Using rear brake on the track: HARD!

[Stock 400 rider]

I race mx and me and my friend were talking about the practice and we noticed that we don`t use the rear brake at all. The track we practiced had a lot of bumps so we could not do that thing with the rear brake around the corners.

Aproaching the corners we would reduce the speed just with the front brakes and shifting down the gears. The rear brake seems to be on a strange position, specially when you are not sitting on the quad...I don`t know!

Do you guys feel the same about the rear brake?

[Krazy Kid]

im sure there is a huge diff between rear brakes on a bike and a quad, but the rear brake on my bike is the only thing that keeps my flying around corners into straights and from flipping backwards on jumps....

[LTZ400rider]

i never really use my rear brake and i found out why. the center of gravity is way too high. on my friends 250r its lowered and thats all i use really is the rear brake

[crap-banshee32]

use it in the air to pitch the nose...that it really

[khj]

the front brake is used primarily for controlling the speed of the quad

the back brake is used primarily for controlling the direction of the quad
(it can very useful at the entrance to a corner for getting the back end of the quad pitched sideways so you can get back on the gas sooner) and can also be used to adjust the angle of the quad in the air (be sure to pull the clutch in you do not want to kill the engine)

also you should not be standing up in the corners you should be "sitting" somewhat on the side of the bike toward the inside of the corner (the momentum of your body weight can be used to a certain degree to control the turning of the quad (weight on the front of the seat to give the front wheels more traction while braking, on the side of the quad until it is lined up for the exit of the corner then shift your weight to the back of the seat to help traction on the exit))

all things being equal everybody is the same speed in a straight section and races are won and lost in the corners !!!

spend some time at a track just going around a corner over and over until you get the hang of it

be sure to start out slow and increase your speed as you feel more comfortable

[Stock 400 rider]

Originally posted by khj
the front brake is used primarily for controlling the speed of the quad

the back brake is used primarily for controlling the direction of the quad
(it can very useful at the entrance to a corner for getting the back end of the quad pitched sideways so you can get back on the gas sooner) and can also be used to adjust the angle of the quad in the air (be sure to pull the clutch in you do not want to kill the engine)

also you should not be standing up in the corners you should be "sitting" somewhat on the side of the bike toward the inside of the corner (the momentum of your body weight can be used to a certain degree to control the turning of the quad (weight on the front of the seat to give the front wheels more traction while braking, on the side of the quad until it is lined up for the exit of the corner then shift your weight to the back of the seat to help traction on the exit))

all things being equal everybody is the same speed in a straight section and races are won and lost in the corners !!!

spend some time at a track just going around a corner over and over until you get the hang of it

be sure to start out slow and increase your speed as you feel more comfortable

Thanks for the tips but let me just clear something: sure I know I should be sitting on the side of the quad on a corner but the big problem is that after a straight section where almost everytime you are standing up cause of the bad terrain you have to reduce the speed before the corner cause you don´t wanna loose time " inside" the corner. I just can't hit the rear brake while standung up, after a straight section and before a corner. (Only when the corner is in good condition and you just use the rear brake inside the corner to get the back end of the quad pitched sideways)
Any tips? Like LTZ400rider said, it just feel strange. Maybe lowering the brake pedal...I don't know.

One more thing, are you Jeremy Schnell?

[norrisboat]

Originally posted by Stock 400 rider
" inside" the corner.



You dont want to hit the rear brake inside the corner unless you are squaring off the berm. There are very few circumstances that might contradict this, but 90 percent of the time hit it just before the turn.

You want to hit the rear brake just before the turn to start sliding the rear end out and then you can use the throttle to continue pitching it out. All you need to do is tap the rear brake and the bike will pitch out, especially if your hard on the front brakes. The harder you are on the front brakes it will make the rear end lighter, thus making it easier to pitch out.

[khj]

stock 400 rider :

norrisboat is excatly right

what I meant was use the back brake entering the corner (not actually going around the corner just to set the quad up for the corner) the front brake has about 75% of the overall stopping power of the quad
so what you want to do is stay on the gas as long as you can (standing if it is real rough) then get as far forward on the quad as you can (sitting almost on the gas tank) and get on the front brakes hard to slow the quad down to a speed that you can make the corner at (be careful not to hit the brakes so hard that you go over the bars) and tap the back brake to get the back end going in the right direction (most of the time you should be sitting when you use the back brake for a corner)(it is real easy to get the back end crossed up and out of control to the point where it will throw you of the quad when using the back brake while standing also it is real easy to get thrown over the bars by getting on the front brakes while standing) then get on the gas to bring it the rest of the way around

as far as changing the placement of the foot brake put it where it is most comfortable for you and your riding style (make sure the brake petal and foot will not get hung up in the nerfs)

and no I am not Jeremy Schell
We have been good friends since we were 10 years old and I used to go to alot of the races with him back when he ran the nationals as an amature and spent alot of time chasing him around his practice track he had beside the house before he moved to So Cal
now I just run his website (and give him a hard time when he doesn't win)

hope this helps !!!

[norrisboat]

Originally posted by khj
(and give him a hard time when he doesn't win)



I do the same thing to him too.

[khj]

Originally posted by norrisboat
I do the same thing to him too.

ha ha ha

I am going to CA for the last ITP race in December then hanging out the following week so he will have no choice but to win or hear about it for a week straight