How essential is the rear brake?

[Mr. Dazzle]

IIRC - and there's a very strong chance I don't - stalling the engine during the emergency stop is a mark down on a driving/riding test?

[mboy]

My thinking is...the reduction in speed is caused by the most powerful braking force, which will be front, so the rear does nothing regarding braking. I could be wrong though.

The more weight on the rear tyre, the more effect the rear brake will have on slowing the bike down.

There's many factors to take into here (not limited to type of bike, wheelbase, the bikes CoG) but if the rear tyre is in contact with the ground, it can have some effect on slowing the bike down...

Jeremy McWilliams summed it up nicely when talking about having to use way more rear brake on his Indian Bagger race bike when compared to the Superbikes and GP bikes he has raced earlier in his career...

[Bigyin]

IIRC - and there's a very strong chance I don't - stalling the engine during the emergency stop is a mark down on a driving/riding test?

Its a minor mark for a stall ..... its a fail for a skid resulting from bringing the clutch in too early thus freeing up the rear wheel from engine braking and making it easier to lock up

If someone in training for Mod 1 keeps bringing the clutch in too early and skidding the rear i tell them to stall the bike .... it s a pass and the bike will stop in a shorter distance

I rarely used the rear brake on bikes but use it all the time now for slow speed control and also at higher speeds settling the bike for bends ....i can tell i am using it a lot more as i am having to buy rear pads for the first time in years

[Mr. Dazzle]

I locked both wheels on my bike test (not at the same time) and came to a slithering halt with the rear locked.

It was absolutely pissing it down though. The examiner said something along the lines of "I'm amazed you didn't stack that!" and didn't mark me down at all.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

How about fitting a slipper clutch too Reduce engine braking but then brake with the brakes!

Verging here close to the 'clutch engaged yes/no during emergency stops' discussion

One argument is that the engine helps to stop the rear from locking. The other that if it does lock then the engine will stall, releasing the brake will bump start the engine.

That will probably kill your catalytic converter, if the bike has one.

[Rockburner]

IIRC - and there's a very strong chance I don't - stalling the engine during the emergency stop is a mark down on a driving/riding test?

In my time it was an instant fail. (Stalling the bike at any time was an instant fail*)





* On my first test I was on a Suzuki GP100 that was a wreck - it wouldn't run below 6000 rpm. I insta-failed about 2 minutes in by mistakenly not moving to the right side of the road when turning right out of a one-way street AND stalling!

[Dodgy69]

Incidentally...the rear brake on my RE can be quite dangerous. On the slightest right-hand lean the lever scrapes the deck. Came as a bit of a suprise the other week.

[Scootabout]

Incidentally...the rear brake on my RE can be quite dangerous. On the slightest right-hand lean the lever scrapes the deck. Came as a bit of a suprise the other week.

Maybe that's how it works

[The Spin Doctor]

Incidentally...the rear brake on my RE can be quite dangerous. On the slightest right-hand lean the lever scrapes the deck. Came as a bit of a suprise the other week.

Cornering ABS... lever the rear wheel clear of the deck!

[Horse]

Incidentally...the rear brake on my RE can be quite dangerous. On the slightest right-hand lean the lever scrapes the deck. Came as a bit of a suprise the other week.

Cornering ABS... lever the rear wheel clear of the deck!

That sounds more like a Traction Lack of Control system.

[Dodgy69]

Over enthusiastic corner bimbling, not RE friendly.

[The Spin Doctor]

That sounds more like a Traction Lack of Control system.

But the tyre won't be skidding

[Mr. Dazzle]

Utilises 100% of the available grip. Bosch would kill for that

[ZRX61]

Ask this guy:

[The Spin Doctor]

Ask this guy:

UNAVAILABLE

click the 'view on Fleabook' button.

This is the very first lesson I learned when I was training to be a CBT instructor.

Lesson One - how to stop
Lesson Two - how to move 3 inches and stop again.
Lesson Three - how to move 6 inches and stop again...

etc.

Avoids those sort of mistakes.