Two or four fingers?

[52pickup]

I just "graduated" from the BRC course here in NY. I had the same warning you all have spoken of. Part of my problem breaking this habit has been the fact that I do a lot of human powered biking too. So I am working on doing all the "right" techniques of powered riding.

I have no idea what throttle blipping is, sounds sexy though.

One other comment. The BRC has made me a much more aware cager. Paying more attention to my driving technique and my surroundings - although it's tough keeping 4/4 on my brake and clutch. Cheers!

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

I just "graduated" from the BRC course here in NY. I had the same warning you all have spoken of. Part of my problem breaking this habit has been the fact that I do a lot of human powered biking too. So I am working on doing all the "right" techniques of powered riding.

I have no idea what throttle blipping is, sounds sexy though.

One other comment. The BRC has made me a much more aware cager. Paying more attention to my driving technique and my surroundings - although it's tough keeping 4/4 on my brake and clutch. Cheers!

Ride as if your invisable and always have an "out" (escape route)!

 

[Carlos840]

I just "graduated" from the BRC course here in NY. I had the same warning you all have spoken of. Part of my problem breaking this habit has been the fact that I do a lot of human powered biking too. So I am working on doing all the "right" techniques of powered riding.

I have no idea what throttle blipping is, sounds sexy though.

One other comment. The BRC has made me a much more aware cager. Paying more attention to my driving technique and my surroundings - although it's tough keeping 4/4 on my brake and clutch. Cheers!

Just youtube throttle blipping, there are a lot of good videos explaining it in depth, it is also explained well in "twist of the wrist II" (which is also on youtube).

Basically it is just a way to rev match when shifting down, so you get less engine braking and no chances of locking your rear wheel. IMO it is really worth learning once you feel a bit more confident.

This is on the same line as what scott said, but when i passed my license my instructor told me:

"Ride as if you where invisible, and as if everybody on the road was blind, deaf and stupid. Always assume they are going to do the stupidest thing they could do at any given time!"

This has really helped me, and helped me avoid a couple bad situations. And like you, it has really made me a lot more aware of my surroundings when driving my car to.

 

[iviyth0s]

I use 3 for clutch and 3-4 for brake depending on how engaging the ride/traffic is

 

[JeffSez59]

Ride as if your invisable and always have an "out" (escape route)!

That's what my dad taught me from the beginning. Act as your invisible and you'll be ok. He's never been down street riding(40 years) and I try very hard to do the same.

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using Tapatalk

 

[lawlberg]

RT. Index and Middle on the Brake, Ring and pinky on the throttle for blipping/control.

Left fingers are usually waving :Flip: , drumming the tank :rockon: , picking my nose or adjusting my junk . What is this clutch thing you guys talk about?


EDIT: Oh track riding technique - 2-4 fingers on clutch but not necessarily using it.

 

[Druff]

So after reading this yesterday I made a mental note to find out... turns out im a 3 finger kinda guy, both levers seem to be comfortable with 3. As my mum used to say you learn something new every day

 

[marke14]

2 fingers on the brake lever at all times - occasionally when riding on an utterly straight, flat, open sightlines for a long way I will force myself to fully grip the throttle side and it feels very strange as I was taught (in L.A. traffic) to always cover the brake. I just got used to operating the throttle that way and it saved my life at least a dozen times.

I generally use three fingers for the clutch but I have the shorty levers.

 

[bdevries]

2 fingers on the brake lever at all times - occasionally when riding on an utterly straight, flat, open sightlines for a long way I will force myself to fully grip the throttle side and it feels very strange as I was taught (in L.A. traffic) to always cover the brake. I just got used to operating the throttle that way and it saved my life at least a dozen times.

Interesting! My course instructors yelled at us as we rode by if we had our fingers on the clutch or brakes. We were learning braking and he said I reached for the brakes too early. I knew I had to stop, so I accelerated up into 3rd (around 60kmh) and then when I was 10m back from the cones put my fingers on the lever ready to squeeze as soon as I passed the cones). Not sure why they don't allow this, seeing as motorcycle riding is all about 'anticipating'.

I understand why you would do it, and frankly agree with covering the brakes in city driving opposed to nothing at all.

 

[Erci]

Interesting! My course instructors yelled at us as we rode by if we had our fingers on the clutch or brakes. We were learning braking and he said I reached for the brakes too early. I knew I had to stop, so I accelerated up into 3rd (around 60kmh) and then when I was 10m back from the cones put my fingers on the lever ready to squeeze as soon as I passed the cones). Not sure why they don't allow this, seeing as motorcycle riding is all about 'anticipating'.

I understand why you would do it, and frankly agree with covering the brakes in city driving opposed to nothing at all.

I can answer this one.
You have to remember in BRC, we are coaching folks who may have never ridden before. Allowing riders to cover front brake when they're riding for the first time is asking for trouble. If handlebar is anything, but square and the rider panics and grabs a handful of brake, down the rider goes!

So when it comes to the quick stop exercise and test, the idea is to pretend you're riding in a straight line with clear view (12 second path) and then something suddenly jumps out in front of you. That moment is when your front wheel crosses the cones.. so until your wheel gets there, we want you to be on the throttle. For BRC, there is no being on the throttle and the brake at the same time, remember? All 4 fingers, all the time.. either brake or throttle, not both.

Why? Again.. because it's aimed at absolute beginners and the theory is it's better to separate the 2 action as much as possible. Less confusion.. less finess required to *succeed*, etc.

Covering the clutch IS actually encouraged, especially on day 1. That's the *safety switch*.

Now.. does this mean you can't cover the brake for the rest of your riding career? Of course not. If you can do it comfortably and practice riding and doing quick stops like this, by all means go ahead. No doubt it will reduce your total stopping distance if your fingers are already on the lever, vs having to reach for it... remember: at 60mph, you travel 88 feet per second. Shave off 1/4 second.. that's over 20 feet off your total stopping distance (theoretically).

Personally, I do not cover the brake unless my rider radar goes off(intersections, busy streets with parked cars, driveways, etc).

 

[banjoboy]

I just brake w/ one; the bird finger. With EBC double sintered pads I can lift the rear. :rockon:

Slightly off topic - but very important regarding hand strength, hand cramps/pain, endurance and setup up of levers....

When your on the bike and in position, rotate your levers so the imaginary line from your shoulder, through your forearm, wrists and fingers are all parallel. The factory location for the levers usually has most of us pointing our wrists upwards which pinches nerves and cuts off circulation. In short - lever position is dependent on torso length and your lean angle.

This post is from another topic; but notice how far the levers are rotated? The levers angle in relation to the bar nearly makes a straight line to my shoulders rotator cuff.

:thumbup:

 

[FinalImpact]

I have no idea what throttle blipping is, sounds sexy though.

:thumbup:

Some Blips occur here.... Listen for the downshifts where the engine Rev's then drops a gear.

https://soundcloud.com/fz6-rippedmp3/fz62broxp1tipsrip

Clip was made to reveal how the Two brothers Exhaust SOUNDS on an FZ6. I'm not a fan of the Static Revs in the garage to demonstrate how $600 sounds! Blah

 

[2nd childhood]

I put "other" as I tend to cover my brake with two fingers, in case some ass-hat does something dumb, but when braking under "normal" circumstances, will use four. Having said that, if I'm just slowing down a bit, it'll vary.

 

[FZ09Bandit]

I put "other" as I tend to cover my brake with two fingers, in case some ass-hat does something dumb, but when braking under "normal" circumstances, will use four. Having said that, if I'm just slowing down a bit, it'll vary.

This, cuts the chances of grabbing down for me. Now after a certain point if I have to use 4 I will, but I also cover the back and down shift.

Seems like I already voted. Good to see how my riding style is always changing.

 

[raja777m]

Hey all,

I spent the winter reading motorcycle articles and browsing this forum. Today was the first day of my 'Canadian equivalent of the MSF course' course and a few things they mentioned surprised me.

They asked us to use all 4 fingers on the levers, that way if we ever had to squeeze the brake all the way in, we would be able to. But, the way I have my lever set up, I can't even squeeze it all the way in if I tried, so having fingers there doesn't affect that. I figured that having 2 fingers on the brakes/clutch would allow me to grip the bars better as well. Whats the consensus on this? I know these guys have experience etc, but there's always situation where professionals have different opinion.

I also asked about throttle blipping and they said they don't recommend it, which to me makes 0 sense. Why take the time to slip the clutch in slowly when you can quickly flick your right wrist and pretty well just dump the clutch out since the rpm's match? Also, lower chances of the rear tire locking up.

Thoughts?

I use most of the time, but in emergency, we have to switch to 4.
maybe that being a 3rd option would be good and of course obvious right..!

 

[mjesenovec]

After I got my MadHornets shorty levers, I primary use 2-3 fingers now. 4 fingers no longer fit on the lever, but 2-3 feels much more natural now, which is what I wanted. I usually clutch with 3, and brake with 2-3.

 

[JJS209]

Go ahead and make fun..... I use 2 fingers on the brake and 4 on the clutch. I bought long levers for both to maintain symmetry.... What can I say...I got issues! Blah

same here.

 

[gulfpete]

1 resting on clutch nearly all the time, another 1 or 2 goes on to use it or all 4 fingers at the lights.
1 or 2 to use the brake.
There is zero thought gone into this setup, just what I do.

 

[BlackAndBlue]

I use 4 on the clutch, two on the brake.

I haven't read the whole thread so it may have been discussed already but there is a school of thought, which is taught to police in motorcycle training, that one should always use all four fingers because if one were to go down the brake lever could crush the fingers not on the lever. I don't subscribe to this personally because I like to have control of the throttle while I brake and also, if your fingers are on top of the lever and the lever hits the ground, it seems to me that your fingers are getting crushed anyway, possibly even worse than if they were under the lever.

 

[Hopper]

2 Brake
4 clutch