10-19-2014, 01:15 PM
I think much of it comes down to how you are riding, and what bike you are riding. Clearly if you are on track racing to get the best lap time, with a modern race bike, the rear brake is not there to slow you down, but for stability. Just look at the stoppie Pedrosa was pulling the other day in Motegi as an example. I doubt his rear brake would have helped him there to slow down!
However, when riding on the street we tend to not enter corners quite as aggressively, and so there is certainly more weight on the rear resulting in the rear brake then becoming effective. Finally, with bikes like cruisers, weight is considerably more to the rear, and with a further relaxed riding style, rear brake becomes even more important. Oh, and when you have a pillion, the rear is also more useful.
Personally, as mentioned earlier, I really only use the front simply because that is my style of riding. I don't have 50 years of riding experience on the street like the Ferret, but a good 30. However, I know that my riding style has evolved over those thirty years as a result of bikes improving as well as the type of bike I would ride. Clearly I did not ride my Africa Twin the same way as my Ducati 749.
However, when riding on the street we tend to not enter corners quite as aggressively, and so there is certainly more weight on the rear resulting in the rear brake then becoming effective. Finally, with bikes like cruisers, weight is considerably more to the rear, and with a further relaxed riding style, rear brake becomes even more important. Oh, and when you have a pillion, the rear is also more useful.
Personally, as mentioned earlier, I really only use the front simply because that is my style of riding. I don't have 50 years of riding experience on the street like the Ferret, but a good 30. However, I know that my riding style has evolved over those thirty years as a result of bikes improving as well as the type of bike I would ride. Clearly I did not ride my Africa Twin the same way as my Ducati 749.