Rear brake! When and how to use it ?

[sharky]

When should we use the rear brake? I've read that when you are taking a curve and you are lean on a side is not good to use the front brake but the rear one. Is that true?
I’m asking this because I want to know how to manage the following situation: I’m taking a curve and something appears suddenly in front of me. Is it correct to brake the rear in this case?
When the bike is up in a straight line when I can use the rear brake? After I have used the front brake, in the same time or first brake is the rear one and then the front one? Every time that I have been forced to brake very quickly I have blocked the rear brake! In that time I was going in a straight line and I did nothing to release it! Was I wrong? In a curve if I block the rear wheel should I release it immediately or should I let it blocked?

In what other situation shoud we use the rear brake?

Thanks

[brooder]

From what I remember in the MSF (you've taken it, right?), you should always use your rear brake. Don't lay into it or anything, but it provides 30% of your total braking power. In a curve, locking the rear tire is bad. Releasing it would probably be a good idea. You never want to lock your rear brake. Without that wheel turning, your bike loses the power that propels it forward, casuing the rear end to want to get squirrely.

There are other things, but I'm no expert and will let other, wiser, folks chime in.

[StevieB]

I think what they tell us in the MSF course is that the FRONT brake provides UP TO 70% of the available braking. Yes, that does leave 30% (if my math is correct!), but that can and will change, depending on things like weight shift (forward, under braking), tires used/tread depth, pavement coefficient of friction. The rear of the bike unloads under braking, causing that big, fat, sticky rear tire to be almost (almost, but not completly) useless under hard braking. Too much rear brake under such conditions (add wet pavement, and the situation is exsaserbated) can easily cause the rear tire to lock up- and Brooder is right- that's something you don't want. One point of clarification on Brooder's post, though- on braking, you are not using (engine) power to propel the bike forward- momentum is doing that. The transition from rotational gyroscopic momentum and rear-tire traction, to non-rotating, forward-only dead weight and the rear tire sliding can upset the balance of even the most sweet-handling bike ridden by the most skillful rider. What the skillful rider does is never get into that predicament!

I brake much more heavily on my front brakes. Several years of road bicycle and mountain bike riding have trained me to monitor the feel of the bike, so I know how much front brake I can use without losing traction up front.

I also subscribe to the somewhat old-fashoned racing notion that the rider (or driver- it works regardless of how many wheels you are on) should get all braking done and over with BEFORE entering the curve. Even the more modern concept of trail braking (a wonderful thing, once you master it!) uses that basic concept- trail braking is just a technique to effectively extend the straight into the curve, for purposes of braking. By getting braking out of the way before you enter the curve, you have accomplished at least three things: 1) freed up tire traction to be used for cornering, 2) assured yourself that you won't upset the balance of the bike by braking just a little too much while in the corner, and 3) set yourself up for a better, faster corner exit speed.

When I started riding again, I had a Yamaha Virago 750. Coming home very late one evening- actually about 1:30 am- I was having fun, feeling my oats, and decided to make a sweeper out of a city street intersection by starting wide, going in deep and then drifting (not in the tire-drift sense) wide. It would have worked, too, if that women in that Honda hadn't had the temacity of being stopped for the stop sign in "MY" intersection. I did a mild panic and locked up the rear wheel, and of course the bike low-sided on me, breaking off a foot peg and spraining my right ankle (yes, I was wearing boots). Funny thing, though- the bike, even though it was skidding and thus tracking a straight line, totally missed her car by about 5 feet- if I had laid off the brakes and leaned over, we would have been fine. Months later, when I had the Bandit and entered a curve too fast, I remembered that lesson, and WILLED myself to get off the brakes and lean over, hard. It worked, and I was fortunate enough to voluntarly get off the bike a little later, thank my lucky stars, and vow to SLOW DOWN!

On my recent father/son mc ride, I accidently locked up the FRONT wheel on a wet, straight section of road, during a turtle rescue (long story, to be detailed in my upcoming post about the trip) and the bike lost it's gyroscopic stability. The bike leaned over about 40 degrees- I was going straight at the time- and I thought I was going down. My son, who was behind me, told me later he thought the same thing. I eased off the brakes, the bike corrected, and I recovered.

Hope that helps.

[SKNL2]

Simple answer: always. Get used to always using your rear brake when you stop. As was said, it provides 30% of your potential braking power. This is during normal stopping. It also helps you distribute wear and tear on brakes and tires.

Little more complex answer: always, but never aggressively. Repeat:it is NEVER appropriate to use your rear brake aggressively. Assuming you are on a Katana, if you aren't doing a stoppie, you aren't using 100% of your front brake's power. Laying on the back brake is always a recipe for disaster. Understand that when you are using the front brake heavily, your rear tire becomes lighter as weight is shifted toward the front of the bike. Lighter tires are able to generate less friction. That is to say, tires with less weight on them.

It is, on the same token, not a good idea to lay into the brakes (either one) when leaned over in a turn. Get your braking done before you are turning when possible. Applying too much front brake in a turn can cause the front end to tuck under, resulting in a lowside crash. Too much rear brake in a turn can result in either lowside or a highside. If you must brake while turning, go light. If the circumstance calls for "I have to stop now," stand the bike up to stop. Don't try to emergency brake when leaned over. You will crash.

Locking your rear wheel eliminates the gyroscopic effect your back wheel has on your bike's stability. If your back tire is in a skid and begins to travel to the outside of a turn, it is most likely best to not let go of the rear brake and "ride it into the ground." Letting go at this point will result in a highside. It's the worst of the two evils.

Can you recover from a rear wheel skid? Sure. Do you want to test your ability to do so? Probably not. In summary, always use your rear brake. Never use your rear brake aggressively.

Highside Dynamics Article.

I've read that when you are taking a curve and you are lean on a side is not good to use the front brake but the rear one. Is that true?

To scrub speed in a corner, use the rear brake lightly. Do not lock your rear brake in a corner. You will lowside or highside.

I’m taking a curve and something appears suddenly in front of me. Is it correct to brake the rear in this case?

If you are leaned over in a turn and you must stop to avoid something, stand the bike up before doing your emergency braking. This is where "leave yourself an out" comes in.

When the bike is up in a straight line when I can use the rear brake?

Always, but never aggressively.

Every time that I have been forced to brake very quickly I have blocked the rear brake!

See above. Practice your stops in a safe place. You NEED more practice.

In that time I was going in a straight line and I did nothing to release it! Was I wrong?

If you didn't crash, you weren't wrong. If you have no idea why you didn't crash, you were wrong.

In a curve if I block the rear wheel should I release it immediately or should I let it blocked?

For the inexperienced, if you are in a corner and you lock your rear tire, you are best off not to release it. Lowsides hurt a lot less than highsides. They typically do less damage to the bike, as well.

[sharky]

Thanks! Those informations will help me a lot!

[onthedot]

If you don't know the answer to this, it might be good to get into the MSF class so you do know. It's well worth your time.

[SL1D3R]

I never use my breaks in a curve. I slow down beforehand and accelerate into them.

[md86]

[SKNL2]

I don't feel that the right response to a genuine question from a new rider should be "take the MSF." That's like when I was 10 years old I asked my mom where babies come from and she answered, "God."

I feel new riders should be met with an overload of information in addition to being told to take the MSF course. It just may be that having read something here or anywhere may save their life in the interim of waiting to take the course. Should a new rider take it? Absolutely. Will a new rider forego riding until he does? Probably not.

Anyway...just how I feel about it.

[md86]

Well , we COULD explain in detail , but the problem is , NONE of us are really experts . I KNOW how/when to use the rear to tighten up a line , but that doesn't mean I can do it well . That's why I say "buy the book" . No , it's not really a beginner technique , either . Telling someone that they can use a LITTLE rear brake mid-corner to tighten up their line if they get in trouble is one thing , but when they STOMP on that thing when they get nervous and then come after you saying "but he TOLD me to do it" ....

[SKNL2]

Well, my mother wasn't Dr. Ruth, either, but I am pretty sure she had a general idea of how to make a kid.

Not claiming to be an expert, I can, however, refer him to several that are.

I really don't have any fear of someone coming back with "he told me to" because that's just nonsense. Oh well. Cest la vie.

[md86]

Yeah , that's why I just posted the book . THAT will tell ALL you'd EVER need to know about riding , and then some .

[Vegas Kat]

Use both

MSF does say to use the rear brake all the time. In a turn, you shouldn't be braking while turning anyways, just slow till you are comfortable before getting in the turn. In an emergency, you can use both, but remember, once you lock that rear, brake, you dont wanna let it go cause it will send you flying.

[ck]

for me i use both brakes all the time

[Slim]

In a curve, locking the rear tire is bad. Releasing it would probably be a good idea. You never want to lock your rear brake. Without that wheel turning, your bike loses the power that propels it forward, casuing the rear end to want to get squirrely.

ok, I admit I was lazy and didn't read all the posts in here....but I just wanted to reply to this one.
if you do lock up your rear keep it on. locking up your rear tire in a curve and then releasing it could cause you to highside (you're skidding along and then if you release the brake the tire would catch suddenly which could cause the bike to flip....it's better to stay in the skid).