Motor officer Quinn Redeker is a master of rear brake control. Photo by Greg Drevenstedt.

Rear brakes aren?t a hot topic in today?s motoverse, nor are they necessarily among the most sought-after motorcycle tips. In fact, they?re kind of boring when the front binders on modern bikes provide so much stopping power, often with a single finger on the lever, but they’re still important. 

According to the Motorcycle Safety Foundation, front brakes provide approximately 70% of a motorcycle?s maximal stopping power, leaving around 30% to the single rear brake. But many factors affect this ratio, such as speed, tire grip, road surface, road gradient, and type of motorcycle. Cruisers and touring bikes with long wheelbases benefit from rear braking to a greater degree than short-wheelbase motorcycles like sportbikes. 
Hard braking at the front can lighten the rear end so much that it can be hard to take advantage of whatever percentage of braking is available back there. That?s a lesson I hadn?t learned yet when my ?83 Suzuki GS750ES, which had some serious stoppers, was new.

When used correctly, the rear brake improves control and stopping distance and also helps negotiate U-turns quickly and safely.

See all of Rider’s Motorcycle Tips & Tricks here.

Settling Down

My enlightenment came later with my ?87 Kawasaki KLR650, a venerable dual-sport notable for its large gas tank and weak single-disc stoppers at both ends. Having to use both bi...