Do you give it one finger or two ...(braking)

Originally Posted by dirtydog

i squished mty fingers cos the lever is set for someone with dolls hands!!! (ET?)

Goddammit dirtydog you know I've been waiting for you to come round and show me how to twiddle the little roundy dially thing on that levery bit right to the biggest setting

I actually squished my fingers too yesterday so the sooner either you or sarah change it the better buddy

[ethariel]

Always used 4 in the dry, 2 in the wet

Originally Posted by Blue_SV650S

.. or 3 or all 4?

On the front brake that is - not your {smut filter enabled}

Saw a pro racer on telly (think it was some Japanese guy in MotoGP)... used his 3 outside fingers (i.e. all but his index, which was still wrapped round the twistgrip) ... most unorthodox, but it obviously works

All depends on where I'm riding and how. If I'm on one I go for the full 3/4-fingers as I brake deep into corners, if I'm tootling round town I use 1 or 2 fingers so I don't overdo it.

My old Gixer Thou had AP Racing 6 pot calipers with narrow track PFM iron BSB spec discs with Performance Friction 95 compound pads. When I first got it the brakes had zero feel because they still used the original nasty Nissin master cylinder, so I never used more than 2 fingers or I'd be stoppying every time. I wanted more feel and control so I fitted a Brembo radial m/cylinder from a 2004 R1, and that worked really well.

That's a cheap upgrade for your brakes, brand new they are only 125 quid complete with lever.

You know until this thread I'd never even thought of needing a finger or two wrapped round the throttle to blip; due to stubby little fingers and a history of bikes with non-adjustable levers I just fell into somehow blipping with the heel of my palm whilst braking - I always thought that was how everyone did it

As to the original question, depends on the bike/brake condition and the urgency. A couple of bikes I've owned and two fingers was perfect regardless of the urgency; I've found (slightly dissapointingly) my SV seems to require four fingers for "oh my god" moments.

Big Fat Four Fingers here. I need 'em! I'm coming to the realisation that my brakes are shocking. Lever comes back to the bar and that's having changed the fluid.

'twas riding behind you Pete at a pace above my normal game when I suddenly realised why people talk about brakes, after a certain point they start mattering more and more.

I like to blip on downchanges and just about manage this with my thumb. Though I can't maintain my best braking effort and do this (my best braking effort isn't all that great either).

If I do get the brakes sorted someday then my style might change. I could relaly do with sorting the rear too whilst we're on the subject of brakes.

Originally Posted by 2mths

Big Fat Four Fingers here. I need 'em! I'm coming to the realisation that my brakes are shocking. Lever comes back to the bar and that's having changed the fluid.

Clean the calipers up.

Remove the calipers from the forks one at a time and follow the following proceedure. Take the pads out and pump the pistons out a bit - not too far. Give the pistons a good scrub with a toothbrush and WD40, don't use brake cleaner cos it'll dry the dust seal out and crack it. Wipe everything down and then reapply WD40. Push the pistons all the way back into the caliper and then strip the sliding carrier down and clean the pins before regreasing. You might find corrosion in the hole that the long rubber boot sits in. If there is then carefully remove the rubber and give the hole a clean out with rolled up emery cloth before applying some silicone or rubber grease and then shove the long boot back in. Clean the holes where the pins slide with WD40 before regreasing and reassembly. If you have coppaslip then put a thin smear on the back of each pad before putting them back in - for gods sake don't get any on the pad material. If you don't have coppaslip, buy some and use a little bit on the bolt threads wherever you find a steel bolt screwed into alloy.

You may be surprised how much better the lever is afterwards, and that's without rebleeding. I did my Daytonas yesterday and the difference was amazing, no more lever back to the bars moments. Took me 35 minutes total on two 4-pot calipers.

two por moi, one if riding slow thru town traffic

pull clutch with two also if that helps....

Thinking about it, I cover the lever with index & middle fingers, but generally actually only apply pressure with the middle one, unless I need to stop PDQ.

I still have the awful habit of comfort breaking, touching the lever for peace of mind even though they don't actually slow me at all. It doesn't help that I often lead groups and dab the lever to signal that I'm slowing..

When I'm on a track (that's not very often) I don't do it, and I generally use all 4 fingers too. But having an IL4 I don't really need to blip, it's just another habit I got into as I started my bike life on twins.

.

2 fingers normally, planiced whole hand during those rare scary ocassion or when I'll tryin a stoppy

Originally Posted by Jelster

When I'm on a track (that's not very often) I don't do it, and I generally use all 4 fingers too. But having an IL4 I don't really need to blip, it's just another habit I got into as I started my bike life on twins.

You should blip even on an IL4, to match engine revs to wheel speed. It makes for far smoother downchanges.