That's what I am scared of. :tremble:

Solution: Don't use the rear brake.

I don't think I trail brake at the track. Hell, I barely use the brakes at all and never he rear at the track or rarely on the steet.

Note: ride behind Racedoll. :wink:

No. You don't want to do that. I definitely have throttle control, but not using my brakes is hindering me from improving. I need to learn to trust them and how they feel when used under pressure.

I was kidding! I've been rear ended 3 times on a bike so....:lol: I understand your pain though, are you more concerned with front end grip? Are you having problems with too much initial bite spooking you? Do your brakes tend to fade? You are very intelligent to have braking concerns, now you just need to isolate the exact problem/concern and work on that either mentally, physically and/or mechanically. Here come the flames, but one of the best braking control exercises for me was practicing stoppies in a parking lot. It allowed me to experience and modulate exactly what happens when I got on the brakes hard. It takes a lot of the "OH SHIT" away when the rear tire comes up a little during hard breaking for a turn. Just a thought. You may just need brake lines or pads to totally turn things around and give you confidence. Which is of course exactly what you need to be a great braker!:rockwoot:

seems to me some people have a misconception of what trail braking is? its not just laying on the REAR brake, its just braking until the apex of the turn, with the front or rear brake, though IMO the rear brake isnt gonna do much if you're hard on the front brakes, maybe except settling the rear a little



i love late braking and trail braking, its as much fun passing somebody on the brakes as it is on the gas..

gotta ask why? doesnt sound safe at all as your front brake is probably like 80% of your stopping power

I am never at the speeds or intensity at which I NEED to use my front brakes, at least not on the street. I can easily and lightly apply my rear brakes for all the stopping power I need on the street unless its an emergency situation.

Racedoll, I totally feel ya. I had to force myself to use both brakes, and most of all the front on the track. Its been so long since I was at the track I am sure I'll need to retrain myself on it. Once I get warmed up and feeling it tho, its pretty awesome and I love the rush I get outta proper braking on the track, now if I could just do it EVERY time, Id see some improvement and better lap times!

Lets clarify a few things before going any further. First, trail braking is an essential skill for performance riding. There is no going fast without it. Second, trail braking MUST be either application of the front brake alone, or a combination of both brakes. Dragging the rear brake into a corner is not trail braking.

The biggest function of trail braking is load distribution upon corner entry. If you brake in a straight line, release the brakes, then turn in, you are forcing the suspension to compress, decompress, and then compress again as you turn in. This causes the chassis to be unstable and fighting the rider through the duration of the corner. Proper trail braking will allow you to compress the forks, then trade braking forces for cornering forces while keeping the chassis of the bike stable and properly loaded. As I explored the development of this skill I gained a huge respect for the ability of pro riders to use and properly control the front end of a motorcycle. It's mind boggling what capabilities are really there if you know how to use them. It's important to approach your development of this skill slowly, because it's easy to get in over your head and tuck the front end when you don't know how to ride the front wheel properly.