Leaning versus Knee Down

The Awesome · 04-09-2009, 03:49 PM

I'm nobody special, but put me down in the "I hate rear brakes" category. They aren't useful for straight line stopping if you use the front to its potential, my 600 didn't wheelie enough to need it for keeping the front end down, I trail brake only with the front, and I use the front when I run off track. The only place I give anything up by not using it is in the rain, where braking enough to unweight the rear is not possible. In that case, maximum braking is achieved by using both brakes together. By not using it in the dry, I never developed any control over it, so I just stayed off of it in the rain, too.

From an article about the Schwantz race school:

Some of his preferences come into play in the course syllabus. Like his personal dislike of the rear brake, the use of which he discourages despite the fact that several of the world's top motorcycle racers currently use rear braking to rotate the bike in corners. "I tried using the rear brake twice in my racing career", he explains. "And both times I found myself on the ground".

04-09-2009, 03:49 PM	#36
The Awesome Custom User Title Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 120	I'm nobody special, but put me down in the "I hate rear brakes" category. They aren't useful for straight line stopping if you use the front to its potential, my 600 didn't wheelie enough to need it for keeping the front end down, I trail brake only with the front, and I use the front when I run off track. The only place I give anything up by not using it is in the rain, where braking enough to unweight the rear is not possible. In that case, maximum braking is achieved by using both brakes together. By not using it in the dry, I never developed any control over it, so I just stayed off of it in the rain, too. From an article about the Schwantz race school: Some of his preferences come into play in the course syllabus. Like his personal dislike of the rear brake, the use of which he discourages despite the fact that several of the world's top motorcycle racers currently use rear braking to rotate the bike in corners. "I tried using the rear brake twice in my racing career", he explains. "And both times I found myself on the ground".