sweerhe
Pack Dog
We have all heard that 'up to 70% of your stopping power comes from the
front brake.' Not desiring to start another war, but it is my opinion
that this is historic information - up to 100% of your stopping power
comes from your front brake now!
With today's modern brakes and tire compounds it is entirely possible,
with speed and good road surfaces, to get so much stopping power with
the front brake that you can break your rear wheel entirely off the
ground (known as a 'stoppie'). [This is not good. <g> Not to worry, in a
later article I will demonstrate that it is virtually impossible to do a
'stoppie' with a GoldWing.] But raising the rear wheel off the ground at
high speeds is not the typical problem with over-applying your front
brake - it is locking the front wheel and dumping the bike at slow
speeds.
So? Well, traditional training argues that for most effective braking
you should try to obtain about 75% of your stopping from the front and
25% from the rear if the road is dry, and 50% from the front and 50%
from the rear if the road is wet. This might no longer be the best
advice because speed is not being considered.
That is, in my opinion, the advice should better focus on what you
should do at various speeds. For example, if you are moving at less than
about 20 MPH, regardless of the condition of the road surface, virtually
all of your stopping can be derived from the rear brake, and if the road
surface demands it (slippery, grass, loose gravel, etc.) exclusively. [I
advocate using BOTH brakes virtually every time - I am here only arguing
that you can rely on the rear brake for most of your stopping at slow
speeds - not that you should only use your rear brake.] The slower you
go, the more likely your front brakes will grab - thus, you should not
be trying to get 75%, or more, of your stopping power from the front
brake at slow speeds. (We have already talked about how fast a bike goes
down if the front brake locks.)
When moving faster than 20 MPH then traditional advice (75%/25% or
50%/50%) applies depending on road surface condition, paying particular
attention to NEVER applying brakes so quickly that you lock either of
them, and that during hard braking you should tend to ease up on the
rear brake as weight shifts towards the front wheel.
The next Tip argues this far more clearly, and suggests 75%/25% should
now be more like 85%/15%. More importantly, it describes 'Taper Braking'
as a method to be used at all times. I fully endorse that thinking - the
front brake never provides less than 80% of your stopping power and the
rear brake never provides more than 40%.
front brake.' Not desiring to start another war, but it is my opinion
that this is historic information - up to 100% of your stopping power
comes from your front brake now!
With today's modern brakes and tire compounds it is entirely possible,
with speed and good road surfaces, to get so much stopping power with
the front brake that you can break your rear wheel entirely off the
ground (known as a 'stoppie'). [This is not good. <g> Not to worry, in a
later article I will demonstrate that it is virtually impossible to do a
'stoppie' with a GoldWing.] But raising the rear wheel off the ground at
high speeds is not the typical problem with over-applying your front
brake - it is locking the front wheel and dumping the bike at slow
speeds.
So? Well, traditional training argues that for most effective braking
you should try to obtain about 75% of your stopping from the front and
25% from the rear if the road is dry, and 50% from the front and 50%
from the rear if the road is wet. This might no longer be the best
advice because speed is not being considered.
That is, in my opinion, the advice should better focus on what you
should do at various speeds. For example, if you are moving at less than
about 20 MPH, regardless of the condition of the road surface, virtually
all of your stopping can be derived from the rear brake, and if the road
surface demands it (slippery, grass, loose gravel, etc.) exclusively. [I
advocate using BOTH brakes virtually every time - I am here only arguing
that you can rely on the rear brake for most of your stopping at slow
speeds - not that you should only use your rear brake.] The slower you
go, the more likely your front brakes will grab - thus, you should not
be trying to get 75%, or more, of your stopping power from the front
brake at slow speeds. (We have already talked about how fast a bike goes
down if the front brake locks.)
When moving faster than 20 MPH then traditional advice (75%/25% or
50%/50%) applies depending on road surface condition, paying particular
attention to NEVER applying brakes so quickly that you lock either of
them, and that during hard braking you should tend to ease up on the
rear brake as weight shifts towards the front wheel.
The next Tip argues this far more clearly, and suggests 75%/25% should
now be more like 85%/15%. More importantly, it describes 'Taper Braking'
as a method to be used at all times. I fully endorse that thinking - the
front brake never provides less than 80% of your stopping power and the
rear brake never provides more than 40%.
