The Misunderstanding That Changed Motorcycling Forever // When To Overlap Throttle and Brake?

Confused about trail braking? Throttle on or off? This video breaks down the common misconceptions and reveals the proper technique for smooth, confident cornering. Learn from a 25-year pro rider coach! #trailbraking #motorcycletips #cornering

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P.O. Box 91191
Salt Lake City, UT 84109

[mavrichek]

Hi Dave and first of all I want to give you a huge thank you! Thanks for noticing and responding to my comment, thanks for making a whole big video out of the response. And most importantly, thank you for such a reasoned response. I am absolutely thrilled.

[jamessmith]

Very, very well articulated, not a single unneeded word. Riding at the age of 70, 55 years and your description of bike evolution is spot on. Segment about MotoGP riders is fascinating. I am likely to never "track day" these skills, but I just plain love riding to the best ability I can muster. Thanks!

[tobymcnicol]

You and F9 are the best mc content of the interweb.
informative and straightforward as ever 👍

[ProphetAndLoss]

As a new rider, thank you for telling me useful info nobody else has in the ~1000+ YT moto vids I have watched so far.

[MLSInVA]

It's crazy that you had to make a video to clear this up, but thanks for such a well-researched and detailed response. Your clarity and reasonableness stand above a world full of misinformation and hyperbole.

[gnmurray]

Many years ago (1979) I used to work on Tasmania's West Coast. The roads up around there were (and are) twisty, bumpy and usually wet. I was riding a Honda CBX1000 with Pirelli Phantom tyres. I found that maintaining a light rear brake pressure as I dropped to 2nd or 1st gear for hairpins prevented any chain snatch and gave a smoother ride. But never the front brake...And as an aside, my BMW R1250GS has electronics that prevent throttle opening during heavy braking (even if I roll the throttle on it will have no effect).

[TracerGTRider]

This is the best explanation of trail braking I've seen. More folks need to see this!

[motorcycleconnoisseur]

When I saw “when to overlap throttle and brake” in the title, I thought you’d lost your marbles 😆 glad to see you haven’t!

[WJRobbins]

Great stuff Dave! Really appreciate drawing the historical context into this. Too many people forget that a lot of the "common sense" info out there is based on decades long past and our machines have exponentially evolved in the past <2 decades. Heck even in the past 10 years.

[sammemrys]

I was one of those confused riders out there until I found this channel. I'm so grateful for your knowledge, and your willingness to share it.

[pacificj]

Didn't realise even 1-2% of throttle when overlapped with front braking can be dangerous. Thanks Dave!

[blipco]

7:35 I’ve done it before on country backroads. My glove got stuck on the throttle as I was applying front brake preparing for an interesting tight corner. Suddenly the bike feels like a miserable block of wood under you with a mind of its own. You instantly go from experienced rider to first day novice. Not a good experience. It doesn’t happen often thankfully. I’ve raised my palm and have even pulled in my clutch to kill the power to the rear wheel. I need to check my gloves. Great topic. 👍

[lenluksa]

Re: minute 7:35 issue, I've had my very seasoned gloves catch and keep the throttle open while reaching for and applying the front brakes more times than I care to remember. When it happens, I've simply learned to quickly lift my palm higher and all is well again. I also bought new gloves.

Thanks for clarifying this "brottle" issue. It answered a question I've mulled over for several years.

Suggestion: Could you reach out to some of the more respected influencers on YouTube (Kevin - MC Rider, Andrei - Moto Control, Ryan - F9 etc.) and collectively, start replacing the "trail braking" terminology with "pressurizing" which I like and feel is far more descriptive.

Thanks for a great video Dave!

[Skyerzen]

Oh wow. All this time I thought I was doing it poorly. I never overlapped front brake and throttle mostly because I was bad at it. It also nagged me "Why would you want to have both tires' grip needs fight each other?" "One pushing forward, the other pushing back" "it's only a matter of time before one beats the other and you either wash the front or the rear steps out.
But I still thought that's what the pros did for some unknown reason.
I don't apply any rear brake when riding hard, find it a bit too much to do when I still working on other aspects of riding. I may add it later.
Right now tho, I do roll off the throttle completely then start applying brake before entering a turn, begin my lean and slowly release brake the deeper I lean into the turn. then I start applying throttle until I feel the bike stabilize to the radius of the turn. Once I see the exit, then I go hard on the throttle as I being to stand up the bike. Sometimes I lean my body off the bike further off the bike on this stage to allow the bike to get more vertical faster.

[thedragon]

Another great explanation of physics. The opposing forces at speed are going to confuse and upset the bike which is a big no no. Even as slight as those inputs may be, now the rider needs the bike to turn and the bike says nope, I wanna go straight.

[BernhardEcht]

Thank you for what you do. Your explanations make the most sense and confirm what I have been doing and telling other riders. Keep up the good work.

[BlueRidgeRider]

I always recommend your trail braking video. This is another fantastic explanation of people’s misunderstanding of terminology. Love Pedro! I will never encounter anything like what happens on GP track. I’ll be sharing this video!

[demarthin]

this is exactly the question I've had lately as i'm practicing in my 2nd year of riding; thanks for the timely and clear answer!

[ReifferMadness]

Amazing! I went through ChampU this past Spring, and I'm hoping to get signed up for Champ Street this coming season. As a result of ChampU, I find myself saying (sometimes out loud), "go to the brakes when you're nervous, trail off the brake until you're happy with speed and direction, maintain neutral throttle, add throttle when you can see the exit and take away lean angle." I even do it in the car...sorry practice motorcycle. ChampU should be required learning for new riders. Completely changed how I ride and I'm so much more comfortable and happy now!

[colinlyders]

THANK YOU! I can't believe that I had to recently comment on a FB reel where the "expert rider" was talking about the overlap of braking & accelerating during trail braking. He even drew a diagram showing the braking, accelerating & the period of overlap in between. There were new riders on there thanking him for teaching them the "right way" to trail brake. 🙄 I hope those riders read my comments & realized the dude didn't know what he was talking about.