Best way to learn good rear brake habits?

[bluepoof]

I tried the heel guard thing on my ride to lunch yesterday and it really works!   Gonna keep practicing that.

[HipGnosis]

when I was at the track recently, at stk0308's suggestion, I attempted to plant the front lip of my boot heel up against the peg and "lock" the inside of my heel/ankle against the heel guard when leaning off the bike entering a turn.  

What does that gain you?  Is that the inside or outside boot?

[MadOzodi]

Outside boot.  I'm no expert, but I'd guess more control/feel stability when hangin off the bike.  So, instead of just having the inner part of your outside knee up against the tank, you have the whole inner part of your outside lower leg against the side of the bike.  Makes for a better fulcrum so to speak?

[Fun Dog]

Practice a light application of the rear brake in a turn, rather than modulating your speed solely through the use of the throttle -- you can tighten your line a bit, in very subtle increments, using the rear brake while maintaining the throttle opening . . .

Also, a light application of the rear brake on many bike just before you reach the turn in point of the corner will settle the suspension a bit, and lower the rear of the bike -- this can be handy if the corner may result in a heavily loaded front tire --

Those are 2 good points.

The rear brake settles the chassis so you don't have all your weight on the front tire in a braking situation.  Don't ask me how, but it works.  If I think about it, I get confused.  A lot of strange dynamics going on, but all you need to know is the result:  using both brakes settles the chassis.  And that's important because you want some weight on both wheels when you go into a turn for traction's sake.  If you only use your front brake, most of your weight will be on the front wheel and the back wheel will get unweighted (think stoppie here) and you could slide the back wheel in the turn.

People who only use the front brake will argue that most of your braking is done with the front wheel and they're right to the tune of 80%.  But the other 20% is added by your back brake.  

If you're going down the road at about 50 mph and a car pulls out and stops right in front of you.  Do you want 80% or 100% of your braking power?  I'll take 100%, thank you very much.

I started riding 5 years ago.  I learned to use both brakes most all the time in the MSF course.  It's always been second nature to me ever since.  They simply convinced me that the back brake is very helpful in a lot of situations, so I took their word for it.  The only time I don't use both brakes is during slow maneuvers when I'm going 10 mph or less.  In these cases I use ONLY THE BACK BRAKE and it works wonders.  The front brake is very strong and very sensitive and can upset the bike if applied too hard in slow situations.  Ask me how I know.  The first time I went down was from squeezing the front brake hard when I was going about 3 mph in a parking lot when I was first learning how to do figure 8's.  The front wheel washed right out from under me and I went down like bricks.  I don't use the front brake AT ALL now when I'm going slow.

I also put the balls of my feet on the pegs while riding.  I don't think resting your feet on the gear shifter or the back brake is a good idea because if you're lazy like me the tendency will be to lean on it, then you'll be perpetually braking and not even know it.

One more thing about the back brake.  The only time I ever slid on a bike (except for the incident mentioned above) was in the rain and it was because I locked up the back wheel.  I was on a slight downhill coming to a quick stop at an intersection and locked the back wheel.  Luckily from the MSF course I knew to stay on the back brake until I came to a stop and I did (just the opposite if the front wheel locks up---you get off the front brake as fast as you can).  I was straight up and didn't fishtail at all.  No drama, but even when you use both brakes you must remember that the back wheel will still unweight in a braking situation so that its traction limit is more quickly approached...and in the rain my traction was lessened further still.  I don't think I was being too hard on the back brake.  I do think I was being too hard on it for the rainy conditions.  Lesson learned.

I don't have any tips for getting into the habit of using the back brake.  If you'd done it from the start, you wouldn't be in this situation.  There are a lot of people out there that say the back brake is useless and if you listen to them soon enough you'll get out of practice of using the back brake.  I do suggest you somehow work it into your technique.  One thing you have going for you is it's not as dangerous to use the back brake as it is to use the front.  It's not as strong a brake, and even though you can lock up the back wheel like I did, it's a lot tougher to do than fucking up the front end with the front brake.

[GilaMonster]

..... The only time I don't use both brakes is during slow maneuvers when I'm going 10 mph or less.  In these cases I use ONLY THE BACK BRAKE and it works wonders.  The front brake is very strong and very sensitive and can upset the bike if applied too hard in slow situations.  Ask me how I know.  The first time I went down was from squeezing the front brake hard when I was going about 3 mph in a parking lot when I was first learning how to do figure 8's.  The front wheel washed right out from under me and I went down like bricks.  I don't use the front brake AT ALL now when I'm going slow......

+1 on rear brake only while riding slow.  If you hit the front brake at slow speed with the front fork even slightly turned, you will drop like a stone.

[Orson]

For the most part, you don't need your rear brake in normal day-to-day riding.

World champion Freddie Spencer never used the rear brake.

However the rules specified that the bike must have a rear brake so, tuner Erv Kanemoto built an itty-bitty rear disc brake for the bike  

One place where using the rear brake is highlighted, would be on the tight, downhill, hairpin turns in the Alps.

If you're carrying a bit too much speed through a corner, a slight tap on the rear brake will tighten up your line nicely  

[OrangeSVS]

Since nobody else mentioned it, if you're really concerned about hitting the rear brake by accident, adjust it! Move it downward a notch or two so it's not in the way of your normal foot position. Seriously, you'll be done in thirty minutes including the time it takes you to find the appropriate screwdriver, wash your hands afterwards, get interrupted twice, and even including the 5 minutes you spend looking at the thing funny wondering what the heck you are supposed to do to adjust it and if it's really as simple as it looks. Others would call it a 5 minute job, but I'm a realist and will say that I think it'll take an actual maximum of 30 minutes out of your life the first time you do it.  

And yes, the rear brake is great for riding slow. Of course, you've probably realized that letting out the clutch is a great way to right the bike when you feel like you're falling to the inside of a tight slow turn.. that's usually not the time for a precise and delicate "select the exact amount of clutch slippage" moment because you're trying to keep from dropping the bike. But the rear brake is a great counter-balance. You let the engine pull you upright a little too hard just to save it, and then you slide on the rear brake a bit to get the new-found momentum under control. In fact, anywhere that finesse trumps raw power, you can recognize the benefits of using the rear brake. Another example is where you get off the throttle while braking before a turn, but then you get back on the throttle to balance the weight-shift during the turn and you don't want to "over-apply" the throttle and go wide... so the rear brake serves as a "Fine" adjustment to speed, whereas the throttle can be thought of as your "Course" adjustment. You give it a little more gas to make sure you have enough on tap, then squeeze on the rear brake to modulate the excess power and settle the suspension. This probably isn't necessary for the top 0.1% of riders, but it seems to be quite handy in real world situations.... Let's face it, if you reach the point where the rear brake is unnecessary to modulate power, then you're probably close to the point where throttle lag will start messing with you anyway... so you'll still be on the back brake to modulate the abrupt power delivery.

It just seems to make things a lot smoother overall.

Everybody I hear talking about it describes it as "settling the chassis", but I think a better description of what's really going on is that you are subconsciously controlling the abrupt application of power to a greater degree, so that the suspension doesn't have to work as hard as you add in more power... It's basically attenuating the fast-twitch muscles of your wrist, letting them work with the smoother slower-twitch muscles in your foot. And we all know that smoothness matters when you're at your limits.

[Justin]

Best way to learn how to use your rear brakes is to just use them. Force yourself to use it while riding a for a bit and it will soon become second nature. Better to know how to use them, and how the react/affect the bike, before your actually really *need* them.

And as other said above, in most cases, you really don't need them, but there may come a time where the difference between stopping in 150 feet or 140 feet may save your life.

[miles]

Stay away from the rear brake.  If you use too much rear brake in emergency situations you could flip your bike over backwards,.

[Bottomdog]

Practice front and rear braking at the same time. That's what I was taught at my MC course. In turning, I've learned, if you learn your brakes well you can use either front or rear. If you don't feel in total control then do as you were taught. Every new to me bike I spend a great deal of time feeling out the brakes as every bike has a different feel and ergo. Plus every bike will react differently per rider size, weight and dimension.

PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE

[ArizonaRocket]

Pick up a copy of Kieth Code's "A Twist of the Wrist 2".  It discusses in magnificent detail braking, throttle control, etc.. explains the physics and how to increase stability while cornering.  It also addressed psychological aspects of riding and how to overcome them to be a better rider.  

The books intended audience is mostly sport bike riders but the theory and wisdom is equally appropriate for street riding.  

Even seasoned riders can find pearls of wisdom in this wonderful little book.    

Its $20 @ Books a Million.  Buy a copy and enjoy.

AR  

[xdavemanx]

This comment is a little late to the party and probably useless, but I only use the rear brake when I know I'm stopping (red lights, stop signs, parking lots, etc) and to enhance slow-speed control of the bike.  It works very well in conjunction with the friction zone of the clutch.

[Justin]

It's worth the effort.  
I've been telling people for years to get their heel up against the heel guard and never met anyone (Who wasn't a racer) who admitted to even trying it.

I'm not a racer, but when I pretend I am (aka sport riding), I always use the above method.

[veefer800canuck]

I try to think of the right hand and right foot as working in unison. Both in at the same time.

I always use the rear brake in concert with the front, and vary the rear pressure to suit the situation.

Just slowing a touch for a corner? Mostly front and drag the rear just a tad.

Full-on panic stop? As much front as possible without locking, rear the same.

And of course, parking-lot speeds in 1st gear, I'll use the rear almost exclusively.

[ANZAC]

I took the same MSF course and use BOTH brakes evenly.  Heck, I used to do the same with my bicycles too.  It makes sence to use both as you are getting maximum braking force.

Use the rear brake only at slow turning speeds.  Again, a MSF technique that works great.