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Getting Rid Of The Rear Brake?


Leadfoot350

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I dont really ever use my rear brakes because I cant feel my foot that well while wearing boots. So when I push the rear brake it locks up instantly on me so I just use the front brakes. I removed the rear brake and everything about it to save weight. My friends say to put it back on because that is not safe at all. I have not even used my rear brake in the past year. They said that if I was going to take off brakes that I should take off the fronts. Well that got me thinking that what if I took off the fronts and used the front brake lever and ran a long ass brake line to the rear to work that brake instead of the front. What do you guys think about this. I ride only glamis sand dunes and I have experianced that the front tires will lock up and slide while going down hill.

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I dont really ever use my rear brakes because I cant feel my foot that well while wearing boots. So when I push the rear brake it locks up instantly on me so I just use the front brakes. I removed the rear brake and everything about it to save weight. My friends say to put it back on because that is not safe at all. I have not even used my rear brake in the past year. They said that if I was going to take off brakes that I should take off the fronts. Well that got me thinking that what if I took off the fronts and used the front brake lever and ran a long ass brake line to the rear to work that brake instead of the front. What do you guys think about this. I ride only glamis sand dunes and I have experianced that the front tires will lock up and slide while going down hill.

im the opposite I never use the front brake because its harder to pull when you need to stop fast. I don't have to feel the rear brake lever to know its there soon as I move my boot I can feel it stopping. Im with your friends keep the rear brake, maybe jsut adjsut its position so its easier to use?. You never know when you might need to stop fast.

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One thing I learned from riding sport bikes (crotch rockets) is 75% of all braking power is from the front brakes. When you take the motorcycle safety course they have you practice stopping with the front, rear, and then both. Depending on terrain the percentage of braking power does shift around. There are times when you would only want to use one set or the other as well. Say you stall out going up a big steep hill... you are just starting to come down backwards so you'd want to grab the front brake. You should get the idea. If you think the stock rear brakes are hard to modulate you should try a stainless steel braided line. As soon as you touch the brakes they want to lock up.

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I have a street bike too so I understand exactly what you mean about using more rear that front but that is to keep the front from locking up cuz once you do that you are crashing unless you can put a foot down. I have a +6 swing arm and a stainless steel line. The reason I dont like useing the rear is because with my boots on it instantly locks up on me. On my street bike I have normal shoes on so I can feel more of what I am doing.

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Hey man....I don't know where to get them...but I know a guy who bought a 440 shee that was setup for flat-track racing that doesn't have a rear break. There's some sort of distributor hooked up to the hand brake,...so when he hits the break it applies both breaks & he can adjust whether he wants more front break or more rear, or equal them out. It's pretty sweet, I'd love to get one...I bet it really helps when your doing any type of racing. Would be a little weird at 1st, but when I rode his banshee it was sweet, and would stop on a dime. Anyone else here seen a bike with that type of setup? Know where to get them?

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I agree, you just need to practice more using your rear brake. You should use both breaks to stop. I've had someone ride out right in front of me while riding in Jersey in the sand and was stopping as hard as I could with both brakes without sliding much....just missed him.

 

Not to mention what if your front brakes fail.....chances are it wouldnt happen....but it could.

 

I've gone down hills that if I only had front brakes I'd be going over the handlebars. Your riding situations might be different, but unless your shee is built to the tilt, and you need to shave every ounce possible because you have nothing left you can do, or your shee is only built for going in a straight line....I'd keep both front and back.

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Hell I rode my quadracer for quite a few years without any rear brakes. This was b4 the internet and old suzuki rear calipers were hard to come by, so I never had my rear brakes fixed. On my Banshees, with working rear brakes, I found that I use my front brakes 75% more than the rears, id only use the rear brakes if it was necessary to stop really really fast, otherwise the fronts did the job fine. I lost my rear brake caliper back in the early summer and have never fixed it, iv been riding for 6 months now without any rear brake. Do I miss it ? Yes and no, its nice to have a rear brake and one day i'll have it fixed, but I really dont miss it, I can ride all weekend long and never once think about that missing rear brake.

 

One thing I learned from riding sport bikes (crotch rockets) is 75% of all braking power is from the front brakes.
I gotta agree with that comment. If the rears are more important than the fronts, then why do these new ATV's come with dual piston front calipers and old crappy single piston rear caliper.

 

And the single lever \ brake proportioning ideas sucks, have you ever rode one of those Pooplaris with the single brake lever that controls all the braking. It sucks big time.

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