I currently ride with my throttle hand:
Palm on grip with thumb under the grip, four fingers covering the brake lever (dinosaur hand)
I have experimented with thumb and index grip and three finger brake cover as well as thumb ring pinky grip and two finger brake cover. I recall my MSF instructor coaching a thumb up, four finger brake cover technique.
I'm a two finger up and thumb down guy, like the pic.
I'm taking a wild guess, but maybe HD cruisers need more lever pressure to slow those behemoths down, so they teach the four finger technique. :unsure:
I'm with tbzep - two fingers on the lever and two on the grip.
MSF does teach all four fingers on the lever. I had already been riding about a year when I took the BRC, and was chastised for using the two finger technique during the class. :sad:
While the four fingers technique might be safer due to a better grip on the lever, it doesn't allow one to work the throttle at the same time. When sport-riding, you frequently need to maintain throttle through corners while at the same time applying some brake. I also think two finger braking allows for a bit more finesse when braking. Unless it's an emergency stop, two fingers is better in my opinion.
I think tbzep is also right about needing all four fingers to slow down big, heavy cruisers. With good brakes on most sportbikes, however, two fingers is probably enough most of the time.
Two fingers for 99.999% of my riding and 4 for emergency stops and not all the time either. Usually 2 fingers on the brake is more than enough to haul my bike down to a stop.
As a individual the amount of fingers will depend on your finger strength, and the brake systems ability to stop as short as possible(practice). Another thing to consider is leverage, the further out on the lever you apply pressure the less actual strength taken(as in T & Index around throttle).
Any position will feel strange until you get use to it.
On bikes with a radial pump at the master cylinder you get more action with less lever pressure. Don't know if the VFR1200 has it or not. 6th Gens don't...
I'm with tbzep too...two fingers on lever. I use two fingers on clutch too however.
I use two fingers but and starting to experiment with a one finger technique, keeping my index finger around the throttle and only using my middle finger for braking...
For me, a four finger brake is a big no-no. I have found for both myself and for when I'm teaching friends to ride, a four finger brake encourages one to strangle the hell out of it. This of course throws all the weight forward, and you can toss brake feel out of the window*. You have more than enough stregnth in two finger to operate a properly functioning bike.
disclaimers: Im an oddball and use you pointer and middle finger as my two fingers.
* I imagine this applies less to the HD crowd because of their longer wheelbase
I had no idea what I was really doing until I watched this video. Start at 53 seconds. I learned that I use my middle finger for 80% of the force applied to the lever. Weird.
Your MSF class should have taught: cover the clutch with all fingers at all times in level 1. Never cover the front brake unless you are stopping or slowing and then use all four fingers. The intent is to fully seperate front brake from throttle use - roll- squeeze-release-roll. With experience and additional training you will start to merge the two.
1 on each lever always. 1,2, or 4, on brake. I guess i'm versatile.
I think it comes from mx and the amount of arm pump or what lap of the moto. I find that I usually use 2 on the brake. At the end of the moto I am using all 4.
This technique has transfered to the vfr. It all depends on the amount of feel.
I had no idea what I was really doing until I watched this video. Start at 53 seconds. I learned that I use my middle finger for 80% of the force applied to the lever. Weird.
1 finger on the shorty lever is enough in most cases, 2 smoothly for panic stops.
I had no idea what I was really doing until I watched this video. Start at 53 seconds. I learned that I use my middle finger for 80% of the force applied to the lever. Weird.
such a donkey, draggin your knee through a roundabout...I love it!
lol was thinking the same thing, Show off! :laugh:
I ride somewhere in the neighborhood of 15,000mi per year, and I don't think I've gone a single day of commuting whereby a cager hasn't made an attempt to kill me, accidentally or otherwise. It's become habit to ride while covering the clutch and the brake with my index fingers. On all of the lighter motorbikes I've owned, I could panic stop with just the one finger. The VFR requires two.
Went back and looked closer at all the pictures from my roadracing days, and even then I still ran with the brake covered:
One or two fingers covering the front brake lever almost at all times, except maybe when droning in sparse traffic on the superslab..... where I might do no coverage on the levers...
I think the 1 and 2 finger coverage is a natural thing with most riders and comes in for most as something not taught, which could mean it would be the best to use in most conditions....despite of what the "Doctor" says......
Your MSF class should have taught: cover the clutch with all fingers at all times in level 1. Never cover the front brake unless you are stopping or slowing and then use all four fingers. The intent is to fully seperate front brake from throttle use - roll- squeeze-release-roll. With experience and additional training you will start to merge the two.
![[image: 146_0901_01_z+riding_skills_series+brake]](http://image.sportrider.com/f/17788941/146_0901_01_z+riding_skills_series+brake_lever.jpg){kind=link}
![[image: 333_25698929729_2108_n.jpg]](https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/333_25698929729_2108_n.jpg){kind=link}
![[image: 969541_10201268796821686_1238427135_n.jp]](https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/969541_10201268796821686_1238427135_n.jpg){kind=link}