Using the front brake...

[James Deuce]

LIKE others have said in here..60% front and 40% rear.
well it does add up.still gives me the shits grabbing a right handfull
Practise more i suppose

Nope, it's more like 80%-90% front/20%-10% rear on a modern bike, even one with a linked brake system.

If you don't master front brake use you are really limiting your options in an emergency. The key to stopping quickly is controlling the balance between weight transfer and front grip and being able to modulate brake force right on the limit. You can stop 10s of metres quicker in an emergency if you know what you are doing.

Try this in a deserted carpark early one Sunday morning.

1. Accelerate to 50 km/hr, brake at a preset point and then measure how far it takes you to stop rear brake only.

2. Accelerate to 50, then measure how far it takes you to stop front brake only (trust me, this will be a LONG way shorter than the rear by itself).

3. Accelerate to 50 and then try both. Again this will be a little bit shorter than either of the other methods.

Then work on shortening that distance. I bet you hardly make a dent in the rear brake only option distance to stop, while you improve a lot on lessening the distance from the front, and then make huge gains on using both brakes.

Remember that getting a metre off your stopping distance at 50 km/hr could mean the difference between parking your front wheel in the lap of driver that just pulled out of his driveway without looking, and you safely coming to a halt to savour the , "OMGWTFBBQ" look on the muppet's face.

Do not underestimate how important your front brake is. It is the majority of your stopping power by a huge percentage.

Oh yes, I recommend using two fingers on the front brake for adjusting your speed, and four for stopping. You have both more leverage and more sensitivity with four fingers.

[wendigo]

A more extreme measure would be to get a set of high rear sets.

What I've found with both the TL and Duke, the high rear sets make rear wheel braking require more of a conscious decision.

This is coz they make the body lean forward, hence ergonomics dictate that the most comfortable position is when the balls of the feet rest on the pegs as opposed to the bridges of the feet. Hence you have to think of moving your foot before you brake.

The other advantage is that if you're resting on the bridges of your feet, your foot will always be under the gear lever, hence changing up is a subconscious doddle.

The disadvantage of course, is that you have to think to foot brake, hence you may lose a bit of braking potential in the event of an emergency. Then again this is probably not so bad, as virtually all the braking will come through the front in a situation like this, hence the chances of locking the rear up will be reduced.


My 2c

[Matt]

Appreciate the advice - had a good run over to Greytown yesterday with a few mates and really practiced using just the front brake over the 'takas - once I'd remembered to keep it smooth and not brake too hard/late it seemed alot better than the last time I went over there.

Also got half an hour in an empty carpark (behind the Racecourse in Trentham) on the way home - I'm still amazed how hard you can actually brake with the front and not wash out! Guess I just need to practice a few more times until it becomes second nature in an emergency

Matt

[90s]

I'm still amazed how hard you can actually brake with the front and not wash out!

Sure. In fact if you carry on looking up and forward and even lock the front there is no reason why you should go down. You will front wheel skid and this is totally recoverable as long as you don't panic / aren't canted over. Just let the brake pressure off a little.

If you search on here there's loads of threads on this, plus a link to a high-level report where they tested scientifically to get some idea of optimal braking strategy (using both a cruiser (Valkyrie) and Sport bike (Fireblade)). Emphasises again that most braking is, of course, front brake on the road, but for sport bikes this pretty much is all their braking.

Nope, it's more like 80%-90% front/20%-10% rear on a modern bike, even one with a linked brake system.

Try this in a deserted carpark early one Sunday morning.
1. Accelerate to 50 km/hr, brake at a preset point and then measure how far it takes you to stop rear brake only.
2. Accelerate to 50, then measure how far it takes you to stop front brake only (trust me, this will be a LONG way shorter than the rear by itself).
3. Accelerate to 50 and then try both. Again this will be a little bit shorter than either of the other methods.
Then work on shortening that distance. I bet you hardly make a dent in the rear brake only option distance to stop, while you improve a lot on lessening the distance from the front, and then make huge gains on using both brakes.

This is exatly the methodology used at RRRS, which I recommend for anyone, however much experience they have. And this exercise is a real eye opener.
With a little practice I reduced my initial braking from front only 2.5 cones, rear only 3 cones to a best of both brakes 1/2 cone lenght. It was so fast I almost dropped the bike in shock. And I still could have improved this.

You have both more leverage and more sensitivity with four fingers.

I am sure this is the punchline to a popular joke ...

[90s]

Oh, and could do 1/2 cone on front brake only too with a little 'faith' of course.

[F5 Dave]

I'm surprised some of you blame Trials & dirtbike past for not using the front brake. OK I've gone the other way but all that has made me do is start using the rear brake on the roadbike a bit more. Trials bike esp I use the front brake a heap, severe down hills etc, amazing the grip you have.

I'm always amazed that experienced riders get all antsy at riding courses when the plan is to practice braking from 100kph. Yet they are happy to go that speed on the open road. In the wet. I've taken courses (not for some time) & it is surprising how much improvement even 'experienced' riders make over the course of 1/2 a dozen practise runs. While you are about it practise looking up as most common bad habit is looking down at the speedo or the ground meaning any locked wheel will not be countered for (ie if you are looking ahead & up you will tend to save a skid.

[terbang]

80-90% on the front brake on most bikes except cruisers where you tend to use the rear more. Cruisers can generally stop quicker than Sport bikes because they are low and don't have the tendancey to rotate around the front axle (do a stoppie). Take a look at bike design, huge big multi pot twin disks on the front and a small single pot disk on the rear. The people who make them are sending a loud and clear message as to where your braking is to be done.

[F5 Dave]

. . . Cruisers can generally stop quicker than Sport bikes because they are low and don't have the tendancey to rotate around the front axle (do a stoppie). . . . .

I'd like to see that proven.

Maybe to say " IF the forks were short travel with decent damping AND there was a modern 120 tyre on the front AND there was a proper set of brakes AND the weights were equivalent then. . . see above.

[terbang]

I'd like to see that proven.

Maybe to say " IF the forks were short travel with decent damping AND there was a modern 120 tyre on the front AND there was a proper set of brakes AND the weights were equivalent then. . . see above.

There have been magazine test comparisons often made and it is, surprisingly, the cruisers that do well with the braking.

[90s]

I'd like to see that proven.

Maybe to say " IF the forks were short travel with decent damping AND there was a modern 120 tyre on the front AND there was a proper set of brakes AND the weights were equivalent then. . . see above.

Find that article I mentioned earlier.
I was amazed that the valkyrie and the fireblade had almost the same times (from what I remember).

Reasons prob. because 100% of the blade's braking on the front as the rear lifts, but awesome front pots and weighs less than the cruiser; cruiser heavy but keeps more traction on the ground and braking effort split more between f & r (most f of course).

Overall it all seemed to even out. I was surprised too.

[sAsLEX]

There have been magazine test comparisons often made and it is, surprisingly, the cruisers that do well with the braking.

Just change it to a 0 - 100 - 0 test.... that will get the sprotbikes back up on top.... except for maybe the Rocket.....

[07fatboy]

Mate.....
Thats not what that is for!!

Umm, that's a span adjuster. It's for adjusting how close the lever is to the grip. You know, depending on whether or not you are a Dwarf or a Giant.

Weeeellllll!!!! ya learn a new thing every day eh!.Shows ya how much I know about the nu bikes(fark all).I'm glad no one come to serious harm taking that bitta advice...I rang the bro and told him thanks for letting me know about the trick no lock brake thingy he told me about...stay safe

[terbang]

Just change it to a 0 - 100 - 0 test.... that will get the sprotbikes back up on top.... except for maybe the Rocket.....

This thread is about braking.
I'm not a cruiser rider either (though they are all bikes) but have to concede that the geometry of such bikes often affords better braking. The stoppie as we know it, whilst fun and a bit of showmanship, is actually the limitation of a sportbikes braking as the CofG tries to pitch itself around the front axle..
Once again you can look to design trends to show us how front braking has evolved. There was a time when there were reasonably complex anti dive type arangements fitted to bikes that stiffened the front forks when you applied the front brake. This supposedly allowed for a more even spread of front/rear braking. My 82 GSX1100 has it, though it also has a powerful rear brake. However you will notice that modern bikes have gone away from this and tend to let the bike dive onto the front wheel during braking. They have well developed front brakes and just a token on the rear. The theory being that as the bike dives, the CofG shifts forward thus loading the front wheel more, offering better traction and naturaly more braking. This is done with the tolerance and, in some cases, advantage that the bikes steering will sharpen as well. The limitation to this configuration is, as mentioned before, the stoppie.

[Krusti]

Then.................take up adventure riding and you really have to start thinking. Seal, front brake. Gravel, rear brake.

One of the reasons I love mixed road surfaces. Keeps your mind working.

[terbang]

My Cagiva 1000 is the Navigator which they class as an "all road bike". I too have been giving my rear brake a hiding lately.