i'm biased heavily towards using the rear brake when stopping because i don't know how to hold the front brake lever while blipping the throttle for downshifts... i always seem to grab too much front brake and then next thing i know i'm either locking up the rear or going into a stoppie...!


[Modified by Benjamin Tang, 7:59 AM 5/21/2001]

 

My bike is tall, so I usually wail the fronts, but during high speeds, and fast braking, I use the rear first, downshift, and pull the fronts. This helps me keep control of the bike while slowing down/stopping. Im not sure it is easy to do a stoppie with my bike, it is just too dan heavy. But....I could and most likley am wrong.
~C~

 

The generic rule that you have probably heard is 70% front 30% rear, or 80/20. That was/is more aplicable to older bikes, or bikes that don't have exceptional brakes. Since so many of the new bikes are able to 150+mph manufacturers have made the brakes much better. I have yet to experience any brake fade on my R6 even on the track, and I have totally stock brakes. These better brakes change the rules a bit. I have taken 2 safety courses and they both said the same thing 70/30 front/rear. However the last one I took did mention that max braking may be achieved with only the front brake on many of the newer sport bikes. Basically it goes as follows if you have enough traction and enough brake to lift the rear tire off the ground, aka stoppie, then you can achieve your max braking with just the front. That does not mean that you will have the most control, simply that in a straight line the shortest distance to stop in will be using the front brake until the rear tire starts to lift off the ground. Since it is not a perfect world that doesn't always apply.

My advice is to do some braking drills and learn how your bike feels using just the front, just the rear, and then try both. The more experience you get with how your bike reacts under extreme braking the less likely you are going to wade it when a real emergency happens. BTW you can just go to some deserted parking lot to do the braking drills, there is no need to be out on a street when you are doing this. If possible it would also be a good idea to practice braking hard and then turning. Remember that you bike will not want to turn and brake at the same time.

happy riding

Just one last thought, locking up the rear really counter acts any benifit you gained by blipping the throttle to get the engine to match road speed while braking for a turn. Just something to think about.

 

hi guys. thanks for the responses so far.

my old 89 gsxr used to have 4-piston nissins inthe front and 2-piston rear. it now has 6-piston tokicos from a 98zxrr in the front while the rear remains the same.

before this i used to always rely mostly on the rear brake when slowing down and downshifting and then use the front brakes when coming to a stop. i am finding now that the brake bias is now more towards the front and i'm really fumbling it to correct. the reason the rear is locking up is because i keep grabbing too much front and the back end is coming off the ground.... argh, what i would give to have time to go to performance riding classes

 

squid alert...

what is the secret to braking and downshifting simultaneously??? i seriously don't know how to blip the throttle and hold the front brake lever down at the same time... if i try to downshift without the throttle blip sometimes the rear wheel will lock up and it gets really hairy after that


[Modified by Benjamin Tang, 2:54 PM 5/21/2001]

 

You might try holding the throttle that way you don't have to twist your wrist while you are applying the front brake. This does complicate things by forcing you to hold the throttle at some reasonable RPM with no load on the engine.

Keep practicing. I can think of no way to describe it other than you just do it

 

Ok try this...

Hold the throttle between your thumb and fore finger. Using two fingers, index and the one beside it, hold the front brake lever. There should be enough movement while holding the brake lever to allow your thumb to blip the throttle as you are downshifting, never having to take your fingers of the brake.

It works for me, and should work for you. As long as you don't have tiny hands...

 

hm. sounds dainty, like holding a teacup... will try later. thanks

 

I dont' really use the rear brake at all. Once on the freeway going real slow i used the rear brake.. the bike started to slide out.. so I never used it again.. the front brake has more stopping power than both of them... you cna use the rear brake but dont rely on it alone... it will never stop in time or you'll slide out...

it's hard to get used to the front brake alone.. but it makes sense that it would stop you faster...