Do you use your Back brake?

Does anyone use the rear if there are firing through a corner too quickly?

yep everytime i ride! especialy when filtering, or on tight roundabouts etc to keep the bike steady on the throttle. The back brake is a very handy tool, just use it with caution in the wet

Originally Posted by mototech

just use it with caution in the wet

Press harder, its fun

I've seen test film with the same experianced rider on same bike use front then back individually then both. Braking distance was considerably reduced using both. Road conditions (dry or wet) determine the proportions to use 70/30 or 50/50. How anyone knows that it's 70% beats me.

I rarely use my rear break only really using it for slow menouvers. But then on a run, i don't really use my front break much either when entering corners and use the gears to slow me down before i get there and then on the gas to come out of them. Something that i will really have to work on when i start riding the GSXR as i am so used to having the engine to slow me down on the SV.

[johnnyrod]

Accepted wisdom is something like 75/25 front/rear or closer to 50/50 in the wet (less grip anyway). As Keith Code says "the engine is not a brake" but obviously it does slow you down - though not something you can control properly like a brake pedal. I've heard lots of people say they never use the back brake, and claims racers don't either, which is a load of garbage, unless you're Jamie Whitham and the back wheel is in the air anyway (very gald to see most of you know how to ride). I can't exaplin the physics either but whether you're on road or off, with or without an engine, the front doe sthe stopping and the back stabilises (obviously does some stopping too bt not that much).

My two penn'th for slow speed stuff e.g. junctions is I only use the front simply because you're not going that hard and it's a lot easier to control than the rear. many people are also out of the habit of using the back brake like a handbrake when waiting at junctions (i.e. just in case) but it's hardly the end of the world!

[Viney]

Originally Posted by Samnooshka

I rarely use my rear break only really using it for slow menouvers. But then on a run, i don't really use my front break much either when entering corners and use the gears to slow me down before i get there and then on the gas to come out of them. Something that i will really have to work on when i start riding the GSXR as i am so used to having the engine to slow me down on the SV.

As my old instructor said, Gears are for going, brakes are for slowing.

Originally Posted by Viney

As my old instructor said, Gears are for going, brakes are for slowing.

Yeah, i just got into the habbit of it as i was over cautious with the brakes. I will always use my brakes into corners if i'm on a ride out or in a line of traffic as its safer. I also sit on my back brake at junctions and traffic lights, have always done this as a just in case thing. I tend to use the engine and brakes rather than brakes alone as i find it stops me quicker.

For slow manouvreing I use the rear brake a lot. If I need to brake quite hard for a turn I will also use it as mentioned by others to settle the bike before turning and of course to assist the front brake in taking off some speed.

I am also very comfortable traioling the rear brake if I am a tadge too hot when already in a turn. The main secret in using the rear brake is gentle,applied pressure as opposed to stamping on it.

Thanks for the replies guys.

Maybe I should have expanded a bit in the first post. Please don't take it that in not using the back brake the only braking going on (when I ride) is from the front brake, There's a *whole* lot of engine braking going on.

Maybe this is from by racing days but it's very difficult to lock a back tyre by going down through the box. It'll skip and hover but it's hard to get it to lock completely. It even slews sideways coming into tight turns (aiding steering) but in a very controlled way. Its like a form of ABS. The tyre is sliding but still rotating at the same time. In my dreams I wish I could do this like Jamie Whitham does in the wet. He's gobsmackingly good at this)

If you are overcooking it into a corner and use the back brake in anger, the chances are that if you aren't vertical, it's going to slide out. And if you are very hard on the front brake, even a little back brake is enough to lock the back up because all of the weight is on the front tyre, or more importatly off the rear tyre.

When you are hard on the brakes and it's going wrong, braking even harder on the front puts even more weight on the front wheel giving it even more grip (unless of course it went wrong becasue of gravel ). There's a good article on this in the link from the thread "A good atricle on counter steering" its one of the others on the page and describes deliberately finding the limit of front traction and releasing and reapplying pressure around this point in emergencies.

Not using the rear brake also allows you to get your foot out of the way for right handers. With your toes on the peg you have a lot more clearance and a lot more toe left on your boot.

In town, where you don't have the higher revs to use engine braking, I can see the use of the back brake coming into play but I generally try not to ride in heavy traffic (my rush hour is usually two rabbits and a pheasant! )

In the rain, I try not to brake at all and do all of my riding on engine braking.

Maybe its the case that the longer you spend in biking and the more confidense that you have the front end grip you require, the less you use the rear brake?

Carl