Braking

To make this easier, lets just keep it to "ideal conditions" ie: good traction.

80% front 20% back.

about 60 front 40 rear that's why the front brakes are always beefier,,, ie: single disk front with drum rear or dual disk front with single disk rear. When you are stopping most of the weight shifts to the front end therefore you want more braking on the front.

100% front, you mean there is a rear brake?

If I have to do a "panic" stop, the rear wheel isn't even on the ground anyway, so why bother.

I'm reminded of Freddie Spencer, AKA Fast Freddie. He used to take the rear brake pedal off and throw it away. Then the AMA got on his case about it so he left it on but rotated it out of his way.

Since I moved my footpegs rearward and shortened my brake pedal, I'm not sure I could lock the rear wheel even riding on ice :woohoo:

I suppose I'll have to do something about that someday.

I generally use about 30-40% rear and 60-70% front....Ever since I got my 79' kz750 I have had to use about 90% front and 10% rear cause the front pads are bad...At least I think they are, I bled the brake but the front still doesn't have the same power as the rear brake so I have to overcompensate with the front brake...It only has 13,000 miles on it, so I am hoping the replacement pads solve that problem and that it isn't anything else...

Very little, if any, rear brake on good surfaces.

i have been to the Fast riding school at the track, from 3 time Canadian Superbike Champiam Michel Mercier champion .

www.fastridingschool.com/index3.html

He says, no rear brakes allowed.
the harder u have to stop (using the front brake), the less weight u have on the back tire. All of the weight transfers forward as the forks dive, and eventually the rear wheel leaves the ground. It is way to hard for the inexperienced, to fineness the back brake through these conditions. As soon as the back tire gets light, it locks up and the rear end swerves.
We are taught in level 1 to brake hard while the bike is upright , and as u release the brake u start the turn.
In level 2 u save a little braking for the entry of the turn. But u must be smoooooth.
Wwe will all have to wait for level 3, until next year . lol.
I feel that I must use a little rear brake for street riding though. I feel that if I never use it, it will not come naturally when the rear brake is needed. The rear is needed as traction to the front decreases. Such as wet or gravel conditions, even dry, but steep, down hills.

Wow, I didn't know so many people had so many different styles. I start with the rear brake to shift the load forward and prevent a nose dive when the front brake is applied. I only apply it momentarily and once the front brake is engaged I can't say there's much as all coming from the rear. It all happens quick. It's not like I think about it. I'm more worried about rolling on a little throttle just as I'm about to bounce over the cat.

May eventually need to hold the bike stopped on a fairly steep slippery incline. Such as a muddy damp dirt road or driveway leading to a mountain cabin, where the bike pulled the incline without drama.

In this situation, the front brake alone may not hold the bike, which will roll backward with the locked front wheel sliding along. And the condition is worse with a heavily loaded luggage rack. Thankfully, application of the rear brake usually halts the bike's backward progress.

This rolling backward with front wheel locked may catch the rider off-guard, so it's good to know in advance what to do without having to think about it.

Under these circumstances, where the bike is rolling backward, the rear wheel brake assumes temporary duty as a "front" wheel brake.

Notice sometime, on wet grass for instance, how easy it is to pull the bike backward with the front brake locked. The forks extend, and the locked wheel slides right along.

One riding tactic of course is to attain a relatively level area before bringing the bike to a stop.

Good Fortune!

I use both probably at about a 80/20 ratio...