using rear brake on motorcycle

Loads of information there.
And YOUR tire, YOUR brake, The road, how much front brake is applied already, so many variables..
Tires only have so much resistance to sliding. If you're using
98% of the tires ability to stick with the brake and then expect it to stay stuck to the road when you lean over and add lateral G forces, you're probably gonna be unhappy.

Gary_in_NJ wrote on 12/25/16 at 11:25:51:


You know... that pedal that makes the rear end go sideways.  

Also my bike skills are more from motocross where you spend a lot of time crashing, almost crashing and generally riding near the edge of control.   I've hit the ground many times and saved it even more times.  I'm just saying don't underestimate what the rear brake adds to the big picture.

Everyone - One thing I wanted to mention, and it really applies to Armen and his open brake approach - is that after washing the bike your really need to take it out for a ride and dry out the brake.  The bike leans to the left when on the kick stand, and the rear brake will hold a small amount of water inside the drum.  If you don't take the bike out for a ride and dry this water out - rust will form on the steel brake wearing surface.  Then the next time you ride the rust will be worn off by the brakes shoes....and the rust will be embedded into the brake shoe lining (I believe this is what can make the rear brake "grabby" and also cause the brake to squeal when it is applied).  Wash the bike, dry it off, then go for a 10 minute or longer ride to get the water out of the brakes, electrical connections, of the top of the cylinder, etc.

Ruttly - I agree that spirited riding is a blast.....and I agree that you cannot ride at your 100% limit all the time - you have to keep some reserve for those unexpected situations.  It certainly is one of the reasons that you can buy so many used parts for sport bikes on eBay....a larger percentage of them end up being crashed.  

Dave , I agree , but doesn't get any funner than sliding a bike thru the turns. I am now regret not deraking my tracker , but is still a super stable back roads blaster,very road worthy. I learned how to slide on polished pavement in a abandoned warehouse that we had a short track setup in , what fun !!
Moto , Trust me Armen will meet his goals on that bike and there won't be another one like it , time will tell !

The only mod I did to the rear brake was I drilled a new hole in backing plate where the lever return spring anchors to keep a little tension on lever all the time. The RYCA set up for rear brake left it loose and rattling , so it got redrilled , put some grey silicone in old hole , now spring doesn't rattle and rear brake returns much better !