All courses › Motorcycle licence (A1, A2, A) › Braking in a bend

Braking in a bend

The tyres have only so much grip, and it must be shared between braking and cornering. In a bend much of the grip holds the bike in the turn. If you brake hard at the same time, there may not be enough left. So finish braking before the bend. If you must brake in the bend, do it gently, or straighten the bike first.

\sqrt{a_b^2 + a_s^2} \le \mu g

braking and cornering share the grip

Symbols

$a_b$	deceleration from braking	m/s²
$a_s$	acceleration towards the centre of the bend	m/s²
$\mu$	friction coefficient

Example

On dry tarmac $\mu g \approx 0.8 \cdot 9.81 \approx 7.8$ m/s². The bend uses $a_s = 6$ m/s².

Then only $a_b \le \sqrt{7.8^2 - 6^2} \approx 5$ m/s² is left for braking.

If you see the bend tightening, slow down early and smoothly instead of braking hard in the middle.

Practise braking and stopping distance for free →

← Stopping distance on a motorcycle · Line through the bend →

Part of Motorcycle licence (A1, A2, A): Braking and stopping distance.