Using trail braking on the streets to negotiate a corner is an interesting topic. Many would consider trail braking a track only skill. While I do agree that trail braking is an intermediate to advanced level skill and it does require good brake control there are times that trail braking is exactly what is needed to get around a corner safely on the streets.
For more information and detailed instructions on practicing this technique see the MCrider Field Guide.
Click here for information on getting access to the Field Guide for your iPhone or Android mobile phone.
To use trail braking the rider can go to the brakes a little bit later before the curve and they maintain or trail the brakes into the corner. At somewhere around the apex of the corner the rider begins to trade brake pressure for throttle with a roll on of the throttle to help stand the motorcycle up.
The benefit of trail braking is the rider is into and out of the corner quicker. That is why the technique is popular on the track.
So, the rider maintains slight pressure on the brakes into the corner. Here is how you can start to get a feel for how much front brake pressure we are talking about here. Sometime in the garage sit on your motorcycle and begin to slowly squeeze the front brake. After just a little bit of squeeze you should hear a click sound. That is the sound of the switch that activates the tail light. It is also the sound of when the brake pads make contact with the rotor. Now with the brake lever squeezed to that position see if you can roll the motorcycle forward and backwards. If you have the brakes in the proper position you should be able to roll the motorcycle back and forth but feel the slight resistance of the brake pads. That is how much pressure is needed to trail the brakes into the corner. Too much pressure and you may cause the tire to tuck or lose traction in the corner causing an accident.
