Roundabouts, approach speed?

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JDW

Wannabie Member
Oct 2, 2012
23
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Liverpool
I ride a
Yamaha YBR 125
Hi guys,

I would like some advice; I find that I have a problem when approaching roundabouts. The roundabouts in question, are on a 60mph A road, I find that when I'm driving towards the roundabout at 50-60, at the point where I should reduce speed, I end up having some guy or girl behind me, rather close. I'm thinking, until I'm more confident with those speeds+roundabouts, should I make a stand at 45-50 mph max and not go above that on a 60mph road, so that the driver behind me has no other choice but to go that speed, leaving me with an easier, less dangerous break. At the moment, I quite like reducing my speed to anything from 15-30 even when the coast is clear because I'm still not totally confident going across them. Which can be dangerous/annoying if the driver behind me is really close and has to break a lot, giving me two worries, the roundabout and the driver.

Also, when coming towards a roundabout going down from 60 to 20-30, while giving me time to look for any cars coming round and if I need to brake completely. Should I drop down to that speed first, then switch to the appropriate gear or reduce speed a gear at a time?

Thanks.
 

extreme601

Wannabie Member
Jul 23, 2011
257
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0
I ride a
2011 Tiger 800
Why not brake way in advance and slow down gently giving yourself loads of time to deal with the roundabout, and letting the cars behind you adjust speeds smoothly and therefore resulting in them not tailgating you?

The last thing I'd do is ride at 40 on a 60mph road no where near a roundabout or junction of any kind. This will massively encourage tailgating and you'll find yourself off the bike and under a vehicle in no time!
 

Stenno

Wannabie Member
Mar 6, 2012
370
1
16
42
Surbiton, UK
www.youtube.com
I ride a
Suzuki SV650/S
I would recommend riding to the speed limit (if safe to do so) as you are then less likely to irritate other road users and thus invite trouble.

As for approaching speeds it doesn't matter what speed you are doing if the car behind is tail gating. You have two options really, speed up, potentially braking the speed limit in order to open up a gap behind you, or maintain a speed which will encourage the driver behind to overtake. Sometimes it's best to let someone get past you rather than getting worked up about it, we're the vulnerable ones after all.

As for gear changing, either way is fine. Personally I blip down the gears on approach (I prefer this as I'm always in the right gear if I need to take avoidance action), however block changing is promoted by IAM (but you need to match your speed with your gear or risk locking up the rear wheel/you're not in gear to take any avoidance action/and you might get stuck between gears depending on your chain tension and lubrication).
 

Friz

HereComeDatFriz
Jul 23, 2011
1,494
1
36
Derby UK
I ride a
2018 Ducati Multistrada 1260S
All personally opinion and experiences here.

You don't need to brake for ages when you're slowing down. You can slow down gradually if you want by just changing down gears and having engine braking doing all the work.

I find that doing this allows me to stop gradually and I don't have to touch my brake until right at the very end.

Obviously you have to be below at least 5k revs before changing or your bike won't like it.
I know my 600 has a lot more engine brake than your 125 too, but you can still do this on a 125 easily enough.

If a car is tailgating you coming up to the roundabout everytime and it's not something that happens once a month or something like that, you're slowing down too early.

Bikes can slow down much faster than cars too, don't forget.

I know I've said a lot of things that might look conflicting or confusing (and I'm sorry that my rushed wording doesn't help) but you can combine it all.

Slow down right when you're coming up to the roundabout. Do it with your gears and (of course) change one at a time. If you're going too quickly, use a bit of brake. Do not slow down miles away. Wait until you're at least past the 200 yard marker if you can.
That's if you're feeling confident enough to do that.
 

RoadcraftNottingham

Wannabie Member
Jan 12, 2012
108
0
0
I ride a
Honda Pan Euopean 1100, Aprilia Tuono V4 APRC, Ducati Diavel, CBR600RR-8
Every situation needs to be assessed on it's own merits depending on a lot of factors. I'd say the best thing to do is contact your local school and ask an instructor for a one hour lesson/assessment of this particular problem. He'd then be able to see "real time" what (if any) the issues are and put them right straight away.
 

Stenno

Wannabie Member
Mar 6, 2012
370
1
16
42
Surbiton, UK
www.youtube.com
I ride a
Suzuki SV650/S
Friz said:
...
Bikes can slow down much faster than cars too, don't forget.
...

Yeah I wouldn't put that to the test if I was him.

RoadcraftNottingham said:
Every situation needs to be assessed on it's own merits depending on a lot of factors. I'd say the best thing to do is contact your local school and ask an instructor for a one hour lesson/assessment of this particular problem. He'd then be able to see "real time" what (if any) the issues are and put them right straight away.

^^That. Or if you can't afford it, go out with a fellow biker who has is older and wiser.
 

thunderous71

Daddy
Aug 4, 2011
1,085
304
83
Surrey
www.thunderous71.com
I ride a
Mt-09
Friz said:
All personally opinion and experiences here.

Bikes can slow down much faster than cars too, don't forget.

Ouch.. cars have four wheels and as many break pads, they can stop a lot faster than the average biker. Now can we argue whats faster at cornering ;)

Anyhow, ride within your limits and slow down as you approach the roundabout with plenty of time, some other drivers / riders will follow your breaking not anticipate their own requirements. So if you approach fast and hard break they have also approached fast and hard braked also and that just takes one person to not be on the ball :( .

If its an aggressive car driver usually bald with a small willy trying to prove his 4x4 is just a s fast as a motorbike just let them go past ;)
 

Friz

HereComeDatFriz
Jul 23, 2011
1,494
1
36
Derby UK
I ride a
2018 Ducati Multistrada 1260S
thunderous71 said:
Friz said:
All personally opinion and experiences here.

Bikes can slow down much faster than cars too, don't forget.

Ouch.. cars have four wheels and as many break pads, they can stop a lot faster than the average biker. Now can we argue whats faster at cornering ;)

Just what I was told by my motorcycling instructor when I did my test!

I'm pretty sure the average 600cc bike will stop faster than the average car. Engine braking plus 2 3 piston callipers on the front and 1 1 piston calliper on the back has some serious stopping power.
 

Neilisin

Wannabie Member
Jun 17, 2012
196
1
0
43
Sutton, London, UK
neils.in
I ride a
Suzuki DR-Z 400 SM x 2
Hi mate, while everyone has their own opinion and have a method that works for them. I would encourage you to stick with what is safe in you opinion.

By this point you must know what distance/time you need to reduce to a controlled speed for a give way at a roundabout, assess the road ahead weather and road surface conditions and do what feels safe. It's every driver's responsibility to drive safely, and that goes to the guy/gal behind you... be confident, keep it smooth and let the person behind know what you're doing in a logical manner... grabbing the brakes sporadically wont help them understand what you're doing.

There is a lot to be said here... although, frankly you're going to have to find out for yourself in experience.
 

OoxTruExoO

Wannabie Member
Jul 23, 2011
308
60
28
Up my bum picking daisies
www.youtube.com
I ride a
2000 Suzuki SV650S
If you're going to slow down and approach it at a slower speed than what you had been travelling at previously, make sure to use a little brake, to illuminate your lights, as well as your engine braking, just to give the driver behind a heads-up.
 

UnstableBoy

Wannabie Member
Sep 3, 2012
224
1
16
46
NJ, USA
www.youtube.com
I ride a
'99 Ninja 250, 2012 V-Strom 650
OoxTruExoO said:
If you're going to slow down and approach it at a slower speed than what you had been travelling at previously, make sure to use a little brake, to illuminate your lights, as well as your engine braking, just to give the driver behind a heads-up.

I agree.. I have my rear brake switch tuned so just a light touch lights it up.. that way when engine braking I just drag the rear a bit to give the person behind a indication that I am slowing.
 

NastyEvilNinja

4 wheel racer, 2 wheel lunatic
Feb 18, 2012
339
13
18
46
South Birmingham, UK
I ride a
Honda VTR1000 Firestorm, Yamaha FZR600R
Friz said:
thunderous71 said:
Friz said:
All personally opinion and experiences here.

Bikes can slow down much faster than cars too, don't forget.

Ouch.. cars have four wheels and as many break pads, they can stop a lot faster than the average biker. Now can we argue whats faster at cornering ;)

Just what I was told by my motorcycling instructor when I did my test!

I'm pretty sure the average 600cc bike will stop faster than the average car. Engine braking plus 2 3 piston callipers on the front and 1 1 piston calliper on the back has some serious stopping power.

I'll disagree strongly with this. With ABS on most cars, if they use it right and bury the brake pedal you've got no chance of matching it on any bike.

This is why so many bikers go into the back of cars in an emergency situation.

I was coming around finally to that opinion, anyway, but having recently taken my ARDS car racing test thraping a Renault Megane around Silverstone (first time EVER in a car on track) I can confirm that your average modern car can brake a lot later than a sportsbike. And that's in complete safety without having to worry about lowsiding.

Ride at your own pace, and more importantly remember that the entry onto a roundabout is a GIVE WAY, and YOU have to stop completely before that line if there is anything else at all on that roundabout.

Other than that, back that fkr in and scrape your elbow all the way around and show Mr Car Driver why he needs to buy a bike! :cool:
 
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