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I am missing a lot with this. I barely use my rear brake -- pretty much it only gets applied in panic situations or very controlled slow going.

I know mentally that I am missing a bunch of slowing power that could be gained via later braking into corners and similar, but the muscle-memory, or even a technique that helps me to physically understand the need of when to brake in the back just hasn't taken on.

Are there any exercises/techniques that anybody has found success with?

Remove your front brake lever and go for a ride.

That's funny, I uselly tell people the opposite. It's awesome you have mastered the front binder, it is much harder to get used to than the back. But SS109 is right, pop the lever off & be careful!
-Matt

i drag the back brake over realy rough ground it tends to stop the back kicking up and down try it you will be suprised how much faster you can go

You know I think this may be one of those odd things that just doesn't get discussed much.

I just know I am not using the rear properly. I steer with the rear of the bike completely via the throttle, but I just don't manage it in any way except plowing it on when I am hooking up and pointing in the right direction.

If it makes things any clearer, I am a B/Intermediate rider at pretty much all levels. I also race AHRMA (vintage) motocross, where brakes on bikes really are quite a few steps below our KDXs and I frequently find myself looking for more grab on entries (but still don't instinctively look at the back, except for exits). I attended a couple of Donnie Hansen's schools which really helped me quite a bit in honing throttle control skills, But for some reason, rear braking wasn't taught (an quite frankly) still eludes me.

I think I will follow SS109s advice and see what I learn. Maybe having no front brake will do me right. I know one of the best learning experiences I've had in woods riding was when I went away for a riding weekend, and blew up my old bike, prompting me to borrow a buddys early 70's TL125 for the entire weekend. I stood over that thing hundreds of miles over the course of a few days, didn't sit once all weekend, and became a smarter rider than years had (mis)taught me prior.

Disabling the front brake is a good idea. You need to learn rear brake control, and that will force you to do it. Just be careful!

A trick I learned street riding no less.....when putt-putting and wanting to make sharp slow turns, riding the rear brake while riding the clutch makes the bike amazingly stable.

KDX's have a rear brake? I'll have to look into this... Mine just has a rear wheel lock for going down steep hills.

lol, rbates. That's about how mine is with that trials tire. You just have to learn to drag the rear wheel to your advantage!

rbates9 wrote:KDX's have a rear brake? I'll have to look into this... Mine just has a rear wheel lock for going down steep hills.

That's what all my bikes ever have had! My favorite is when you're in a loose traction situation on a steep downhiill and the front and rear wheel decide they're in a race to reach the bottom first. Somehow the rear always decides it's bound and determined win!

Julien D wrote:lol, rbates. That's about how mine is with that trials tire. You just have to learn to drag the rear wheel to your advantage!

Trials tire = good. Rear brake = good. Trials tire + rear brake = NO good.

for me, the rear brake is active rear steering on the slow stuff. press, lean.

I use the back brake a lot in tight situations to to avoid closing the throttle completely. What I mean by this is say you're in a tight section where you will need quick bursts of power for very short straights and lots of tight turns. I drag the brake through the tight turns so I can keep the power on and not have to close the throttle completely. I keep the throttle cracked open, and use the back brake to help modulate how much power actually goes to the ground. This also helps to prevent stalls by keeping the revs up. Plus, having the foot on the pedal makes it easy to do a quick direction change or help to get set into a corner by briefly locking the back wheel.

I've had a couple rides where I lost the back brake (one a missing rotor after losing three its mounting bolts and then removing the rotor, and another where I tore the back line), and I could hardly believe how much I had to slow down. A back brake is just so vital in the conditions I ride (tight S. Jersey sand).

on the motocross track, I use a A LOT of front brake with some rear. In the woods, I use them about equally. I find the rear is useful to help pull the bike down and through a really tight, or emergency turn.

It is difficult to "master" the rear brake because it is tough to control the pressure with a stiff boot on and all the other movement that is usually going on at the same time. I have always wanted to try a left hand rear brake setup from rekluse on my autoclutch equipped WR.

I use the sh!t out of my back brake. I go through rear pads about twice as fast as fronts.

Slick_Nick wrote:I use the sh!t out of my back brake. I go through rear pads about twice as fast as fronts.

Me too, I use the back brake for stopping, turning, controlling hop throught the rough... I bet I go through more than twice the front -

I don't know how you can ride without using both brakes.

I use it on dead stops or panic turns when I have to drift the turn, saved my ass more than a few times haha. So its like 90% front 10% rear.

it also comes in handy when popping a wheelie with too much gusto ;)