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I opened a can o' worms on another site by asking about my bikes mushy rear brakes and what can be done to upgrade or if something was wrong with them. It seems most of the men feel that rear brakes should never be used on a sport bike, especially in emergency situations, but everything I have read says to use both. I've never had issues with locked wheels while some of the respondents feel that in hard braking locked wheels and bouncing rears are inevitable. Now I am starting to doubt myself a little. How do you emergency brake?
Wellll.....................it all depends on who you ask. And on that note, you can take the opinion of those who think they know everything and preach on an internet forum, or you can follow the advice of an established program. I lean towards the established program, i.e. MSF. MSF teaches that 60% of your braking is from the front and 40% is from the rear. That means for 100% stopping power you need front and rear applied accordingly.
Now, not to be one of those 'know it all internet forum peoples' but I can throw some life experience in here too...on dirt, no less. In the dirt, locking up the rear causes slide. Locking up the front causes the front to 'wash out'...meaning you crash. But in a little experiment I was doing the other day on my YZ250F. I was able to come to fast, complete stops without losing the rear or washing out the front by using both brakes together. It was actually pretty cool because then I was launching the bike too...heeheehee. But I can also say that when I am in an emergency braking situation, I always use both. It seems to keep the bike level and even without upsetting the chassis too awful much.
As far as the mushy brakes go, you probably have air in the lines. You may just want to put new fluid in anyway and it will make them feel better. Keep in mind the rear brake is a bit mushier than the front anyway.
I opened a can o' worms on another site by asking about my bikes mushy rear brakes and what can be done to upgrade or if something was wrong with them. It seems most of the men feel that rear brakes should never be used on a sport bike, especially in emergency situations, but everything I have read says to use both. I've never had issues with locked wheels while some of the respondents feel that in hard braking locked wheels and bouncing rears are inevitable. Now I am starting to doubt myself a little. How do you emergency brake?
You'll get all kinds of guidance. Here's the issue, you can make your own decision.
After the first couple tenths of a second of weight transfer, anywhere between 80 to 100% of the braking force of a modern *sport bike* comes from the front wheel. (bomber, I don't think even MSF still uses that 60/40 number any more). Now unless you're doing a stoppie with the rear wheel off the ground, you ARE getting some braking effect from the rear. That's the upside.
The downside is that, if the rear wheel locks, it is at a minimum distracting, and if the reaction is to let off the rear brake, it can induce a highside accident.
So, if you're doing everything perfectly, you can certainly get a theoretical best stop by using both brakes, assuming your bike can keep the rear wheel on the ground while using all the front brake.
The reason some espouse ignoring the rear is to simplify the responses necessary during an emergency situation. If you are getting 10% braking from the rear, but modulating it is taking 30% of your concentration, that may not be the best use of your resources in a true emergency.
Others say they can (and you should) be able to brake perfectly without thinking about it under those conditions, so you should be using both brakes.
Me, I say buy a bike with ABS. (Parenthetically, I wonder if a lot of the horrendous debate about ABS would go away if it were offered on the rear only? Avoiding rear lockup would seem to be the biggest bang for the buck - that's why ABS was introduced on the rear of pickup trucks long before it became common on all four wheels; because of the widely varying weight distribution of a loaded vs unloaded truck)
both of those last posts have great information for you fizzy...i grabbed both front and rear brake in my accident without locking either one up. knowing your braking point is always good so then if you need to do an emergency stop you know how hard to apply the brakes before lockup.
i would also say that you should really check into bleeding out your rear brake just to be on the safe side...
__________________ Proud Pussy Posse member since Feb 2007
After the first couple tenths of a second of weight transfer, anywhere between 80 to 100% of the braking force of a modern *sport bike* comes from the front wheel. (bomber, I don't think even MSF still uses that 60/40 number any more).
We may want to investigate this number. MSF is not sportbike specific. The typical cruiser style bike is not going to have the same technology as the modern sportbike. So they would teach a median number. Any recent MSF grads out there??? My brother in law teaches, I suppose I should try to get ahold of him and find out.
I use the front only most of the time. I keep the rear flushed, and ready to use, because at the track, when you go off track and in the grass, the rear is your only friend.
I have flipped the bike in a panic emergency braking. I grabbed the front brake (no rear brake, wouldn't have worked anyway, since my rear tire wasn't on the ground), but I managed to not hit the rider in front of me. I guess one rider down instead of two is a better result, though, right?
I'm doing my pre-work for the MSF course right now. My study guide says 70-75% front for dual-disks like on modern tourers or sport bikes, about 10% less than that on cruisers. ABS is nice, but I always use both brakes. Practice, practice, practice till it becomes second nature and you don't even have to think about how to stop quickly.
The reason some espouse ignoring the rear is to simplify the responses necessary during an emergency situation. If you are getting 10% braking from the rear, but modulating it is taking 30% of your concentration, that may not be the best use of your resources in a true emergency.
And the reason it takes that much concentration is that the more weight has transferred to the front, the more likely you are to lock the rear wheel, b/c there won't be enough weight on it to stop it from locking up. So, apparently they think it's better to just not use the rear brake in case that happens, b/c as you said, it takes up too much of your attention to stop applying the rear brake with you get to that precise point in time.
I use both, or one or the other, depending on the situation. For dry, smooth, slippery-stuff-free surfaces, I use both brakes. In the split second after I apply both brakes, if I think I'm going to have to get on the front a lot harder than originally anticipated, I try to let go of the rear before it gets too light.
For traction-challenged surfaces, I use mainly the rear & only light on the front if I think I can get away with it - but give myself lots of room, knowing the rear isn't going to stop me that fast.
I have locked up my rear tire before, and either hold it until I stop, or if I don't feel like I'm getting sideways I'll let it go asap before it gets out of control.
I've also made a sudden stop for a fast yellow to red traffic light using only the front brake. The bike stopped on a dime, and the rear tire, if it wasn't actually off the ground, came damn close to leaving the ground.
I use both, or one or the other, depending on the situation. For dry, smooth, slippery-stuff-free surfaces, I use both brakes. In the split second after I apply both brakes, if I think I'm going to have to get on the front a lot harder than o
Emergency brakingf? Front brake or both...
(Parenthetically, I wonder if a lot of the horrendous debate about ABS would go away if it were offered on the rear only? Avoiding rear lockup would seem to be the biggest bang for the buck - that's why ABS was introduced on the rear of pickup trucks long before it became common on all four wheels; because of the widely varying weight distribution of a loaded vs unloaded truck)
