Cover or not cover front brake???

[VEGASRIDER]

Geez, that's helpful! Anyway, from what I remember in my MSF. Cover the clutch lever, not the brake lever.

Glad to see you remembered and just to show you no matter what state you take it it from or from which instructor, the MSF curriculum is the same.

As a beginnng rider, it is best not to cover the front brake but covering the clutch is a good idea, especially in traffic. As I say, wrist down, knuckes up. You should only cover the front brake when you are about or you think you will need to use it. We consider covering the front brake while riding as one of the bad habits that riders develop. So once these habits are incorporated into the rider, it's really tough for anyone to change them. Kind of like a golfer trying to change that bad golf swing.

I have not read Nick's book so I'm really not familiar with his advanced riding techniques. But what I can tell you that most riders have not developed the finesse and muscle memory to utilize the front brake correctly. It is the number one cause of our crashes, applying improper front brake often when the handle bars are not square. I see it just about every week. I warn them time and time, and whenever I get a rider who crashes, and after I ask them if they are okay, I will say "I told you so."

I'm trying to visualize covering the front brake while riding, rolling on and off the throttle while pressing right and left on the handgrips. The clutch I cover, but it's not an issue since my left hand is not rolling on and off.

 

[Goop]

Yup, I learned that at the MSF class as well. Don't cover the brake.

Just to clarify what Nick says in his book and what I've decided to adopt:

Use two fingers, the index and middle fingers, on the front brake lever. The old days of fading brakes pinching your fingers against the bar are long gone, and a whole-hand grab is not only too much pressure for today's low-effort systems, but it also reduces your control of the throttle when blipping the engine on downshifts. (You'll learn more about blipping in chapter 6.)

Squeeze the front brake lever like you'd squeeze the trigger of a gun -- never grab it. A grab will overwhelm the fork springs, bottoming the suspension and either skidding the front tire or lifting the rear tire. With practice, you can bring the front tire to the threshold of lock-up, at which point you'll hear a howl from the contact patch. When you're good, quickly locking the front tire will become a game. If you accidentally lock your front brake, release it immediately to get the tire turning again because the bike will very quickly wash out the front end and low side.

Develop the habit of resting your fingers on the front brake lever anytime the throttle is not wide open. In other words, if you're cruising through town or decelerating for a corner, have your fingers covering the front brake lever to cut reaction time.

It took some practice but I was able to get comfortable doing this and I feel I'm getting smoother with blipping while applying the front brake.

As they say, your mileage may vary! But I can see that if you are just starting out you would probably not want to be covering the brake and grabbing it every time you got freaked out.

 

[DefyInertia]

I only use two fingers on each hand.

I use the throttle with 3 fingers when

• Downshifting (whether using the front brake or just covering it)
  
• Accelerating away from intersections (front brake covered as I was just using it and I might need it again)
  
• In high risk situations

I pay less attention to the clutch...but I'm sure I cover it in anticipation of using it. Can't think of any reason why you'd want to use more than 2 fingers on the clutch.

As a beginnng rider, it is best not to cover the front brake but covering the clutch is a good idea, especially in traffic. As I say, wrist down, knuckes up. You should only cover the front brake when you are about or you think you will need to use it. We consider covering the front brake while riding as one of the bad habits that riders develop. So once these habits are incorporated into the rider, it's really tough for anyone to change them. Kind of like a golfer trying to change that bad golf swing.

I have not read Nick's book so I'm really not familiar with his advanced riding techniques. But what I can tell you that most riders have not developed the finesse and muscle memory to utilize the front brake correctly. It is the number one cause of our crashes, applying improper front brake often when the handle bars are not square. I see it just about every week. I warn them time and time, and whenever I get a rider who crashes, and after I ask them if they are okay, I will say "I told you so."

I'm trying to visualize covering the front brake while riding, rolling on and off the throttle while pressing right and left on the handgrips. The clutch I cover, but it's not an issue since my left hand is not rolling on and off.

Your post is about "beginning riders", right? It seems everything taught by the MSF is really skewed towards n00bs...makes perfect sense.

So you don't cover the front brake ever while riding? I'm surprised to hear that. If you have a hard time accelerating away from a stop sign with your index and middle fingers extended perhaps you should try playing with your control adjustment.

 

[Hellgate]

Two fingers on the clutch and brake, habit. Learning to throttle and apply the front brake at the same time is an important skill to have. It allows you to trail brake and as you are gently rolling off the throttle. The converse applies as you apex and slowly release the brake and gently roll on the throttle. Neither the brake or the throttle is a switch, and should be used as if they are a reostat. Learning this keeps the chassis stable vs. nose diving or popping up.

Good topic.

 

[ozzieboy]

Riding hard in the twisties, I will generally have two and two, covering the brake and clutch, and for trail braking it is a must. In some of the nastier bumpy sections, I will go to one finger on the brake lever (as I find the stock FZ1 brakes can give me a controlled stoppie with "The Bird" finger) to give me a stronger grip on the bars, which could start bouncing around considerably (yes our roads are in awful condition).

Accelerating hard out of turns on a bumpy road, I will sometimes go for a full grip on the bars, so I can get my lard @$$ back in the saddle, while keeping the bars from jumping about to much as the front loses, and then regains contact with the road, with the forks at full extension. Every time the front tyre touches the road, it will touch a slightly differently shaped bit of road, which will try to push the bars one way or the other. Then it loses contact again, and repeats, which can sometimes cause oscillation, especially if you roll off a tad, as you approach another turn, after it has just begun to start oscillating (dampens out pretty quickly if your suspension is set OK).

In traffic, I generally have two and two again, and most definitely when coming up on traffic to pass. Most times I find it better to accelerate ,but sometimes you need to hit the skids, so I reckon it's far better to have both options open, instantly.

Having said all that, the time difference is negligible (although I reckon every little bit counts), and if riding with a full grip is working for you, then it might be so much harder to re-learn that it might be worth sticking to your old ways.

At the track, I don't see why you wouldn't do it for turns, but I might like to go back to a full grip getting on the gas...Not sure...I'll have to do a track day and get back to ya...lol.

 

[zmeiaspas]

I never cover any of my controls other than the clipons/handlebar and the throttle. I don't see any benefits of covering the brakes/clutch. I've been in my share of hairy situations and I don't think the 0.0000002 of a millisecond makes any difference whatsoever. That's just me tho. I only cover those controls that I'm either using or I know I'll need to use soon. In other words I cover the brake clutch when approaching a corner or when I know I'll need to change gears, etc. I don't cover anything when I'm going down the highway or just cruising.

 

[VEGASRIDER]

So you don't cover the front brake ever while riding? .

I find myself covering the front brake, along with the rest of my controls including the HORN often when I ride, but only if I am anticipating to use it. Entering intersections, nearing any entry or exit points with vehicles, corners, etc.

I tried fiddling around with two or three fingers while riding and rolling on and off the throttle last night. Definatley would take some time and miles to get use to. I certainly would not be able to hang with Wavex, and Cali Rider during the twisties riding covering my front brake. I'm not even sure if they were holding back during our past rides, as at times I find myself pushing 90% of my riding capabilities at there pace. Might be something that I can learn to do, but in order to do so, I'm sure there is a right and wrong way, and I don't want to learn to do something wrong to begin with so I'll wait unitl I take a track day lesson or something similar, or you show me how.

But I feel more in control of my bike by having my fingers off the front brake, especially during a hard press like a swerve.

Bottom line, if people are comfortable and can ride effectively either way, there is nothing wrong.

 

[Yasko]

Thanks everyone...This is the type of discussion I was hopping to have on this topic...It helps me to get a style of ridding that's safe and comfortable for me...Thanks again for all your help...

 

[mayassa]

I also cover the front brake and clutch with two fingers, force of habit from riding dirt bikes I guess, just seem natural..

 

[DeusEx]

While driving in the city, I cover with 2 fingers both, clutch and brake levers.
It saves you a couple of msec of your reaction time.

The main reason though, is that I never accidentally hit the brake lever too fast and too hard. In a panic brake situation, I noticed that having my fingers initially on the throttle, caused me to hit the brake lever instantly hard, not giving the suspension the required time to compensate the forces applied, causing the front wheel to lock.

Having the fingers on the lever, allows me to apply the force gradually, thus transferring the weight on the front wheel avoiding a lock.