what have you heard about using your front brake off-road?
don't do it you'll die! not the case at all
it still controls most of your stopping power the key is
getting used to how it reacts on changing traction environments
there are three things to getting more comfortable with using your front brake
off-road
welcome to MOTOTREK! i'm Dusty Wessels professional motorcycle instructor with
West38 Moto breaking anxiety... oh my gosh did i ever
have that when i first started riding more specifically off-road braking
transitioning from the pavement a high traction
environment to the dirt a lower traction environment
so when i teach off-road classes one of the things students are the most
apprehensive about is using their front brake off-road
completely understandable there are three things for you to
practice to make using your front brake more comfortable off-road
the first thing to getting comfortable using your front brake off-road
is to get your body in the right position you want to move your weight
back the reason you want to move your weight
back is because when you break or decelerate all the weight goes forward
you want to counteract that you're in a much better control position
if you're back here while you're trying to slow the bike down
instead of being up here
just like riding anywhere else the next step is pull the clutch in for a
smoother stop so the third step is applying the front
brake with your weight back and the clutch in
use one or two fingers here don't use your whole hand if you use
your whole hand you apply too much pressure
one or two fingers allows delicate control of the front brake
squeeze and apply pressure until you feel
the front wheel engaging with the surface below you
and then continue to squeeze until you come to a stop
in order for you to become proficient using your front brake off road you've
got to practice practice in multiple different traction
environments gravel on top of hard pack it's going to
be a lot looser it's not going to be as comfortable to stop on that
hard pack a lot better you're going to have a lot more traction on that
embedded rock that's got a lot more traction
the tread on your tire matters a lot my point is there are a lot of factors
that affect front braking off-road the more you
practice the more you're going to become
proficient
take a look at your adventure bike it's only got a small
single disc rotor in the rear now take a look at the front wheel on your
adventure motorcycle most adventure motorcycles have two
large disc rotors in the front this is why the front brake provides
most of your stopping power
abs can affect front braking off-road some motorcycles have simple abs systems
some motorcycles have sophisticated abs systems the best way for you to get
comfortable is to ride the motorcycle if you have a
sophisticated abs system go through all the modes practice on
multiple different environments until you get comfortable with how abs
reacts when you're using your front brake off-road
i use my front brake almost everywhere when i ride off-road
if you've been hesitant to use your front brake off road find a safe
environment practice at slow speeds gain confidence
and make your front brake your friend
you