Brake failure... could you jump off?

[KungFooBob]

Spoiler alert... So Top Gun had to jump off his bike at 140mph when the brakes didn't work.

I'm no motogp racer, I don't think I could have done the same. In his place I'd have probably rode it straight into the airfence, thinking that I could still get it stopped.

I think it's the tight Yorkshireman in me, every time I've crashed I've held on to the bike hoping it didn't get too damaged.

That and the fact I'd probably just not have the presence of mind to even think about jumping off to save my skin.

[weeksy]

Unlikely. These guys are far more in tune with this sort of thing than us mortals

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

No, I couldn't do it, I'd be standing on the back break, changing down gears and desperately hoping it wouldn't hurt too much.

[chillitt]

Given the adrenalin rush that comes from hitting a brake that isnt there, I doubt anyone could say for sure how they would react

[Horse]

Given the adrenalin rush that comes from hitting a brake that isnt there, I doubt anyone could say for sure how they would react

To a certain extent, it's down to whether or not you have considered that such an event might happen, then mentally (visualisation) and physically (not nec. full on crashing) practised.

After that, it's whether or not us mere mortals can avoid freezing at the controls, getting panic over and done quickly, then doing something useful - and that depends on the circumstances immediately ahead.

One of the great biking myths used to be "I laid the bike down to avoid a crash" aka "I panic braked, locked up, fell off".

I haven't seen video of the incident, presumably it was the front brake that failed? That would leave the option of locking the rear to lay the bike down and sliding after it. From their Mx practice, I'd guess they all have the skill to do it. I don't know how forgiving the air cushions are.

[Mr. Dazzle]

Being on the bike isn't the problem when you can't stop from 140mph

But yeah, I'd just roll onto the shoulder and dust myself off. Works on the A-team

[Yorick]

Most folk have never done 140 MPH. Never mind jumping off a bike at that speed.

[KungFooBob]

[Hot_Air]

Spoiler alert... So Top Gun had to jump off his bike at 140mph when the brakes didn't work.

Stop exaggerating. He was only doing 133.5 miles per hour, and anyone could have jumped off at that speed

[Horse]

Most folk have never done 140 MPH. Never mind jumping off a bike at that speed.

The actual speed is irrelevant. Many people crash very successfully at much lower speeds, running wide in bends, not swerving around obstacles, and not braking firmly.

[Horse]

Blocked by Dorma.

But the URL works

He stopped sliding before hitting the fence, so a good choice. Couldn't see what was beyond the air fence, if he'd been on the bike at impact, he would have found out.

[KungFooBob]

Blocked by Dorma.

Only for embedding, you can watch it on youtube if you click the link.

[McNab]

By the time I realized it was going wrong, I would have been in the fence

[Horse]

Blocked by Dorma.

Only for embedding, you can watch it on youtube if you click the link.

Was editing my post as you posted!

[Horse]

I'd have hit the wall whist my brain was still trying to grasp that I had no brakes.

From the vid, he'd been having trouble from lap 3. Also, did they suggest that his teammate has had brake failure recently?

[G.P]

Apparently he'd been having intermittent fade quite badly prior to this, why did he stay out? it wasn't going to get any better was it?
Apparently he was the only one of the Yamahas who didn't take the new Brembo parts that were offered to them all as it had been a problem the previous weekend.

[crust]

I'd be with Harry and McNab.

The vid would just show me looking at the left handlebar while I pulled the brake lever repeatedly, then me looking up, a really loud girly scream for about half a second before...

WOOOOMFFFF!!!!!

Then a pathetic - "oww everything hurts, that brakes fooked, seriously oww, why is my leg pointing that way....." faint.

[Mr. Dazzle]

My VFR once had brake pads that did nothing in the pissing rain. You had to wait the fraction of a second it took for the pads to dry the discs, then they would work. You could squeeze as hard as you liked but nothing would happen.

The trouble was, if you squeezed hard nothing would happen for half a second but then they'd start working. When that happened you'd go from zero to lots of braking instantly...which isn't very helpful in the pissing rain! So you had to feather brake for half a second before actually braking.

Needless to say that was pretty terrifying even at 20mph!

[MingtheMerciless]

I'd just crush the brake lever through the grip and embed it into the clip-on tube trying to make it stop, all the way into the air fence.

[ninja]

I expect he'd thought about the implications of carrying on after his brakes started playing up earlier in the race
His options were jump off, or die.