Two fingers draped over the front brake - or not?

[Maha]

My reflex is lightning quick so dont need to drape anything.

[chasio]

Four fingers on the brake or four fingers on the throttle.

3 common problems with covering the brake with 2 fingers.
1) On many bikes the lever can be pulled back until it hits the other fingers, this limits braking.
2) Dexterity
3) People in emergency brake situations reasonably frequently just grab the brake if they have 2 fingers on it. This is good of course, what is bad that they frequently forget or omit to drop the throttle, this is bad and usually more that doubles stopping distance.

Wait for it - any minute now I will hear how no one does this.
Yet we see it frequently, invariably from people who just informed us they would never forget to drop the throttle, go figure.

I took this advice from RRRS (thanks The Stranger and all involved for this) a couple of years ago soon after I started riding. Keeping all 4 fingers together has been working for me since then and I can't remember forgetting to drop the throttle since, either.

I filter around Auckland motorways and in traffic a lot. Four fingers covering the brake and throttle under control of the fleshy base of thumb / palm works well for me. YMMV.

[sAsLEX]

I took this advice from RRRS (thanks The Stranger and all involved for this) a couple of years ago soon after I started riding. Keeping all 4 fingers together has been working for me since then and I can't remember forgetting to drop the throttle since, either.

I filter around Auckland motorways and in traffic a lot. Four fingers covering the brake and throttle under control of the fleshy base of thumb / palm works well for me. YMMV.

and yet you contradict yourself.

The RRRS quote in your reply states finger on the brake or on the throttle, yet you "cover" the brake.

[newbould]

I got a good slapping at RRRS for covering the brake with 2 fingers the logic being that you need that 1/2 second of rear brake only in emergency stop to get wieght forward and then progressively brake on front. By covering the front the danger is a snatched front only braking which is more likely to lock up the front wheel - less weight on the wheel - full braking force on the brake cf more weight on the front will increase size of contact patch with the ground increased friction mor ebraking before skidmarks.

OTOH David Hough in Proficient motorcycling recommends covering the front brake at all times because that will save you valuable time in getting on the brake.

So I guess the answer is go with what works for you and practice emergency braking lots so that you do the right thing automatically when needed.

Personally I still cover the brake. i will take on board the comment on dropping the throttle - almost failed my wobble test on that one!

[sAsLEX]

I got a good slapping at RRRS for covering the brake with 2 fingers the logic being that you need that 1/2 second of rear brake only in emergency stop to get wieght forward and then progressively brake on front. By covering the front the danger is a snatched front only braking which is more likely to lock up the front wheel - less weight on the wheel - full braking force on the brake cf more weight on the front will increase size of contact patch with the ground increased friction mor ebraking before skidmarks.

I would argue that using the rear to promote forwards transfer of weight could also lead to a snatched rear and subsequent brown pants moment......

[chasio]

and yet you contradict yourself.

The RRRS quote in your reply states finger on the brake or on the throttle, yet you "cover" the brake.

The quote from The Stranger is for four fingers on brake or four fingers on the throttle and that's what I do, depending on the situation.

What I meant by "covering" was having all four fingers ready on the lever. If by "covering" you understood me to mean two fingers on the lever, then that would seem contradictory, I agree. Thanks for pointing out the possible misunderstanding and I hope that clears up what I meant.

Like I said, the RRRS approach to this has worked well for me for a couple of years. Each to his own. I just opted to take their advice for a lot of things.

Cheers - Chasio

[sinned]

If the brain and fingers are half asleep it aint gonna make a hell of a lot of difference in stopping time regardless of where the fingers are. If you are awake, observant of the the conditions and riding defensively the fingers will move to cover the brake lever as required.

I keep my fingers curled around the heated grips so they are warm and can therefore move quickly when required. Fingers in a half frozen state over the levers are not much use.

[Usarka]

Whatever you do make sure that's also how you practice your emergency stops.

[Tunahunter]

Thanks for that

[sAsLEX]

The quote from The Stranger is for four fingers on brake or four fingers on the throttle and that's what I do, depending on the situation.

What I meant by "covering" was having all four fingers ready on the lever. If by "covering" you understood me to mean two fingers on the lever, then that would seem contradictory, I agree. Thanks for pointing out the possible misunderstanding and I hope that clears up what I meant.

Like I said, the RRRS approach to this has worked well for me for a couple of years. Each to his own. I just opted to take their advice for a lot of things.

Cheers - Chasio

Covering, with any number of fingers, to me suggests fingers out on the lever.

"Covering" with fingers "ready" on the bar, is simply holding the bar.

[neels]

Up until recently I was riding with 2 fingers on the brake (probably too much mountainbiking), but a couple of times lately I've dragged on the lever in a hurry and ended up squashing the other 2 fingers against the grip. Now it's either 4 fingers on the grip or 4 fingers on the brake lever and throttle with my thumb, seems to be working OK so far.

[chasio]

"Covering" with fingers "ready" on the bar, is simply holding the bar.

Lucky I didn't say that, eh

[george formby]

Just had a wee flick through the posts after a run to get some muffins this arvo. Most of the time "travelling" I have two fingers resting on the brake lever, not over it. When I'm "trying", braking & accelerating reasonably hard through a series of corners I found myself either on the throttle or on the brake. Nothing in between. I also realised that my intentions & potential hazards cause me to constantly adjust how I'm riding. Body position, covering brakes, speed, distance I'm looking ahead, focusing on areas that are in my peripheral vision, acceleration etc. Their is a lot going on when you actually think about what your doing on the bike & how the enviroment dictates to you. Phew! It's amazing what becomes second nature over the years.

[rustic101]

I've been riding for 16 mths now - done a lot of reading and a lot of talking.

One issue which confuses me is whether or not it is more effective to ride with two fingers of the right hand draped over the brake lever - or to hold the accelerator with all the fingers and move the fingers when its time to brake. Both feel pretty OK to me but I haven't experienced a hard out emergency situation yet - so I wonder about it.

I have consulted two sources, both of whom I respect - and their views are the opposite.

Anyone got a view?

ride with one finger extended over each level almost like holding a pistol and light braking is done like that and gear changes too. Only do whole had for heavier braking

[molmolmol]

So what if... say you're going through some twisties in the mountains, do you still cover them while say, leaning the bike through the corner?

Shouldn't it be better to adjust your speed (slow down, brake, change gear) before taking the corner?

Just something that's in my mind atm....