Check fully after an off

[timwilky]

Well my mate Dave had a narrow escape today.

As I have previously posted he had a slight off a couple of weeks ago that did very little damage to his bike. two small scratches on the fairing, ruptured tank and a slight tear in his seat. no damage to levers, can, lights, mirrors etc.

Well today we go out and pick up his mate in Southport to go pillion with Dave. As John climbs on, Dave applies front brake just to help steady the bike and the lever snaps in his hand.

Obviously there must have been a crack resulting from the off. Thank god he found it whilst stationary and not when he needed it.

So please when you think damage is minor, check and exercise the component. Dave is a new rider only passed his test a couple of weeks ago and is still in newbie mode as far as doing what his DAS instructor told him and not really using the front brake.

Originally Posted by timwilky

Dave is a new rider only passed his test a couple of weeks ago and is still in newbie mode as far as doing what his DAS instructor told him and not really using the front brake.

Very alarming tale generally, it's a good reminder to check everything.

But I'm shocked about this advice re the front brake - we've debated using front/rear brake before. Being taught not to use the front brake or to use it only sparingly is downright dangerous IMHO.

I am very surprised about the front brake snapping like that though. I was of the impression that the levers were made to either survive an impact or snap. Very unlucky to have one fracture but not snap like that. Close call indeed.

In regards to the non use of the front brake. Can I suggest that maybe your friend has possibly misunderstood what the instructor was telling him Maybe the instructor was trying to tell your friend to be rear biased until he is used to using the front brake

Baffled by the "advice" too, did my test almost 15 years ago now but remember the advice at the time was generally 70/30 front (experience and habit now has me running at about 95/5 unless wet, trail braking etc).

I remember my step-dad being horrified that I used so much front brake claiming I'd "go over the bars", till I pointed out two massive discs on the front and a little titchy one on the back. Apparently back in his day (when it were all fields round 'ere) the advice was back brake dominance; though to be honest I think he got it wrong even then

[21QUEST]

Originally Posted by BigApe

In regards to the non use of the front brake. Can I suggest that maybe your friend has possibly misunderstood what the instructor was telling him Maybe the instructor was trying to tell your friend to be rear biased until he is used to using the front brake

That was my first thought as well. Still very lucky...

Regards the lever snapping off, where exactly was the break? Pivot area?


Ben

Originally Posted by BigApe

I am very surprised about the front brake snapping like that though. I was of the impression that the levers were made to either survive an impact or snap. Very unlucky to have one fracture but not snap like that. Close call indeed.

I fitted an aftermarket brake lever (after dropping the bike pushing out of a parking space - how stupid can one get!). I noticed that while the Suzuki one has some metal taken away on the underside just before the ball at the end, the aftermarket does not. I noticed that the Suzuki one, just the ball broke off leaving a usable brake lever, and I don't think taht would happen with the aftermarket one. Maybe this is an explanation for the lever snapping like that and also a caution about using cheap replacement parts.

exact same thing happenned to me Tim after my off.!

[RingDing]

RE: The non-use of the front brake 'advice'

I sold my Triumph Trophy to a colleague when I bought the SV. He was new to riding so I took him out for a couple of rides, just the two of us, and he coped fine (I was riding like I was on my test though!).

We then went out with a group of friends and he ended up going straight on at a 90° bend. Fortunately there was a little bit of a layby but he still hit a fence at about 10mph and dropped it. When questioned about it it turned out he was only using the rear brake as the instructor had instilled such a fear of locking the front wheel in him! I couldn't believe it! I don't see how such an mis-understanding could persist through a whole DAS course.

Anyway, we soon pointed out the error of his ways!

On my DAS I was told to use mainly front brake above 10 mph and under that use rear for slow speeds, this seems to work great.....when I remember so as not to make the front dive!

[timwilky]

Yeah it snapped at the pivot, I guess that whilst there was no visible damage, we actually commented on it at the time. When he pulled hard on it, bang it went. Thank god it wasn't when he actually needed it.

I cannot comment as to why his instructor had told him to not to use his front brake. I can only guess that there was some sort of fear of a low speed lockup