• There has been a recent cluster of spammers accessing BARFer accounts and posting spam. To safeguard your account, please consider changing your password. It would be even better to take the additional step of enabling 2 Factor Authentication (2FA) on your BARF account. Read more here.

Covering brakes

snakeyesboy

snakeyesboy

Attack Chihuahua
Joined
Apr 12, 2007
Location
San Francisco
Moto(s)
1986 CR125, 1991 XR250, 1985 Rebel 250
I hear this and that about riders covering their brakes and how it can make the difference between crashing and not crashing. Are we talking always covering brakes (seems like it would be hard) or more like covering brakes when entering an intersection or other potentially congested area?
 
for new riders, the panic mode is strong and can over-react and grab too much brakes causing them to lose control of the bike trying to avoid a crash...

even experienced riders can do this but some learn to modulate the brakes to maintain control and lessen the chance of washing out...

I often cover the brakes cuz my fingers are more comfortable that way rather than wrapped around the throttle...

I never have my feet on the rear brake but use it as a back up...
 
I find myself covering my brakes whenever I'm not on the throttle. My hands are too small to cover the brakes while on the gas though.
 
I always cover the brakes and clutch and the clutch is a throw back to rideing two strokers in the old days that were prone to seizure with little or no notice. covering the brakes is just a good survival skill as far as im concerned.
I believe every little edge you can give yourself is beneficial that portion of a second it takes to get your fingers on the lever and apply the brakes could make the difference between stopping and becoming one with the car that just cut you off.
 
I cover when I share and split lanes. Two fingers on the brake with my thumb, pinky and fore finger on the throttle.
 
MSF course says NO to covering the brake as the panic reflex to grab is good enough to send u over the bars on most modern sportbikes. even on a cruiser, ull still dump it. IMO, 10 less feet of stopping distance doesnt make up for the extra risk in covering the brake, esp if u r a newb. also, in most instances id rather turn sharply to avoid an obstacle than attempt to brake b4 it and this is much easier with full control of the bars and throttle.
 
There are compelling reasons for covering the front brake both for and against.

The long and short of it is that less experienced riders should not cover the front brake as proof against the panic response which can cause a front wheel lockup. Which is why students are taught to completely seperate braking and throttle in MSF courses.

Experienced riders should cover the front brake when applicable to reduce stopping distance.

Not meaning to sound all high-and-mighty and know-it-all-ish, just trying to keep the post short :)

Stefan
 
Last edited:
Feanor said:
just trying to keep the post short :)
Click to expand...

Who are you and what have you done with Stefan? :laughing

Almost always cover the front brake and the clutch (as Codger stated above). Don't really know why you wouldn't. Yes, it requires some skill development to do it easily while modulating the throttle, blipping for downshifts, etc. Riding is about skill development.

I don't understand the thought that you'd be more likely to lock up the front wheel from rapid application of the brake if you cover versus don't cover. A clumsy grab at the brakes is a clumsy grab at the brakes. My recollection is that the MSF wanted all four fingers used on the front brake, and that's difficult (though not impossible) while covering.

Don't exactly cover the back brake, at least not all the time.

BTW, at 60 mph, the difference in reaction time between covering and not covering is likely to be more than 10 feet. Even if it wasn't, I see no upside to not covering other than it doesn't require you to develop the skill.
 
I cover my front brake and clutch whenever there are other vehicles around.
 
I cover my front brake with 2 fingers, and it has helped reaction times in urban areas--but before I developed the skill to brake smoothly and progressively, I didn't cover the lever.
 
I always cover my front brake w/ 2 fingers; I also cover the clutch lever w/ 2 fingers most of the time. By covering the levers, you get a faster response time.

If you are new to riding, you should follow msf and do not cover your brake. When I started riding and covering my brake, sometimes I'd get into situations where I'm braking and gasing at the same time unintentionally when I just want to brake.
 
Good topic. I'd like to know the good way too, please.

I got into the habit of covering the brake with two fingers. However I have one disc and an old brake and a heavy bike. So , two fingers are probably not enough. So: what to do: cover with three fingers? Or not cover at all, to force myself to use all fingers to stop better if I have to???

Because, I recently nearly had an accident like this: I was passing on the green and somebody went right in front of me (her red light). I braked immediatelly with my.. two fingers... but the squeeze was not strong enough and in effect the front barely slowed me down. So... I have to rethink how I use the brake.
 
Hmm, I've always covered the break with two fingers. Seems to me that a panic response would be to grab a handful of break whether or not you've got it covered. Just my thought...
 
We cover with one strong pimp finger :D
When temps are cold and fingers cramps, use two fingers.

Find use the brakes more often. For everything from necessity to suspect situations. No cover the suspect situations wouldn't bother as much. Its good and bad in away. Bad is cagers following aren't used to so much brake use.
 
ive always covered my brakes and clutch. just my instinct.
 
I cover the brake with 1 finger -- that's good enough to stop the 1098 in a hurry!

I picked up the habit from, I think, Nick Ienatsch's book, on the track, you should either be on the throttle or on the brakes, I tend to hold my hand so that as I roll off the throttle, I roll onto the brake. I don't ride like that on the street, or course, but I still hold my hand that way through habit. It feels weird to me not to have a finger over the brake lever.

As for the back brake, I only use that to hold me in place to that I can sit up and let go of the clipons at stoplights...
 
flying_hun said:
Who are you and what have you done with Stefan? :laughing

I don't understand the thought that you'd be more likely to lock up the front wheel from rapid application of the brake if you cover versus don't cover. A clumsy grab at the brakes is a clumsy grab at the brakes. My recollection is that the MSF wanted all four fingers used on the front brake, and that's difficult (though not impossible) while covering.
Click to expand...

:laughing No, it's really me :)

I had the same thought as you about covering the front brake making one more prone to lockup of the front wheel, and I actually asked my MSF instructor.

Her explanation was that its true that a clumsy "grab" at the front brake while covering or not covering could lead to the lockup, but by actually having to reach for the front brake (because you weren't covering it) it was a more decision oriented action. That is, it was a conscious decision to apply the brakes (however you were going to apply them)

In my class, two people locked up the brakes and washed out (one got pretty banged up) on the excercise where you brake in a turn by straigtening the bike first, then applying the brakes.

Both of those people (one guy, one girl) were covering the brake before entering the corner. I was watching when the guy went down pretty closely, and it was obvious by the way he completely straightened his arms and locked them, that he panicked and wasn't thinking about braking, more than he was simply grabbing onto anything he could hang on to.

Had he not been covering the brake, he probably would have just stopped long, or locked up the rear only.

It's different in every situation of course, but in MSF it has to be partly due to playing the odds of which is safer, and also reducing complexity because it's easier to teach it as being one of the other (brakes, or throttle) instead of teaching the fine art of modulating the brakes while simultaneously working the throttle...

Stefan
 
well I would not tell anyone not to follow msf instruction but for more experienced riders i see it as a potential life saver. i'd rather miss any hazard rather than impact it. In traffic that 10 feet could make all the difference
and this i can say from experience once you have hit something solid on a motorcycle its and experience you dont want to repeat.
 
I cover the brake almost all the time. Sometimes one finger, sometimes two.

One problem with covering the brake, and with using less than all your fingers on the brake, is that it causes some people to not close the throttle all the way when they are braking. This can make stopping especially at low speeds more difficult. I have always assumed that is why MSF forbids it.

To the guy with the weak front brake: try using the outer three fingers and just the index finger for the throttle. Also move the brake in on the bars as far as possible (keeping bar curvature and lever reach in mind) to give your fingers better leverage on the brake lever.
 
ericm said:
One problem with covering the brake, and with using less than all your fingers on the brake, is that it causes some people to not close the throttle all the way when they are braking. This can make stopping especially at low speeds more difficult.
Click to expand...

This is why you pull both the front brake and clutch in an emergency stop.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top