(if there is a better place for this post please move it. couldn't find a general motorcycle section.)

I have a friend that absolutely refuses to use his brakes when slowing down for a corner or stopping. He just shifts down until his transmission wont slow him down anymore then uses his brakes. which means his brake light doesn't light up until hes pretty much stopped. the guy won't even tap his brakes. He thinks if he uses his brakes he will have to replace them every year. I had the same pads for 4 years. Probably longer because they came on the bike when i bought it.

Anyway, i am concerned because i have nearly rear ended him several times. I'm also worried that he may get hit by a car one day. Not only that, but it cant be good for the clutch can it?

to me, this seems incredibly stupid to do.

 

Hes not the brightest crayon in the box when it comes to rideing. Hes going on his 3rd season and he just bought a brand new r1 coming from a 94 600 f2. To me it seems like hes rideing outside of his ability. im only on my 5th year but i know what i can and cant do.

 

Sounds like he might get run into eventually. Sometimes, alot of times, cars need to see the brake light especially if they are not really paying attention or fumbling around with their phones. I always keep that in mind and at times when I feel I've stopped or slowed down to quickly with cars coming up on me, I'll hit the brake light a few times to get their attention, hopefully. I dont really waste my pads either, and I'll use the rear only when just puttin around, but I'm sure as h-ll not worried about replacing them every year, it's not that big of an expense to really worry about, especially if you can change them out yourself. But just be carefull riding with him and continue to watch him closely, and remind him that he is just a speck in front of an elderly driver.

 

when I asked my friend about engine braking he said don't even bother... I asked why and he said...

"Two reasons... one, you can stop much faster with your brakes and people will see you.. two, clutch plates and tranny repairs are much more expensive than brake pads."

Reason #2 makes the most sense to me and people seeing you stop by using your brake light can only be good as well.

Kaz

 

I've told him that many times.

 

I'm sure your friend legitimately thinks what he's doing is best, but he's obviously not considering his safety or the risk in relying so heavily on engine braking and he's also not considering how inexpensive and long-lasting brake pads are vs. how expensive tranny/engine repairs are. I'm sure he's thinking he's in the right and not intentionally being stupid, but he's using some pretty poor logic.

MSF course might do him some good. He'd probably show these tendencies in the course and I'd bet an instructor would straighten him right out.

 

Well, since he won't use his brakes ..he may as well remove them, all that extra weight is making him take longer to stop ..more inertia you see ... oh, right ..but then he will get rear ended quicker too ...hmm, it's a dilemma ..to brake or not to brake ..lol


Jules

 

I'll say this, I always use both brakes when stopping. I also use engine braking slightly. Depends on the situation. Either way if he's going to engine brake heavily only, he should at least cover one of the brake levers to make the brake light come on, for his own good and anyone around him. That's one thing I worry about, especially in traffic in the metro is someone slamming into you from behind. I would also say my friend, that if you've almost rear ended him a few times maybe you should be riding off to the side or in front of him. Have to stay alert.

 

I engine brake and slightly tap my brakes (just enough to get the light to come on) unless I need to stop quickly... then it's mostly brakes slowing me down. Technically, though, the fastest way to stop would be using both methods together.