Motorcycles

Slow down for the downhill tight turns. Turn your shoulders toward the apex. Don't be afraid to lean a little more if you have to.

In general you won't need to worry about those things.

But if you want to worry about them... For the clutch, don't ride it and don't leave it in neutral. It's ok to put it in a lower gear and let the engine do some breaking.

For breaks, you can alternate front and back if you're worried about them over heating.

However, if you just drive normally and don't speed then you won't have to even think about these things.

Mountains are always eroding, you'll find a road that was clear before might have some gravel/sand show up on it the next morning.

Being used to riding on flat land be aware of sight-lines being obstructed by the hill. “Hug” the fog line (not the centerline) in case oncoming traffic blows the turn an runs wide - this also enables a later apex so optimize your sightline in left handers (for right side traffic, not sure where you live)….also you may not be familiar with turning/elevation changes so take it nice and chill. Enjoy! Having gone from flat FL to mountains in CA it's how to truly enjoy what your bike can do.

Same way you do anywhere else - use them properly (seriously not being snarky, there's really only one area where there's a difference, which I discuss below). Keep in mind most bike clutches are wet, so have better cooling capability than cars (though BMW likes a dry clutch).

Hills aren't really any different, and with modern vehicles brakes don't fade like they used to (especially on bikes).

Though, since a bike does (almost always) have a manual gearbox, let engine braking handle any long downhills where you need to keep speed in check, and use brakes in short, firm decelerations.

For example, there's a long downhill on I70 in Colorado, so long it has a sign saying "Truckers You Are Not Down Yet - 7 More Miles of Downhill". On such a long downhill, downshift just enough that engine braking keeps you at your target speed (say 65 mph on that hill). Then if you do start running fast, or getting too close, use the brakes firmly, not lightly, to quickly bring your speed down.

This works best because it heats the brakes intensely for a few seconds, but then gives them a relatively long time to cool off afterwards.

If you were to just lightly hold the brakes to slowly slow down, the discs would heat just as much (if not more), but you'd have less time between braking cycles, leaving less time for them to cool.

I've experienced brake fade on such downhills, it's no fun (in a truck). Passenger vehicles don't often have as advanced materials in brakes as bikes do, and this particular one had relatively cheap aftermarket pads, and I had been used to it with factory pads. Big difference.

I've watched trucks going down such hills with their brake discs glowing hot enough to see in daylight - they had to be riding the brakes a long time for that.

Essentially, any brake system could emergency stop a vehicle at speed on such a downhill one time, so best to keep them cool for as long as possible by using engine braking.

All that said, on my 35-year-old, 700lb "sport" bike, I've never experienced brake fade on downhills like that. The brakes are so oversized relative to the mass of the bike, it's just not a concern. But I still use engine braking - why take a chance.

A lot of good tips here! Came back from the alps a couple of days ago and I have one point that I did not see: it seems counterintuitive but if it gets really tight that you would have to take the turn in first gear at idle revs or below you need to give it some revs (I am at about 5k with my small single cylinder engine) and feather the clutch to regulate your speed. The revs keep your bike stable and the clutch is much better to modulate your speed than the gas.

I know this wears your clutch but they are usually oil cooled and are more robust than a lot of people think. And after all they are meant to be replaced when worn out. A clutch is cheaper than taking the shortest path down a hill because you dropped your bike 😉