Front Brake - Rear Brake?

all good points above. the only time i never use the front brake is on the gravelly stuff, ball bearings, back brake every time. also mid-corner when i've carried a little too much speed and i need to scrub a little off. come on guys we've all done it.

I was told to use front brake then back especially on emergency stop. Back for down hill and slow manouveres
Tend to use both anyway always front first then apply back

Nowt ever straight forward and easy

The brakes are like a singing duet. They work best as a pair.
Certainly the front is the lead vocalist whilst the rear is more harmonies and backing vocals with the occasional brief solo, but if you took either away the one you're left with, however talented, would seem incomplete.

For me, well this is whatr I've been doing since I started riding a bike.

Dry weather: Brake distribution 75% front, 25% rear

Wet weather: Brake distribution 50% front, 50% rear

When cornering: steady rear only

Originally Posted by Gene genie

... also mid-corner when i've carried a little too much speed and i need to scrub a little off. come on guys we've all done it.

Save the traction and just lean it a little more.

I'm guilty of that too though. I normally use my back brake for anywhere from 5-30% of my braking, depending on the conditions. Except for this last weekend... I wasn't able to get the parts I needed to replaced a torn brake hose in time for the ride-out, so I went with no back brake. I never really noticed how much I use it for slow-speed stops and corner preparation until I didn't have it!!!

[northwind]

I can't get on SVR at work, but I bet you 10p that the thread's full of people saying "Racers never use the back brake, so you shouldn't either" "The back brake will only get you in trouble" and most importantly "The rear brake's useless because when you're using the front brake fully the rear wheel is off the ground".

Do I win?

This weekend I've covered probably 200 miles. The only time I've touched either brake was either:
- To show my brake lights to traffic behind me.
- In the last second or so of stopping as the clutch was pulled in.

Engine braking all the way for me, unless something unexpected happens. Then, assuming dry to moderately wet conditions & the bike is upright, front brake. If I'm still approaching too quickly & engine braking isn't good enough combined with the front brake, I'll use the rear brake.

I ride like that pretty much all the time these days, and even when I'm hooning around, use the engine braking probably 80-90% of the time.

In seriously wet weather I'll use the rear a little more, other than that, the rear brake is reserved for u-turns/slippy road surfaces.

Originally Posted by Baph

Engine braking all the way for me, unless something unexpected happens.

Isn't it easier and cheaper to replace worn rear pads than a worn clutch?

Thanks for all the really good gen. I'm actually out of the country at the moment (stuck in the Middle East for 2 months and it sucks) so am bikeless at the moment but will put some of the tips above to good use when I get back. Guess I need to re-learn to use the back again as I am out of the habit.

Probably shouldn't say too much, but on my DA my instructor said that I should cover the back brake to make it look like it was being used, but only to use the front as it would be too easy to lock the back wheel and that is an instant fail (although at 30 mph, I could probably have put my boots down on the road and stopped just as quickly).


Thanks to all that have already replied. I look forward to more replies and advice if anyone esle out there wants to comment. Need all the help I can get at the moment.

Ride safe.

Stradders

Originally Posted by Troy

Isn't it easier and cheaper to replace worn rear pads than a worn clutch?

Please enlighten me as to how engine braking wears on the clutch any more than normal riding.

Gearbox has more stress possibly, pistons & rings almost certainly, chain, yup, but clutch?