I do believe that the brake application in motorcycle riding has the potential for 3 different style of braking.....and they correspond to how far you advance.

1)  In the beginning, you are learning how to operate the hand throttle, clutch, shifter.....and one or both of the brakes, and how to steer and balance.  In the beginning the front wheel brake may not get much attention, as you are either warned not to use it too aggressively - or you have squeezed it too hard and learned the hard way.  The finesse that it takes to run both the throttle and the brake lever at the same time may just be too much to learn immediately, and a rider may postpone that to a bit later as they are in the beginning stages (and somewhere in there you have to learn about the turn signals, dimmer switch and horn).

2)  As your skill progresses and you became graceful operating the motorcycle - hopefully you have learned to operate the front brake efficiently and safely.  You have learned that proper operation of the front brake requires a controlled squeeze - and not a "grab".  When a panic situation arises and you need to stop in a hurry your braking isn't "panicked" - and you apply the front brake progressively and add more pressure as the weight shifts forward.....and simultaneously begin to reduce the pressure on the rear brake.  Even very aggressive stops can be made without locking up a wheel - and if/when the rear locks up you can instantly release it and avoid running off the road or falling down.

3)  Some riders may never reach this third level - but if you become someone that likes to ride aggressively and you ride fast up to the corners and then brake very. very hard - you are going to find that the rear brake can lock up the rear wheel far too easily....and when it does the back of the bike starts to swing to one side.  Under extremely hard braking almost all the weight of the bike is on the front wheel - and even the slightest bit of rear brake can result in a skid.  (If you have the stock front brake on the Savage - you likely will never be able to brake this hard).

I have avoided posting this comment, as I suppose it could be as controversial as a discussion on counter steering - or perhaps get someone in trouble if they haven't yet obtained the skills it takes to use the front brake skillfully.  I  believe it is something you will learn as your skills improve and you realize you are locking up the rear brake more often as your skill and speed increase.  The road racing friends I have told me that they don't use the rear brake when riding aggressively - it took me a few years of chasing Oldfeller and MMRanch around in the mountains and riding the Tail of the Dragon to learn why. (I don't know about Oldfeller - but MM has been telling me for years that he uses the front brake almost exclusively).

Dave, how did you do following that oh so slow road captain?

Oldfeller--FSO wrote on 04/16/18 at 06:13:31:


If you are talking about my ride last Friday.....it wasn't all that bad.  I was  the fifth rider in the group (that is how we pulled out of the parking lot where we met).  I could see the first two fellows taking the corners and leaning over really good - while the Goldwing in front of me was slowing down at each corner and then speed up and catch the lead group on the straights.

The Road Captain was riding a Suzuki S83 Boulevard, and the 2nd rider was on a BMW F800R, and both bikes had the tires scrubbed right over to some very narrow chicken strips. The Suzuki fellow turns out to be a really cool guy, and a good rider.  I found out that he used to be a local racer, and I ask him if he rode Motocross or Hare Scrambles - he told me he raced before that stuff was available om Cincinnati and he rode Flat Track and TT Scrambles for several of the local motorcycle shops.  The first two fellows rode very similar to how MM and I ride - they generally comply with the speed limits and don't slow down much for the curves.

Since this was my first ride with the group, the new tires on the BMW had less than 100 miles on them, and it was my first long solo ride on the BMW - I didn't have any problem riding at a reduced pace.

When I ride with them again.....I am going to jockey into a position nearer to the front.