Rear Brake

Am I a complete idiot for seeing almost no use in the rear brake?

I know maximum braking is with both but lets face it, the modern sports bike stops FAST with just the front... And I read about plenty of crashes (and have experienced a scare on the old bike) due to locking the rear.

Also my last bike was a very small light weight two stroke, meaning it had very little engine braking and was light enough that I had no problem using the very wimpy front brake in the parking lot (low speeds) while manuevering without incident.

I always thought, well when I get a big bike Ill need the rear brake because of how touchy the front is and how much heavier the bike is. Wrong. My R6 has tons of engine braking to slow me down around the lot, I dont even really need ANY brakes.

So its still probably good to practice using the rear brake, I think really the only place its better to use it over the front would be on gravel or low traction surfaces at lower speeds (correct me if I am wrong) but even then, thats only rear brake, no front at all.

Thoughts?

I guess I should practice it a bit just for the parking lot but I had no problem's first time in the lot on my bike using the front brake and engine braking alone, and the front brake is fine for coming to a complete stop.

So awesome I am not a total idiot for feeling no need to use the rear brake.

Only use I can think of would be backing it in, in the tight corners. I watched an instructional video were Rossi used this technique to get the back to kick out to tighten a line but obviously this is a very advanced technique for very extreme levels of riding.

So another Q on a similar note, when doing new brake pads and SS lines, is it common practice to just leave the rubber and stock pads in the rear if your like me (and you) and dont use the rear brake much (or at all)?

Originally Posted by BatmanR6

Maybe because i'm a new rider but the rider's course i took taught me to always use it so i use both without thinking about it .

+1.

I took the same course and now I use the back brake without even thinking about it. The rear brake provides roughly around 25% of your braking power, found that number off of ehow.com. Small yes but at higher speeds that can add up to 100's of feet.

One event in particular....
I just fininshed doing a charity ride for our local children's hospital when I heard something pinging off my bike, checked to see what it was and when i looked up I noticed I was about to run the red. That rear brake would have put me right in front of a car coming the adjacent direction but that extra stopping power saved my ass, unfortunately my buddy ran the light and ended up gettin hit. He only ended up breaking his left tibula, he landed on his feet and slide 20 ft on his ass, luckily because he wasn't wearing his helmet.

I was also taught to use both but on cruisers the rear has a lot more weight on it.

I would think that 25 percent figure would be wrong under maximum braking.

More like 90/10, when you brake all the weight goes to the front tire.

Also you should be downshifting as you brake, which gives you some rear wheel braking.

I stopped using it the day I locked it up and got a little squerly when I lady pulled out in front of me, only going around 25mph.

Originally Posted by shmens

I'm sure that ratio changes the more you slow down making the rear brake more important with time. In the end it probably averages out to something more like the 75/25.

I agree I am sure the rear can take a 60/40 even but thats not under 100 percent high speed braking...

When you are at maximum braking the breakdown is much closer to 90/10.