Gotta love these posts in the early AM...some responses can be an amusing start of your day. Especially ones who don't read previous posts & keep bashing OP...

FWIW, I learned very early in my 37+ year riding experience (not counting mini/dirt bikes). Grabbed a sh@t ton of front brake once on gravel road, while riding my newly purchased 1975 Yamaha RD200 (identical to pic) home. Went little hot into "1st" turn & down I went...right in front of my mom who drove me to get bike. Needless to say - I learned my lesson & luckily mom didn't end my riding career right there/then. Best to use "both" brakes & after awhile, just like wearing seatbelts, it becomes automatic.

 

I use both most of the time. One thing to consider is the "set" of the bike/vehicle during braking, pay attention to what your suspension is doing during hard or moderate braking. Get the front and rear to "set" equal.

 

80% front brake and 20% rear.

 

Man, this jpint gets funny!

If you normally use only the rear brake I'm sure you've figured out it takes a lot longer to stop than when using both brakes. That may not matter in normal circumstances. But have you ever heard of "muscle memory"? You are training yourself to use your brakes every time you use them. If you seldom use your front, when it finally matters that you must use it or crash, you will crash.

Reading through this thread reminds me there are way too many who just ride. Whenever I find myself "just riding" I flash back to a couple instances:
- Bike with no front brake, riding in Frances Marion National Forest, passing buddy who suddenly slowed and had no brake light, suddenly seeing why he slowed, hitting ditch, hitting fence, and trashing a beautiful Fury girder & 21" spool wheel. Moral: Pay attention, and a front brake is nice!
- Heading down gravel drive, stopping at end to check for traffic, foot slips off brake pedal, grab a handful of front, down I go. Moral: Pay attention, and a front brake will get ya!
Never "just ride"! Always, always, always - scan left, right, far ahead, close ahead, check road surface, check camber of turns, look for glow of eyeballs, leave yourself an out, know that Granny is going to pull into your lane, know that cell-chick is oblivious to your existence, know that the semi will blow a dual just as you pass. Do all of this all the time. It becomes habit and you don't even think about it.

Back to brakes - Unless conditions dictate to not use a front, always use both. When you get to the point where you don't "just ride" you will have trained your mind & muscles to always do the right thing with your brakes. And because you're now paying attention to the smallest details you'll be able to make the quick-on-the-fly corrections necessary to brake efficiently.

And in case there is a Troglodyte on here who thinks he can stop just as quickly with only rear brake usage, please do all of us a favor and sell your bike. You're an idiot and would really be better off finding someone to help you remember to breathe.

 

Should always use the front brake,the smartest thing for a biker to do is make it an automatic impulse.Panic stops without the front brake are always an exercise in futility.

 

Right after I bought my first harley I learned the hard way, do not get pissed
and squeze the front brake with a vingence. 11 years latter I could not ride
without a front brake, but use it wiseley.

 

I rarely use the rear brake.

 

I almost always use both, in varying degrees depending upon the circumstances. After a while you get a feel for the amount the will give you the best breaking for the least amount of effort (and wear and tear on the pads and rotors).

 

After 47 yrs of riding I can say I have always and still do use the front brake 90% of the time.. Its how hard/ much pressure U put on it that matters..

I'd say 50% of the time I use the front only. while slowing down.

In panic/hard stops, I use both.

What get me is the front bake that I just changed out last summer lasted 32K and still had more while I've replaced two sets already on the rear.. average about 15k...
I will add that the org's and the first one my dealer did rubbed the caliper a lot more than the last one I had My INDY do..

.

 

Dual calipers I run on the rear ,