Rear brake, do you use it?

[robaho]

Having spent many years riding dirt before I purchased my FZ6, I am accustomed to using front and rear brakes every time.... If my rear tire locks up, it doesn't freak me out 'cause it happened all the time when riding dirt. I have made a couple of emergency stops on my Fizzer, and the rear tire was chirping pretty good during both stops (not quite fully locked up, but very close).
My advice is to get out there and practice. Using the rear brake is a good thing, if done correctly!

 

[Mr_McBride]

I, too, having grown up riding dirt bikes, use my rear brake more than my front ( in application, not in force ). I do not find the rear brake on the FZ6 to be weak by any means....

My most common use of the rear is to bleed off speed. However, if I need to stop fast I don't hestitate to grab one finger full of front brake ( leaving one finger on the front brake is also a habit from racing dirt bikes ).

I rarely lock up the rear wheel...I guess this comes with being one with the bike. In any situation I know how much force to apply to the rear without locking up. However, locking up the rear does not mean that one will crash. If you don't have this confidence then I would suggest more practice until you do.

In the end, for me, the use of the rear brake, suspension and chassis wise, equates to smoother transitions. With that being said I prefer not to brake hard entering a corner. I prefer riding 'The PACE'

The Pace - Nick Ienatsch - Motorcyclist magazine

so I tend to keep my speed up entering corners. YMMV.

I am also not a street racer by any stretch of the imagination. I don't even pretend to be fast. Although, I do enjoy a ride at a brisk pace.

My $.02

 

[Jeff Douglass]

I use both brakes for all stops or slowdowns, and the rear brake only for parking lots and trail (drag?) braking through low-speed turns to help on/off throttle control. As others have written, practice, muscle memory, etc. develops your skills that then will become more automatic in an emergency situation. And there is no debate about the fact that both brakes will stop you in a shorter distance then just the front brake alone. Even Keith Code makes this statement.

Hey, two friction patches will always add up to more then one friction patch alone.

One more way to consider rear brake usage - chassis stability. With most motorcycles (BMWs with the Telelever forks excepted), front brake only will compress the front suspension and extend the rear suspension. Rear brake only will compress the rear suspension with little effect on the front suspension. By applying both brakes, the rear of a motorcycle tends to lift less then under front brake only conditions. This results is less geometry change such as steering rake angle, less change in front/rear tire loading and other factors I can't quite define at the moment. Proper application of both brakes does make a significant difference in chassis stability. I have felt this with every motorcycle I have owned. As some previous folks have posted, the rear brake "loads" the rear suspension.

I adjust my rear brake pedal height to be fairly low (shifted by one spline notch and tweaked with the adjuster screw) which helps me in everyday rear brake usage. Also, I believe the trend with modern motorcycles has been to engineer less leverage in the rear brake system so that higher foot force is required. This, I believe, gives more feedback for control of the rear wheel and may help prevent accidental lock-up under panic conditions or by less rider experience. IMO, there is no question that the FZ6 rear brake, as on any well engineered motorcycle, is invaluable and absolutely essential for everyday riding.

Regarding comments that the FZ6 rear brake is weak. Quite the contrary, this brake can lock up the rear wheel at any speed, on any pavement, if so desired.

 

[Ridgeback]

Sounds like I'm a bit different than most everybody else on this thread when it comes to rear brake usage. I think it's a carry over from my motocross days when I used the rear brakes a lot. lightly dragging them in the corners settles the bike and gives you more traction... at least in the dirt. I guess I still do it sometimes out of habbit and figure that if it worked on the dirt it probably translates to the pavement as well. I like using it in the corners sometimes just because it seems to be a good regulator of speed in the corner without having to get into and out of the throttle. That being said it is a pretty weak rear brake.

on a side note I took a spin on a buddies ducati 1098 the other day and if you think the rear brake is weak on the fz6 then you wouldn't believe how useless the one on that duc was. I'm pretty sure you'd slow down faster by dragging your feet or blowing into the wind.

Same as,but with Supermoto's.
Always use the rear brake to back into corners and it comes natural to wipe out speed and settle the bike going into sharp turns then get the power on smoothly coming out the other side :thumbup: