Front brakes, or no front brakes...that is the question.

Pdub · Full Member Joined: Feb 02, 2008 Posts: 15

Hey all, could you give me your opinions? If you pick up any street chopper or horse for the last 9 months, you'll see alot of bobbers with extremely narrow handle bars, and almost no controls. Meaning no front brakes. Has anyone run these small chops with no front? I'm building a bobber and plan to use the spoke/drum rear, but having rode mostly sport and dirt bikes, I know how important the front brake can be. If this is stupid, be honest. Thanks,
Paul

jayel

check your state laws to see if front is required, then how lucky do you feel about it?

1badzuk · Full Member Joined: Sep 10, 2009 Posts: 44

i cant wait to hear the answer every time i ask this im told im stupid (they say front brakes needed)

i have noothing else to add

mynameismudd

oh, hell

where to start. how bout i ran my bike all summer with a rear drum and NO front brakes. was this my preference....not really but due to a uncontrollable wreak earlier this year i cracked my m/c to the front brakes. Crying or Very sad

now after running a light one day though a busy intersection and sharting myself i had to properly adjusting my rear brakes to compensate for 100% of stopping, i rode the rest of the summer like that and up to the point i had to do a complete rebuilt that i'm in the middle of now. BUT i am putting front and rear disk brakes on during the rebuild also.
so the ? will i ride w/o front, hell yeah if it's the only way i can ride. do i prefer it, not really. i grew up a front brake bandit. so maybe this answered your ? Pdub or not. that's my two cents, spend it how you want Smile

if it's my time then i go then it's my time, no matter in bed or on the bike. hell never locks the door anyway Twisted Evil

blackwidow

I roll my bobber with no front brakes

Joseph · Full Member Joined: May 22, 2007 Posts: 767 Location: NY

I would put the front brake on. Try stoping a few times from 55mph or 30 to a quick stop with just the rear. mudd ran through a busy intersection, I don't think he did that on purpous i'm sure he would have liked to stop. If you have a bike you are going to trailer around and drive in and out of parking lots maybee no front brake. If you are going to ride on the public streets put front the brake for you safty and others. If you have to stop quickly you just cant do it as efectivly without risk of sliding.

AirHog · Full Member Joined: Apr 28, 2009 Posts: 21 Location: IL

I just finished a build that i was running without a front, plan was for a front but the master i ordered didn't fit. So off i went on a poker run with just the rear drum on the XS. All was well for about 70 miles untill the bolt fell of that holds the link arm to the drum, soon after, the link arm was dragging and before i realized what it was, i tapped the brake to slow down for a turn and nothing.

I was able to downshift and make the turn but it was pretty hairy, and could have easily went from bad to worse with all the bikes so close around me. Luckily though we were on back country roads and there was plenty of room to menuever, had i been coming through town or an intersection who knows what the outcome would be.

Point is if your only going to run with one brake, MAKE SURE IT FREAKIN' WORKS. You will have no back up when things go bad, And the funny thing about brakes is they usually only fail when your going to use them, it's just a matter of when and where that happens, that dictates whether you go to the hospital or back to the bar.

I have to say though that it was pretty controllable when stopping with just the rear drum, you obviously lose a "few" feet but you just have to adjust your riding habits to compensate. I still run just a rear on my little "bar hoppers" Although i check the brake system before every ride, although on any bike i regularly go over 40 MPH on, i run both front and rears.

Pdub · Full Member Joined: Feb 02, 2008 Posts: 15

Alright, I figured as much. I guess I already knew the answer, I'm just suprised to see that many people running without. I ride in the Detroit suburbs and it's tough to get away from traffic and potholes. THANKS FOR THE INPUT EVERYONE!!

ady66

You can adjust your riding to allow for the road, if you don't mind riding slow, but it's the unexpected that'll get you, like the half blind guy/gal at a junction who's looking right at you for 200 yards then pulls out anyway, or someone on their cellphone on the wrong side of the road on a blind corner, or critters!

I'd ride without a front brake if I had to, but not out of choice.

(of course the counter argument is if we ride 'cos we like the thrill and the danger we should all ride naked with no brakes...)

pamcopete

Well, I can't believe this conversation actually happened! It's like asking, do I need a parachute to jump out of an airplane? Answer: Only for the last 1,000 feet!

baclay9 · Full Member Joined: Jul 30, 2009 Posts: 88

I personally don't think it is safe to reley on a single brake system on a bike.

Other than that, backing down an incline without front brakes sucks. This is something I never considered till it happened. I missed using the front break to slow myself down. Just a little thing though.

blackwidow

Like I said I ride with only rear brake and it can get dangerous. I was riding a car jumped out in front of me and there was almost nothing I could do I'm glad they seen me after a while or I would of flew over the hood. I live in a very small town so it's not as dangerous to ride with only a rear brake.

xsleo

Big town or little. No brake because it broke or just don't run one,
DEAD IS DEAD.

Joseph · Full Member Joined: May 22, 2007 Posts: 767 Location: NY

You don't get any doovers on the road. There is enough bad news around me right now don't need anymore let's all stay alive and have some fun. My grand father 80 years old , very active rode literaly his whole life his father rode, he had a 3 wheel gold wing a few miles from his house, in the country, a girl puuled out of her driveway in front of him. It was like she looked bothe ways then just went,bike and car total losses, grandpa sprained cracked ribs cast on wrist his whife has pins in her legs and wont be walking for a while. It was the first time he ever had a mc accident. It is clearly the girls fault insurance and she bothe know it, she fealt bad but were lucky they are alive. It was a mint newer golwing with i'm sure all sorts of breaks.

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