Front brake vs. rear brake

[OreoGaborio]

Well, regarding the front/rear brake debate, here's a direct copy/paste of a post that was just made by author, and my "boss" at the track, Ken Condon:

The rear brake aids in stability and reduces stopping distances IF done correctly.

Try this: Apply a bit of rear brake before applying the front brake to feel the stabilizing effect.

On the track, I rarely use the rear brake and instead allow a certain amount of engine braking to slow and stabilize the bike as I enter corners. For most track riders, using the rear brake pedal is too distracting and can result in rear tire lock up if not done precisely (because of drastic forward load transfer where the rear tire has little weight to keep it planted).

On the street, I use front and rear brakes all the time.

As for wet riding, the most important part about maintaining stability and traction is staying LIGHT on the bars and SMOOTH with all of your control inputs.

NEVER bet tense or white knuckled.

[Trip]

It's all about preference. People try to place their "preferences" on others where they are not needed.

This is about Kevin Schwantz school

Some of his preferences come into play in the course syllabus. Like his personal dislike of the rear brake, the use of which he discourages despite the fact that several of the world's top motorcycle racers currently use rear braking to rotate the bike in corners.

"I tried using the rear brake twice in my racing career", he explains. "And both times I found myself on the ground".