergency braking situation with only two fingers on the brake, you are commited to stopping using only two fingers. It is almost impossible to move the other two whilst under heavy brakes. Whilst two fingers do have the strength to stop most bikes, they lack the sensitivity and precision which can be given by four fingers. This extra sensitivity and precision allow you to apply the absolute limit of braking force rather than the best guess approach of using two fingers. Furthermore, depending on how "squeezy" your brakes are you may have your fingers on the throttle jamming the lever before you are at maximum braking power. - The reaction time taken to roll your hand off the throttle and grab the brake with all four fingers is unlikely to be any slower than the time it takes to release the throttle when braking with two fingers. If you don't realise the throttle then you are driving the engine into the brakes. Fairly counterproductive if you are trying to stop the motorcycle. - If the bike hits a patch of oil, black ice, etc, you will automatically tense and grab the handlebars. It is very concievable that at this stage with two fingers on the brake you may pull the brake on and possibly spell disaster for yourself and the machine. So when do I cover the brakes; anytime I think I might need to use them, or am unsure about how to proceed in a certain situation. If an unusual traffic situation etc is developing ahead, I cover the brake lever with all four fingers and wait until I can see a safe way to traverse the area. Warmest Regards, Clem Colman. Canberra, Australia. PS Needless to say opinions expressed are not necessarily those of BHP.

 

Manfred Van Ursel

06/22/97

I have my doubts about covering the front brake with a couple of fingers. The time it takes to move your fingers to the brake lever is just what you need to descide how much force you want to apply, maybe even to try and find a way around an obstacle. If your fingers are already on the leaver, a panic or reflex reaction might cause you to squeeze the lever too hard, or brake while the throttle is not completely closed. Also, I believe that having your fingers on the brake lever might interfere with trying to avoid an obstacle, that your mind will be set to braking instead of avoiding. I believe that covering the front brake will reduce the time it takes to apply the brakes, but increase the time it takes to avoid an obstacle.