Oct
12th
To Front-Brake or Rear-Brake. That is the Question.
By Dino Dogan
Anyone who has taken an MSF class knows that using front AND rear
brake is the proper thing to do for maximum stopping power.
However, you will still hear some folks swear by – ironically – one over the other; with both Front-Brake or Rear-Brake advocates taking an even share of the market.
There have been three reasons (that I’ve been able to identify) as to why are people so hell-bent on picking one over the other. Here is what they are.
First.
Most of us have a bad childhood memory of laying too heavy on the front brake on our bicycles and flying (or almost flying) over the handle bars. This taught us never to use the front brake. These people grew up advocating using only rear brake on their motorcycles.
Motorcycle however, has shock absorbents on the front wheel which results in the front side of the motorcycle “sinking” into the ground. As long as your front wheel is not locked for more then a second, your ass will remain firmly planted on the seat.
Second.
The experts - and by that I mean professional motorcycle racers – advocate the use of the front brake only. After all, aren’t these guys the professionals and wouldn’t they know what brake is the best?
Turns out, not necessarily.
Using front brake during a motorcycle race is –in fact – the right thing to do, for them.
This is because they are flying at 150+ mph on these really light bikes and hitting the back brake is pointless since the back of the bike is quite literarily being lifted off the ground.
Since the back of the motorcycle is airborne it would be quite pointless for them to use a back brake. However, most of us are not riding at those speeds and most of us ride (statistically speaking anyways) heavy cruisers which means that when we brake both wheels will remain firmly planted on the ground.
Third.
Using both Front-Brake and Rear-Brake is appropriate only when the bike is straightened-out. This means that using front brake while your front wheel is turned (to the left or to the right) is likely to result in crash. Also, whenever you find yourself in a curve (at higher speeds – above 25mph – you will be counter steering) it’s a really good idea to lay off the front brake.
However, if you find yourself making turns at lower speeds (under 25mph – and some would say under 15mph) it is quite OK and considered proper form to use the rear brake to stabilize your bike.
So as you can see the use of Front-Brake or Rear-Brake is dependant on circumstances, and what’s correct for some may not be correct for others. Using Front-Brake alone is ok for racers (or is it racists? lol) but for the rest of us its not so clear cut.
Also, don’t forget what you learned in your MSF class. Make sure you do all your braking (and shifting into lower gear) while your bike is straight-up and before you lay into the curve. Take the outside-inside-outside trajectory and accelerate while going through the bend.
Keep your throttle in the higher RPMs so that you have “speed on demand” if and when it’s needed.
Two articles in one day…I’m feeling creative today :-)
However, you will still hear some folks swear by – ironically – one over the other; with both Front-Brake or Rear-Brake advocates taking an even share of the market.
There have been three reasons (that I’ve been able to identify) as to why are people so hell-bent on picking one over the other. Here is what they are.
First.
Most of us have a bad childhood memory of laying too heavy on the front brake on our bicycles and flying (or almost flying) over the handle bars. This taught us never to use the front brake. These people grew up advocating using only rear brake on their motorcycles.
Motorcycle however, has shock absorbents on the front wheel which results in the front side of the motorcycle “sinking” into the ground. As long as your front wheel is not locked for more then a second, your ass will remain firmly planted on the seat.
Second.
The experts - and by that I mean professional motorcycle racers – advocate the use of the front brake only. After all, aren’t these guys the professionals and wouldn’t they know what brake is the best?
Turns out, not necessarily.
Using front brake during a motorcycle race is –in fact – the right thing to do, for them.
This is because they are flying at 150+ mph on these really light bikes and hitting the back brake is pointless since the back of the bike is quite literarily being lifted off the ground.
Since the back of the motorcycle is airborne it would be quite pointless for them to use a back brake. However, most of us are not riding at those speeds and most of us ride (statistically speaking anyways) heavy cruisers which means that when we brake both wheels will remain firmly planted on the ground.
Third.
Using both Front-Brake and Rear-Brake is appropriate only when the bike is straightened-out. This means that using front brake while your front wheel is turned (to the left or to the right) is likely to result in crash. Also, whenever you find yourself in a curve (at higher speeds – above 25mph – you will be counter steering) it’s a really good idea to lay off the front brake.
However, if you find yourself making turns at lower speeds (under 25mph – and some would say under 15mph) it is quite OK and considered proper form to use the rear brake to stabilize your bike.
So as you can see the use of Front-Brake or Rear-Brake is dependant on circumstances, and what’s correct for some may not be correct for others. Using Front-Brake alone is ok for racers (or is it racists? lol) but for the rest of us its not so clear cut.
Also, don’t forget what you learned in your MSF class. Make sure you do all your braking (and shifting into lower gear) while your bike is straight-up and before you lay into the curve. Take the outside-inside-outside trajectory and accelerate while going through the bend.
Keep your throttle in the higher RPMs so that you have “speed on demand” if and when it’s needed.
Two articles in one day…I’m feeling creative today :-)
Viewing 1 - 1 of 1
