Braking ,braking or maybee Breaking.

[TwoSeven]

I suppose this is where I say I once fell of a Honda pasola for attempting to change gear on wet grass.

Like how did I know it was an automatic - I was only 7. Looked like a clutch lever to me at the time

[Ixion]

..
I would disagree with the argument that you should not cover your brakes. If you are practiced at braking properly then a panic stop is not an option. So when the situation is looking slightly dubious you should cover both levers, just in case. ..

I would distinguish covering when things look dubious from covering at all times. If you've analysed the situation to the point where you've concluded it's dubious, you will already have worked out responses. If braking is one of them, when the moment comes it WON'T be unexpected.

[justsomeguy]

The BRONZ course was a great answer to all the concerns raised......

Unfortunately - we had that little efing blaardy rott3n incident and I'm not sure if/when we can reschedule the rest of the course.

They teach you in detail - lines around corners, BRAKING, emerergency stops -- a whole lot of superb stuff -

But as the good Frosty said - KISS - and practice.

Oh yeah - and make sure you maintain your brakes(liquid, pads) and have good tyres.....

[erik]

I would distinguish covering when things look dubious from covering at all times....

I dunno, I don't think there is much difference between the two when commuting in auckland...

But on the open road I agree, covering the brake at all times isn't helpful.

[John]

well myself, I cover clutch and front brake - it has payed off on more than 2 accounts on the open road, also probably saved my life in my last bin to...
But what ever you feel comfortable with really, oh practice - it helps I normally "practise" every day, on a "slow safe ride"...

[Kwaka-Kid]

I say brake, brake hard, and brake hard on front only!

I used to use some rear for wet racing/riding, but now have found i have not ever touched the rear brake on the FZR400, and not on an NC30 for a good 9 odd months.

My theory - you should be/able to, brake so hard on the front that the rear is 5mm off the ground yes? thats optimum braking... well optimum would be 0.01mm off the ground, as you have less of the bike starting to rotate around the front wheel, so are getting max braking on front, and the rear brake is rendered useless.

Easy to talk about, obviously incredibly hard to hold the rear just off the ground for your whole period of braking. However if you get into the habbit and keep hoaning your front braking skills, then the least u get to is that your braking so hard on the front, that even a minor touch of the rear (any more then low-revv engine braking) will lock it up and send you into panic mode-which is also why i dont bother with high RPM deceleration of the engine (also because its f-ing bad for her!-amoung the worst things you can do correct?)

Meh - just my 2c, and of course this is all braking in a straight line, it must be. In the dry you can get away with minor tilt into a corner whilst holding some front braking but you should have planned it well enough to be easing off the front brakes as you are tipping in, hereby keeping the front squatted and well settled - also sharpening your steering head angle to make her tip in easier.

in the wet? well i bet youd be surprised at how hard you can brake in the wet, even on production tyres, keeping the bike dead straight im fairly confident you can brake just as hard - look @ TS @ manfield the other weekend, braking @ same distances as in dry.

Who knows? maybe thats all wrong, but its worked for me so far!
take care all.

[unhingedlizard]

I dont use the back brake much either. save on gravel. I also cover alot. Big hands help.

[XP@]

I say brake, brake hard, and brake hard on front only!

NO! NO! NO! NO!

This being the case why do all road based tests i have seen show improved stopping distances when both brakes?

With the front fully loaded on a normal road you are risking big time problems with washing out your front.

According to recent research the most effective way to apply the brakes is as follows:

1. Front
2. Clutch
3. Rear

Milliseconds after your front goes on you start with the clutch. The rear you can start to apply on from the beginning.

Once the rear brake is on, forget about it, If it locks then so what? You are looking where you are going a locked back brake will have negligable effect. You also can't effectivly concentrate on more than one thing at a time so pay attention to the front brake.

Even with a Max effort stop you should go through a progressive amount of preasure.

1. Start - small amount of brake initiates the compression of the forks and weight change to the front
2. harder - gradually applying the brake not too hard too fast
3. Modulate - Full on stopping power your front will be trying to stop turning, release a little and re-apply keeping the front almost stopped

Edit: Forgot to mention, don't bother changing down during a max effort stop, it will detract from the delicate task of using the front brake.

[vifferman]

Only 16 repetitions to make something an automatic habit? I'd read it was more like 30.... :spudwhat:

A lot depends on your bike, and I've found I've had to slightly re-learn braking technique for each one.
On the VFR750, I used to brake mostly with the front, but used the back brake to settle the bike before corners or before braking hard.
I used to use the rear brake on the FahrtSturm only when going slowly in traffic, or as a rudder when doing slow-speed turns. It was such an ineffectual brake that it didn't help much for anything else.
With the VifFerraRi, and its linked brakes, everything changed, and it took me a few weeks to get used to the brakes.
If the road surface is very dodgy, like after light rain, I use only the back brake below about 40 km/h, as it gives nice balanced braking, with 2/3 of the back pistons, and 1/3 of the front ones, and doesn't transfer weight drastically. You can stand on it quite hard without any "oh shit!" moments, and in fact, unlike every other bike I've owned, it stops very well using only the pedal.
As there isn't a huge amount of dive with application of either front/back brake, there's no need to settle the bike by using the back brake first, so most of the time during normal riding, I use only the front brake. For braking very hard, use of both is essential, as it uses all brake pistons (6 in front, 3 in the back).

I don't generally cover the brakes, except when riding in stop/go traffic, in which case I cover both the front lever and the rear brake pedal. I never use more than 2 fingers (and often only one), as I have more control with modulating brake pressure, and a better grip of the bars. I've done this for so long that four fingers feels too awkward. The one time recentlyish that I used four fingers for braking hard, I fell on my head.

Occasionally I'll practice things like emergency braking, braking in corners (no problem), emergency avoidance, etc., but must admit I probably need to spend some real time doing this (unless daily commuting in D'Auckland traffic counts).

When a car pulled out on me unexpectedly recently, I have no idea what I did, but I came to a stop safely, so in my reflexive response I must've done something right. The previous time I was in a similar situation, I 'froze' and went WHAM!! I have no desire to repeat that experience.

[XP@]

The Promocycle site is where to look.

The studies appear to be valid and basically the answer is to use both brakes.

Promocycle.com

• Braking systems (PDF)
• Reaction Times (PDF)
• Task analysis of intensive braking (PDF)

I have also added these links to the Links sticky Here

[TwoSeven]

I say brake, brake hard, and brake hard on front only!

My theory - you should be/able to, brake so hard on the front that the rear is 5mm off the ground yes? thats optimum braking... well optimum would be 0.01mm off the ground, as you have less of the bike starting to rotate around the front wheel, so are getting max braking on front, and the rear brake is rendered useless.

I would agree with having the ability to do this, but I'd suggest you may want to take another look at your suspension and set it up properly.

Still, I don't mind the rear being in the air and bouncing a bit.

[TwoSeven]

1. Front
2. Clutch
3. Rear

Sorry, have to blatently disagree with the use of the clutch at all when hard braking. No-way i'm going to take the load off the rear wheel so it skids. It isnt a dirt bike its a road bike we are talking about.

[Stroker Girl]

I'm a bit confused about the whole clutch issue too, as when I did my learner course at John Wright he told us to emergency brake as described by XP. Front, Clutch, Rear.

Since then I've had other advice to just avoid the rear and go for the front, no clutch either! Maybe it's more a matter of finding the most suitable & effective braking method for yourself and your bike and practicing it?

[XP@]

Sorry, have to blatently disagree with the use of the clutch at all when hard braking. No-way i'm going to take the load off the rear wheel so it skids. It isnt a dirt bike its a road bike we are talking about.

Read the study "Task Analysis of Intensive braking" (especially page 9)

[justsomeguy]

Maybe it's more a matter of finding the most suitable & effective braking method for yourself and your bike and practicing it?

That's the one