All depends on what situation you're in...If you know you're gonna run into something, by all means apply the front as much as possible without washing out the front tire from under you, lock up the rears if needed, try to swerve to avoid, last resort is low side and push yourself away from bike/impact as your sliding...
Now if there's a car pulling out right in front of you...Hold on for impact and try to "fling "yourself over the bike and car at impact....sure you'll be flying over everything, but better than "slamming" into the car which will cause more damage to your body..
RB

 

I'll point out that if you crash to avoid a crash, you may be found at fault by the insurance companies... AND you've still managed to crash, so it's best to learn how to avoid a collision without resorting to doing it on purpose.

Here is a decent article I found:
I was asked recently by a friend who just purchased his first bike what is the most important safety tip you can give me? I thought for a second and answered, learning how to use your brakes. He looked at me as if I were kidding him. "What's to it", he said, "ya just stomp and squeeze just like in your car".
That's the problem I said. Too many riders believe that, and coincidently, bikers crash way to often. You've all heard the story about the guy who had to "lay er down" because somebody pulled out in front of him. What that actually means, is he panicked, locked the rear tire and the bike slid on the ground and stopped when it hit the vehicle or just before it hit the vehicle. In either case, the rider crashed in an attempt to avoid a crash. Ninety percent of the time, if the rider had braked properly in that situation, he would never have struck the vehicle.

So, the question is, how do I minimize my chances of crashing into something? The answer is simple. Practice emergency, maximum braking. But, first there's a couple of things you need to know. Number 1: The front brake is 70% of your braking force. Due to that fact, you must put more pressure on the front brake than the rear brake. If you happen to lock the front tire, you must release it immediately then reapply it. Squeeze the front brake, don't grab it. If you lock the rear tire, don't release it. If you do, there's a good chance you will high side. With a motorcycle, you can still steer when the rear tire is locked and sliding. You must also remember that the motorcycle must be straight up when performing maximum braking. This is not to say that you can't brake with the bike leaned over in a turn, you can lightly brake with both brakes in that situation, but maximum braking must be done with the bike straight up.

The point is, you must learn to modulate your brakes to keep from locking them and the only way to do that is to practice. Keep repeating to yourself, front brake, front brake. That will assist you in putting more pressure on the front brake than the rear brake.

You should practice maximum braking from whatever speed you normally ride. I guarantee your bike will react differently when braking hard at 80mph than at 30mph. If you practice, then in an emergency situation, you will revert to your training, rather than dumb luck. The only other alternative is to buy a bike with anti-lock brakes, just remember, even with anti-lock brakes, the bike still has to be straight up to perform maximum braking.

 

I'm glad to see that the turnout of good advice for this post. This is the kind of info I was needing to learn to be prepared. I guess a riding course wouldn't be such a bad idea either, andI think I know where one's offered not too far from here.

You guys have been a great help.
Thanks a million.

If anybody else has something to add, we might allbenefit - let's hear it!

- rey

 

Just to add on to what everyone else said, check the DMV cycle handlbook they give out with temp permits. The book here in Ohio gives you many different ways to try and avoid getting dead. Probably the least used because of a panic is the one where you grab both brakes to scrub speed, then let go and swerve if possible. I remember reading thata natural reaction is to either use brakes until you hit, or low side the bike.

 

That would be due to target fixation.

If you stare at the car you're trying to avoid, you're going to hit it.

This comes down to basic riding skills, and "looking where you want to go".

Instead of fixing your vision on the bastard that cut you off, look into your escape route, dont look down at the ground either.

 

Lots of good advise.

"ATGATT" (All the Gear All the Time)!

Practice your evading and emergency stops.

If you took the MSF course take the MSF Advance Rider Course. Retake the course every so often. I know folks who retake the Advance Rider every year.

 

Back in 1983 my MSF rider coach showed us a little experiment. He came out with a hockey stick and two pucks, one was steel covered in tire rubber the other was steel covered in paint. He asked a fellow in the class (a hockey player) to shoot the pucks down the practice range. The rubber covered puck went about 60 feet. The painted puck went over 200 feet and finally slid off the end of the asphalt. He turned and said "What does this teach us?" Well, I'ts pretty obvious, paint makes a lousy tire. You can't turn on paint, you can't slow down as fast riding on paint and when you low side your bikein preparationfor an emminent impact it puts you in a perfect position to be run over by those car tires which, 9 times out of 10, will still be turning after you get wedged beneath that car. Stay on your tires. You have more control, you can turn out of the impact (if possible) and you can slow down more before impact. I'd rather hit the car upright at 20 MPH than slide into it at 40. OK, there's my 2 cents.

 

tazshido, great addition to the post. Isn't it cool when somebody teaches you something important in a way that's hard to forget. 2 Cents well spent! Thanks!


We're getting some great advice in here guys, thanks for adding... there's still room for more, keep it up!!