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[quote="earwig"] Any motorcycle manual, or MSF manual or rider coach will tel you the same thing. I hope this helps.


my MSF said to use the rear brake for 'speed adjustments'. as in your riding down the road doing 45 and a car slows down 5mph in front of you. you can use the rear brake to adjust your speed. when Stopping you should use both brakes. or so said the course i took.

I tend to use both, especially if I need to stop quickly. I always use more front though as there's more stopping power there. I also make use of the engine braking.

I use both but am a firm believer in knowing the limits of front wheel braking and your own ability to use them. I used to go out to parking lots and practice two-wheel skids both on bare pavement and pavement with a dusty sand layer on it. If you try this though, understand that even in practice it can be very risky. It's very very easy for a front wheel to get away on you. If you're not exerienced, go with someone who is. In the end however, being good at using your brakes might just save your life one day.

earwig wrote:You are supposed to use both breaks at the same time, ALL of the time, no exceptions. Getting into the habbit of using both breaks will ensure you are comfortable to use both when you really NEED to. The front break gives you about 70 percent of the stopping power, and the back 30 percent. Any motorcycle manual, or MSF manual or rider coach will tel you the same thing. I hope this helps.

Obviously it depends on which side of the Atlantic you ride. Over here most manuals I've seen tell you to use the front brake only under normal conditions and both brakes in the wet. As we have so much of the wet there probably isn't much difference, now that I think about it.

using the front braks is quite dangerous.. you should never practice using it especially on a fast ride. take these tips seriously so you wont commit accidents..

karlyn wrote:using the front braks is quite dangerous.. you should never practice using it especially on a fast ride. take these tips seriously so you wont commit accidents..

Not sure where you got that idea from Karlyn. On a fast ride the front brake is going to be the only one that is going to slow you down in good time. The only real uses of the back brake are for stablising the back wheel and for braking when riding slow.

The idea that the front brake is 'dangerous' keeps popping up. I don't know where it comes from. The front brake is only dangerous if it is used incorrectly. Practicing the use of the front brake is the only way you are going to become a safe rider. But like everything else, you need to practice carefully, gradually testing out the limits and seeing how much front brake you can use (quite a lot actually) and how fast.

karlyn wrote:using the front braks is quite dangerous.. you should never practice using it especially on a fast ride. take these tips seriously so you wont commit accidents..

Perhaps someone should start a campaign to have front brakes abolished. That would make the world a safer place.

on another note... My front brakes will absolutly under no circumstance lock up my front wheel. (well on pavement at least ... in gravel or wet its another story)

I've been thinking about swapping out my brake lines for steel braided ones but i've been putting that off.

i would assume it would take some getting used to.

karlyn wrote:using the front braks is quite dangerous.. you should never practice using it especially on a fast ride. take these tips seriously so you wont commit accidents..

ive had so many people who think they know what they are talking about say stuff like this

my brother who almost bought a ducati 996(he had no riding exp at all) would always say 'you can only use the front brake when your going under 10 mph or the bike will flip'.