The first point to make is, do not brake in corners unless it is a last resort, as soon as the bike starts to lean into a turn you are starting to use the available grip to corner, the more committed to a corner you are, the less you are able to brake.

The next point to make is that almost always braking in corners is not needed any way, having followed thousands of riders as an instructor I have never yet seen someone slide off a bike in a corner unless they had started to panic brake, leave the brakes well alone and you will almost certainly go round the corner.

See cornering to find out how to correctly assess corners on the approach so you will arrive at the right speed.

The front and rear brakes have 2 very different functions, which is why most experienced bikers do not like linked braking systems where operating one brake applies the other brake to some extent.

The back brake is very useful on its own for holding the bike stationary when stopped, used properly it makes hill starts very easy, it gives good control for slow speed manoeuvres and turns, finding the drive point on the clutch before moving off, and gentle stops in slow traffic. It is absolutely useless for stopping quickly from any sort of speed.

The front brake is essential to stopping quickly, but only if the bike is upright. If the bike is upright when you brake the weight moves forward, this gives increased grip, you can brake harder, this gives more grip, ......

Not sure how hard you are braking ? Find a quiet dry road, brake positively with just the front brake, put the bike on the stand and look at the tread the of front tyre.

Still a light matt grey colour ?

Your not really using the front brake confidently, and probably over using the rear brake during normal riding, this will cause a lot of excessive wear on the rear tyre, more importantly, your stopping distances could be three or more times longer than needed.

Looking a bit speckled, grey but with darker spots ?

Better but could try harder, you are starting to use the front brake more effectively, but could you still be taking twice as long to stop as needed.

Much darker in colour, looking a bit streaked ?

Much better, now you are using that front brake well, the streak marks mean you are near to the point at which the tyre locks up, this means you are getting as much braking effort as you can and your stopping distances are nice and short.

What happens if you over do the front brake ?

On most bikes you will find the fronts forks compress more as you brake harder, if you brake very hard you will normally hear the front tyre as it reaches the limit of the available grip. Brake a little harder still and what happens next is very interesting, you will feel the front of the bike start to lift, this is because the front tyre is now losing grip as it locks up and starts to skid. The lose of grip means that the weight transfer is stopping.

On some bikes, normally sports bikes with a short wheel base, you might find the back of the bike lifts instead as you start to do an “endo”.

Do not panic, JUST LET GO of the front brake, and reapply but not so hard, in either case you will have learnt something useful.


Do not rely on stopping hard during normal riding, but things can happen and it can save a collision if you can brake confidently if needed.