Stay Upright - The Rear Brake

Why would we use it?
When would we use it?
How do we use it?

These are just some of the questions people ask us about rear brake use, here at Stay Upright. There are more advantages in using the rear brake than not using it. The only disadvantage is that you may wear out your brake pads quicker than you normally would - but how much is a set of pads?

The advantage of using the rear brake is stability. Examples of this are:
1. Low speed manoeuvres, U-turns, riding in slow-moving traffic
2. In corners, entry, middle & rear exit.

Obviously, stability is very important on a motorcycle. To ensure stability, we must limit the amount of weight transfer, either to the front or back.
Have you ever found yourself rolling off the throttle in trying to control your speed in corners, or when doing a slow speed manoeuvre, such as a U-turn? Both of these actions can make the motorcycle unstable.

Let's look at low speed riding.
A motorcycle is at its most stable when it is under drive or steady throttle, so all we need to do is control the speed. We can do this by using the rear brake, riding it against the throttle, which will reduce your speed, with less weight shift, making the motorcycle more stable. If you use this technique and you find that you are using too much rear brake, you can then ease off the throttle with much less weight transfer. Depending on how slow you want to go, you may have to clutch at the "friction point" to avoid engine stalling. Friction point is where drive is engaged when easing out the clutch. It's very important to hold the clutch at friction point if using the clutch for slow speed turns. So now, when you are doing u-turns, all you need to do is lean the motorcycle, counter-balance with your body weight, and look to where you want to go. Using this system will give you much more control, so slow-riding and u-turns should no longer be a problem.

Rear Brake in Corners
Have you ever entered a corner and realised you were going too fast and that you're going to run wide? Do you start praying "Get me out of this and I will never go fast again!". Well, if you use the rear brake, it will help! If you don't have the option of using the rear brake, the only thing you can do is roll off the throttle, which will transfer weight to the front wheel, which in turn will cause you to run wide and also potentially lose traction. Either way, it's a bad result! The other thing you might want to do is keep leaning the motorcycle, which may be okay if you have enough traction, but if traction is a problem, through surface or lean angle, then you need another option. What you need to do is to ride the rear brake against the throttle. This will reduce your speed (and pull the motorcycle tighter into the turn) with less weight transfer. If you use this technique and you find you need to roll the throttle off, you'll find you won't need to roll off as much, thus saving on weight transfer.

Ideally, we should have our position. speed and gear set well before the corner, but we all make mistakes sometimes. It would be good if it was a perfect world, but it's not, so it's good to have options, and the rear brake is a very good one. If you are using your rear brake through every corner though, you may need to address your riding speed. All of your low speed manoeuvres should be done with the rear brake, allowing you to still steer the motorcycle. if you use the front brake whilst attempting to turn, it will make it almost impossible the steer the motorcycle. You need to practise the rear brake skill regularly in order to master it smoothly. Remember, the brake is not an on/off switch. Overuse can be just as bad a problem as not using it in the appropriate areas.

Want to master the skill? Book yourself in to a Stay Upright course - Intermediate Skills, Advanced Skills Development, or Cornering & Braking. Look forward to seeing you there.

Until next time . . . stay upright.
Wayne Carter
Senior Instructor
Stay Upright Motorcycle Techniques