Motorcycle braking strategies: Which is right for you?

Posted in Motorcycle Accidents,Our Blog on April 8, 2016

Proper motorcycle braking is debated among many experienced bikers. A long time ago, for example, most new motorcyclists received nothing more than a five-second lesson about the operation of their bikes. They were often told where the throttle was, where the clutch was and not to use their front brake.

However, the advice of not touching the front brake – usually because of the idea that it will send you flying over the front of your handlebars – is the worst advice any motorcyclist can receive. Tragically, this bad advice has resulted in many dangerous and deadly motorcycle crashes. Indeed, using only the back break on a motorcycle can cause the rider to lose complete control of his or her bike and get into a completely unnecessary accident.

On the other side of this bad advice relating to not using the front brake is advice that says to only use the front brake and never touch the back break. However, this breaking strategy is also bad. The truth is, motorcyclists should use both of their brakes on a regular basis so they can get practice with how to distribute the amount of pressure they use on them.

Generally speaking, in emergency situations when motorcyclists need to stop very quickly, bikers may wish to apply an increasingly heavier amount of pressure on the front brake while applying less pressure to the rear brake in order to take advantage of the extra stopping power provided by the rear brake. Still, some riders will say that it is more advantageous to not use the rear brake at all, while others will say to apply less break to the rear. Ultimately, different motorcyclists will have different breaking styles that they feel more comfortable with and they could disagree about what style is most effective.

The most important point in all of this for motorcyclists to use both of their brakes regularly to acquire a feel for how to distribute their breaking application across the front and back wheels. Also, an excellent way to avoid getting into a motorcycle crash is for riders to increase their riding skills by attending a motorcycle safety class. This can help motorcyclists avoid accidents and any associated personal injury litigation.