Do you use the front brake much?

[KD57]

I seldom use the rear brake. Changed pads last nite on the Harley and the front was nearly gone, and the rear looked new. Since I just got back into street bikes a few years ago, I was wondering how that differed from off-road. I go thru front pads 5x more than rear pads on dirt bikes. I guess when I get on the street using the front just carries over from dirt. I do use both on a panic stop, street or dirt.

[tricker]

After reading my last statement it made no sense to me.. I use the front brake the most. The rear brake a lot less.

[drgibson]

I use the front more then the rear but I tend to slow the bike by down shifting. I figure this keeps the tread wear more even.

[themeatmanlandry]

I use 'em both when I'm corner carving, but around town I use one or the other when slowing, both when stopping.

The rears on my Bandit went WAY before the fronts. I had to change the way I rode.

[GSF650S]

I usually use both. Sometimes when slowing down, I'll consciously use the rear brake only just to remind myself how much foot pressure it takes to slow down the bike without locking the rear wheel.

[Clint]

Originally Posted by themeatmanlandry

The rears on my Bandit went WAY before the fronts. I had to change the way I rode.

Wise words, those.

[CaptCrashIdaho]

The Front Brake is my BEST friend.

And I like it!

[Clint]

LOL. Great shot.

[KD57]

Cool nose wheelie. But I see the shadows don't line up, so I assume the kids are to the left of your line? Safety always

[Clint]

I hadn't noticed that. Thanks for ruining the illusion!

Plus, the front boy is looking left.

[CaptCrashIdaho]

Hey, they're kids! How could they look the right way? The real issue is that the photog (Mrs. Crash) didn't get the camera LOW enough to compress the distance between my line and the kids line...Still, it's a fun pic. Most kids I work with (High School) think it's photoshopped but it's all about optics.

[Uncle Bob]

It's not camera angle that compresses images it's focal length. Telephoto lenses will magnify the image of everything proportionately.

Ex: A 300 mm lens will magnify the image 6 times on a 35mm camera. So an object 30ft from you will look like it's 5 feet away and an object 24ft away will look like it's 4 feet away, so although in reality they're six feet apart they'll look like they're only one foot apart.

And here's my feeble attempt at a quick fix.

[CaptCrashIdaho]

Let me clarify what I was trying to say:

Mrs. Crash wouldn't put the camera down on the deck...which being on the same plane with the feet and contact patch would have visually moved them closer together.

AND she should have backed up another 50 feet and zoomed in with her varible focal length lens.

Thread jacked.

[KD57]

Originally Posted by Uncle Bob

It's not camera angle that compresses images it's focal length. Telephoto lenses will magnify the image of everything proportionately.

Ex: A 300 mm lens will magnify the image 6 times on a 35mm camera. So an object 30ft from you will look like it's 5 feet away and an object 24ft away will look like it's 4 feet away, so although in reality they're six feet apart they'll look like they're only one foot apart.

And here's my feeble attempt at a quick fix.

Looks better, but the kids hand is out of plane w/ the mirror on the bike. The depth does not look right. But what the heck, I don't know crap about photography, I still like the pic. I do know one thing, doing nose wheelies on pavement will eat up a knobby tire in a hurry. We did a parade one time and I wasted a tire in 30 minutes. My son rode the whole thing in a wheelie, so his front tire was fine.

[Uncle Bob]

As is the shot is fine, just the eagle eyed around here that in a good way noticed some details that most might miss.

For this type of shot it might be better to not be perfect, wouldn't want to end up in jail for child endangerment.

Don't know about the "visual plane compression effect" will have to check that out but the camera on the ground might have eliminated the tell tale shadows from the shot.

Now back to the original thread.

Always use both brakes, it's the most effective way of stopping a bike. Now most know you can get away with using either/or but you need to be comfortable with both for that time when you'll need to stop as fast as you can.

During a panic stop it's not the time to find out your rear brake is very sensitive or inoperative.

[KD57]

You can go to jail for that being considered child endangerment?

[Clint]

Doubtful.

[Uncle Bob]

If you could prove that a father was practicing his stoppies by seing how close he could get to his kids and putting them in harms way, sure there could be jail time, child protective services involved, etc...

Of course for one isolated incident this is unlikely but still possible, especially if separated and the other parent gets a hold of the proof.

[tricker]

Originally Posted by Uncle Bob

If you could prove that a father was practicing his stoppies by seing how close he could get to his kids and putting them in harms way, sure there could be jail time, child protective services involved, etc...

Of course for one isolated incident this is unlikely but still possible, especially if separated and the other parent gets a hold of the proof.

blackmail?

[intimid8er]

Damn.

I better hide them pics of me doin' wheelies in shorts and flip flops with my kid sittin' on the top case without any gear also.