Hi all,

What do you guys think about covering the front brakes with two fingers at all times as a safety mechanism?

I read it shaved a fraction of a second off response times, although I have smoother control of the bike (especially when shifting gears) using all of my hand.

So I'm wondering, does covering the brakes at all times increase safety by enough to compensate for the awkwardness?

Cheers,
Liraz

In open roads,  NO.
Really busy traffic, YES.

I would agree...and just use yer head. Love the GS500 and this forum.

C.......

Quote from: JeffDIn open roads,  NO.
Really busy traffic, YES.

Same here, if I dont feel safe my hand is over the brake lever ready for action, either that or I gas it and get the hell out of there.

any situation on the highway where im riding in cagers blindspots or any other busy traffic I ALWAYS COVER just seems more safe to me

ive found that the brake gets me into more trouble with traffic on highway then just using the throttle.  my fingers go to the brake lever automatically in city travel as im at slower speeds. I have accelerated around trouble and still had fingers on the brake ready on highway. seen too many folks Eat it trying to stop or slow down fast from a situation in front of them. Im so used to looking for the "OUT" or alternate path that very seldom do i "Emergency brake" ive jumped curbs, ridden sidewalks, flat tracked medians at 60 (THAT is Scary) even ridden between cars and the retaining wall along the side of overpasses. when you are under heavy braking, you DO NOT have control of the bike other than straight Forward; often right at what you want to avoid. ive had cars spinout on rainy days in front of me on highway. its wet, most of my braking is severely limited Vs a 4 wheel vehicle. hit brakes hard and what happens? your gonna find yourself talking to the paramedics, local PD, and tow truck driver. IF you're talking. your chances of avoiding the wreck are better looking for that little 3 foot slot to squeeze through and get past it just ask the racers.  Im not gonna say im 100% right, ive had 2 wrecks, one at 15 mph hit a guardrail and one at 45 mph hit antifreeze on entrance ramp, the 15 mph almost killed me, the 45 just chipped my L elbow and rashed my right leg a bit.  the First didnt have an out. the second took the choice from me.

covering the brake is only easily done when your wrist isn't rolled all the way back.  If you are running wot then it is probably too hard to reach the brakes without letting go of the throttle first.  You'll find yourself running at low rpms in stop and go traffic and neighborhoods more often anyway, so there shouldn't be much of an issue covering the brake in those situations.  You probably shouldn't be covering the brake at 7000 rpms anyway because your faster reaction time will allow you to grab the brake faster than you can let go of the throttle - you don't want to hit the brake and still be holding the throttle open.