Help me before 2nd day of the range...

P

pho iz good

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So I just got back home from the 1st day on the range of the msf course. everything was going well for me, I had no trouble find the friction point, I start off in 1st gear smoothly, didnt die out anytime, went around the curve smoothly, except for 1 thing....the last exercise...."Quick Stop"

So I thought to myself..oh sounds easy...but boy was I WRONG. Its the exercise where the instructors stands in front of u about 40 yards away and when she gives you the stop signal, you stop immediately....using the front brakes, rear brakes, clutch in and downshift into 1st all at the same time.

First attempt....low and behold...I lock the front brakes.. and I hurted my ass REAL BAD on that attempt...its ok, i recover and suck up the pain and try again..

second attempt....I did everything OK except I was going to slow the instructor said...

3rd attempt... It took me to long to do a quick stop..(i was suppose to stop within half the distance I attempted) instructor was really cool about it because she said I was still scared from the first attempt and that I shouldnt be scared of the front brakes anymore.

4th attempt..... same thing....I took too much distance and didnt stop "quickly", then she told me that this will be on the test tomorow and that it was important for me to do this correctly...

5th attempt.... I did everything WELL except....while IM braking...Im also revving the engine...with the clutch disengaged of course.

6th attempt.... same as the 5th attempt....

I need help and tips you guys...I cant seem to stop quickly enough and after locking up the front brakes... the coach said I cant be scared of it no more and that I need to trust it again...

Hypothetically speaking...if I failed to stop quickly, will I fail the whole course or is this only 5 points deduction from the test or something? thanks you guys.
 
As long as you do everything else okay and dont drop the bike I think your okay, unless you REALLY take a long time to stop.

Rear you dont have to use a whole lot, front you want to squeeze slowly and just keep squeezing harder until you stop (or until you think your gonna lock it but those brakes are not that powerful).

Im guessing the sudden signal is startling you into mashing on the brake. You need to squeeze it slower, dont get hard on it until the weight is transfered to the front.

Clutch in and downshift is self explainatory and pretty easy.

Not sure why your opening the throttle while doing it...
 
jraice said:
As long as you do everything else okay and dont drop the bike I think your okay, unless you REALLY take a long time to stop.

Rear you dont have to use a whole lot, front you want to squeeze slowly and just keep squeezing harder until you stop (or until you think your gonna lock it but those brakes are not that powerful).

Im guessing the sudden signal is startling you into mashing on the brake. You need to squeeze it slower, dont get hard on it until the weight is transfered to the front.

Clutch in and downshift is self explainatory and pretty easy.

Not sure why your opening the throttle while doing it...
Click to expand...

I am not taking REALLY long to stop...just not within the distance allotted to me...at least I didnt smash into the ridercoach...

Im suppose to do all of this while NOT covering the front brakes...but I have a natural instinct to cover the brake when Im riding at a person at 15 mph
30-40 yards away.....im really scared of hitting them...and since this is my first time riding a bike....going 15 mph seems really fast to me...

the ridercoach said my wrist was too high which is why im throttling while braking at the same time....I tried fixing that but I have short fingers cuz im only 5'4'' so if I lower my wrist some more...I wont be able to "reach" the brake in time for a "quick stop".....I dont know if you guys understood that..
 
Keep hand off brake until you pass the point where you are to apply brakes, force yourself to do this if you have to. It sounds like you are rolling the throttle as you reach for the brake lever. Try visualizing what you need to do.
 
Don't focus on failing or passing the test. Focus on braking well. It's an important skill to have in your toolbox as a rider.

If you fail the test, you get to come back and practice more. It's not a bad thing.

You're probably rolling your wrist down to pull the lever instead of squeezing. It's common; just practice. People with tiny hands can brake just fine.
 
I wouldn't worry about it. Seriously.

You made a few mistakes, but you analyzed your mistakes well.

You understand what you need to do to. You'll be fine tomorrow.
 
naw, you won't fail the whole test by not being about to brake in the distances allowed. they give you 1 point for every 1 feet you go over the stopping distance.
 
Video help:


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If you're rev'ing it while stopping make sure you keep your wrist down. Often in anticipation you'll lift your wrist up and as you squeeze the brakes it flattens out causing the bike to rev. IF YOU CAN'T READILY REACH THE LEVER or it's awkward, ask them to adjust it for you (they should be able to).

Head and eyes up! Take a deep breath before you start rolling. Good luck.
 
^^^ wow lol....celebrity? that video was really helpful....and I will talk to my ridercoach about adjusting the brake lever tomoro...thanks dude!
 
Don't let your problems get in your head. No one EVER finds Victory by looking for Defeat. Get a good nights rest. Shake yesterday off and have some fun.
 
update:

I failed by 1 point. on the quickstop...I almost dropped the bike...both the ridercoach and my classmates really thought I was going drop it but i was able to keep it from dropping and bring it back up.

no biggie...a little sad but I took the option to ride on the 2nd day of the range and re-test again instead of just taking the test straight again.

I also know what else I did wrong to accumulate 21 points and those are such small things I couldved avoided so easily....
 
Think about it:

You get to ride the 2nd day again. Then retest. Screamin' deal if you ask me. You know what to expect and what to work on!

Ain't life grand?
 
Yeah I realized it was a totally positive thing when I drove home and was thinking about it. Failing my msf course is probably better than passing it with 20 point penalties.

I also noticed that during the 1st day of the range, we started out with 3 groups, each with 10 students so thats 30 students total. On the 2nd day near testing time, there were only 22 people left....I overheard one of the ridercoach talking to another student saying "they got stuck with the coaches who are notorious for sending people home" or something. In my group, 2 people got sent home too....so Im kinda glad it wasnt JUST me. (Dont get me wrong, Im not glad they got sent home....Im just glad I wasnt the only one who didnt past today)

I just hope I get the same ridercoaches again since they already know how my bike skills are like and could help me improve some more.
 
regarding the "high wrist" and the engine rev'ing up while you're braking:

One common error is: while reaching for the brake lever, bringing your elbow up. This will cause a high wrist and usually cause you to inadvertently apply the throttle while squeezing the brake lever. You can fix this by a) keeping your arms relaxed and elbows pointed down especially during the application of the brakes, b) make sure you're sitting forward on the front seat of the bike, this will help keep your arms bent, and c) only use your finger "tips" to apply the brakes, not the knuckle or the middle. this will help with your reach issue and will actually give you better feel and control of the lever.

Good luck!
 
You could get a bicycle in the meantime, and practice stopping that quickly. It's close enough to the same thing.
 
^^^ that's good advice
 
When at was at UC Davis...I rode my bicycle to school every single day for 2 years, even in the rain, I can honestly say that Im more than 'experienced' in quick stopping and such in a bicycle....and I dont think its the same thing...almost but not quite.

I know I can do a quick stop....Im just having test anxiety because I did great during the skills practice test.
 
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