Back Brake - You better stop me .....

Excellent thread. Have learnt more in the last 3 pages than the bloody Q-ride course. Ive only been riding road bikes for about 4 yrs, and didnt really use the front brake much for the first 2. I found it to be a habit, from riding and racing motox for 7 yrs. Still to this day i find myself riding the back brake. But have learnt otherwise now. And now after reading this thread, i have picked up a lot of ideas, in which im sure will be of great use. Keep em coming.
So thanks for a great thread Brett and thank you to every1 that put forward their personal experiences and opinions.


Just a pity some people have to bag out other peoples opinions, instead of giving their own.

Neka mate, your a bloody champion in my book, and id ride with u any day.
Cheers Sean

ps. this post is so bloody long I'm not gonna bother trying to fix my typos.

I thought typing it was making you're brain and/or fingers hurt cos the typos were getting worse toward the end
Good post though Matt - well done.
ty

Just a pity some people have to bag out other peoples opinions, instead of giving their own.

Hey Sean, I don't think anyone was openly bagging anyone out. These concepts are why race teams spend squillions on testing and R&D. There is no one right answer. Look at all the Repsol bikes in moto gp, they are all set up differently.
I reakon all the tooing and frowing is great cos right or not, you think about the concepts and we can all become a better rider.

Thanks S10 mate hope your feeling better. Have to agree though this is great reading. But Matty Jezaz is there any thing left in your head while i understood its wording (thanks for that) I think NASA wants to know your Email adress, seems there last head guy couldnt get a parachute to open or some nonsence.

Keep it coming folks learnt heaps today

Cheers Brett

I've found that the easiest way to see how the bike moves when either brake is applied is to do it whilst still.

Sit on the bike, both feet on the ground, put the front brake on hard and pust forward on the bars... the bike will lift at the back - pivot on the front wheel.

now try it again wif the back brake on (obviously you won't have your right foot on the ground - unless you got one of those crap Brit bikes ).

You'll find the bike will squat, both front and rear suspension will compress.

Just sumfink to try if ya bored...

As some of youse guys said, Racers often only ever use the front, but I've found that this doesn't always work in the 'real' world where there is oil, coolant, desiel and other sh!t on the roads...

Just find sumfink that works and your comfortable with, and be open to new ideas.

You never know when someone has found another way that's better.

damn..we got way too many nerds in here!! my brain is full..im going now...
thanks for the support too guys, u kno who u are!!
neSTaR

thanks for the support too guys, u kno who u are!!
neSTaR

.

no worries neka.



ps. matty i didnt know u can post up that much. Are u bored mate

i would like to add if i got a new zx10 i'd have to use the rear more cause the fronts aren't much use when the front wheel is in the air!

neka,
if i remember right from my trip to adelaide in march 03, you and i were the ones on the front brakes and jamie wasnt on em at all and jase couldnt get out of 1st gear.
youre right, the back brake's not for stopping in a hurry, but thats exactly what i was referring to in my post "unless i absolutely have to"..

dude, come for a ride with me and we'll see where youre at in the brakes and cornering dept.

jase- how can one fork be compressed more than the other if youre leaning right over thru a corner? the only time youre gonna get one fork to compress more is when youve taken the front wheel off.. come on!

mattyv - getting all on/off with the brakes will most definitely upset the bike's geometry if you want to get through corners quickly and is not what i'd call fuck all. setting up your suspension properly can be a waste of time if you use the brakes at the wrong times.. this might be a back brake thread but the suspension works with the brakes, do they not?

jase- how can one fork be compressed more than the other if youre leaning right over thru a corner? the only time youre gonna get one fork to compress more is when youve taken the front wheel off.. come on!

It's not a lot, but it does happen. If you don't understand this simple concept, them I'm certainly not going to explain it.

Anyone can ride fast.. the only thing that slows us down is fear and common sense. Those that have neither normally end up in wheelchairs.

neka,
if i remember right from my trip to adelaide in march 03, you and i were the ones on the front brakes and jamie wasnt on em at all and jase couldnt get out of 1st gear.

yea...i remember that...the thing is jamie doesnt use any brakes at all..hes nutz...me..well id rather use the 2 big discs, rather than the one lil one...so i dont win any races to the next pub/cafe...but last time i went riding thru the hills of adelaide there were no trophies up for grabs, just the ability to walk if i made it there in 1 piece...i dont consider myself fast, i dont consider myself slow, but im pretty safe..well most of the time...

dont consider myself fast, i dont consider myself slow, but im pretty safe..well most of the time...

I think the same about myself. Most of the stuff has been covered but remember if you are gonna use a little rear brake through a corner still hold the throttle on. I personally rarely use the rear brake ...............like others have mentioned just for slow speed stuff(u-turns etc).

One thing i learnt on a course once was that the bike is most stable under power. Do your braking b4 the corner but if u get a little hot into a corner(who hasn't ) apply a liitle rear brake whilst still holding the throttle on. Anyway this is probably a repeat of what has already been covered.


P.S. - If your bike don't start check to see if one of your mates has turned your kill switch on.(OFF TOPIC- but Helpful!! )




Regards
Glenn(zx7r).

mattyv - getting all on/off with the brakes will most definitely upset the bike's geometry...... and is not what i'd call fuck all. setting up your suspension properly can be a waste of time if you use the brakes at the wrong times.. this might be a back brake thread but the suspension works with the brakes, do they not?

Aaaaargh. Seems you've missed the sentences each side of "....Fark all...." and proceeded to totaly miss the point.
Refer to Kieth Code, founder of Soper bike school.

dont consider myself fast, i dont consider myself slow, but im pretty safe..well most of the time...

I think the same about myself. Most of the stuff has been covered but remember if you are gonna use a little rear brake through a corner still hold the throttle on. I personally rarely use the rear brake ...............like others have mentioned just for slow speed stuff(u-turns etc).

One thing i learnt on a course once was that the bike is most stable under power. Do your braking b4 the corner but if u get a little hot into a corner(who hasn't ) apply a liitle rear brake whilst still holding the throttle on. Anyway this is probably a repeat of what has already been covered.


P.S. - If your bike don't start check to see if one of your mates has turned your kill switch on.(OFF TOPIC- but Helpful!! )




Regards
Glenn(zx7r).

yup..i sumtime use the rear brake mid corner as i wind it on so the rear doesnt spin up...weird,prob not technically correct, but i still do it..easier than havin gr8 throttle control, an me bein lazy an all...
hehe as for the kill switch..i once spent 10min looking for fuel switchs,checking fuel levels etc only to realise sum1 had turned mine off..lol....an the other trick, whilst riding along with ur mate, lean over & hit the kill switch..pretty funny really if the guy on the bike knows how to handle the situation..haha
neka

....an the other trick, whilst riding along with ur mate, lean over & hit the kill switch..pretty funny really if the guy on the bike knows how to handle the situation..haha
neka

Hehehe... The carby bikes give a great flame... pretty funny in a group cruisin through the tunnel in Perth...