Hi Prince,

There is nothing to be afraid of in disc brakes. All you need to do is to learn the art of braking.. it is an art mind you. If you don't brake properly, even the drum brakes may cause you to fall.

I would suggest you to wait for a few days and pick up the february issue of xBhp magazine. it will hit the stands pretty soon. There you'll have lots n lots of info regarding the art of braking.

Adding my 2 cents from what this forum taught me...
Never brake in corners; as you approach the corner, apply the brake sufficient enough or more (unless one is riding on track), take the curve & then start accelerating. So brake when you approach the curve & accelerate as you exit the curve.

I think it is all in your mind ,once you ride 1000 kms with disk brakes your problem will be sough-ted out.But still i recommend you to use release and apply mechanism,which means apply 20% brakes at once then release the brakes and again apply them and so on .....

How DO USE THE BRAKE SAFELY AND EFFICIENTLY????

the answer is very simple... its upto "YOU".. if you are new to disk brake, soon you will realize that its effective. To solve your aversion to this system, get acquainted with it. First, drive your bike in a lonely road at low speed (say 10 KMPH) and then slowly engage brake, when the brake pads touch the plate you will feel front fork compressing slightly. Thats the sign that your brake is working. Repeat this until you are comfortable with it.

CAUTION: DO NOT EVER (I mean "EVER") JAM YOUR FRONT DISK BRAKE LEVER AT HIGH SPEED.

Drum brakes will make the bike skid or fall flat on its side if you jam, but disk will throw you right in front of the bike since it has higher traction and response.

Safe riding Princeot ;-)

Exactly.
Brake progressively. The discs do much much better than the drums in the rear.

I was scared to use the discs at first. but after reading this thread and lots of practice (from slow speeds to high speeds) the fear vanished. These days i use only the discs.

Sorry to say but thats the worst braking technique.

What one has to do is apply gradual pressure and increase the pressure on the brakes as required. Everytime the brake is pressed the suspension and tires compress which increases contact patch on the road. If you release the brakes and apply them again the contact patch is lost and the bike struggles to gain the required traction again. Gradual application of brakes and increasing the pressure improves braking distance as contact patch increases with the build up of braking force.

I used to think it was the correct method (the one you suggested) but after a nasty tankslapper and reading up on good riding techniques my braking has improved phenomenally.

That said DONT slam the brakes. Use 2 fingers on the front lever (as it is a disk brake setup and is very sharp) and squeeze the lever gradually. Always place the index and middle finger on the lever or you WILL end up grabbing the lever and jamming it in emergency/panic braking situations.

Please read the following books which explain a lot on riding techniques and not just braking... Sport Riding Techniques by Nick Ienatsch and Twist of the Wrist by Keith Code (also avail. on DVD).

In short, just keep 'pumping' the front brake lever :-D:-D. You will get jerks though!

so many expert opinions already...

to be honest, Disk brakes are much more safer than the Drum brakes, anytime...
in the rain as well as in the gravel, the drum brake either doesn't perform well, or simply locks the front wheel suddenly, but in case of a disk brake, it has an ability to perform better than drum anytime and in all conditions, which not only gives efficient braking, but also avoids wheel lock and makes the braking safer...

i use only 2 fingers to hit the front brake, the result is that no matter how hard i ride, when i press the front brake the 2 fingers cannot jab it in completely as the strength is too less, thus it avoids wheel locks even under panic braking...

you need to learn this art, and trust me you will enjoy the disks more than the drum...
have a look at the art of safe riding thread in this forum...

yup I echo him too... but the misconception to use less fingers for less pressure is actually suicide in making.. not everyone is born with guts of steel... people panic when they are experiencing acceleration .. and when things dont work out or bumps on road make things worse.. the natural reaction will be to hold the lever sharp and tight. the best practise is to know your comfort zone. Sharp braking as well as pulsating braking will surely cause trouble to both rider as well as the machine. I m sure a chunk of accidents on road happen due to insufficient braking or excessive. choice and responsibility lies with the rider considering environmental conditions.

Less fingers technique is best for learners as well as expert riders as jamming the brake is a bit difficult using just 2 fingers than it is with 4 fingers.
Nano is indeed right about it.

You should increase the pressure on the lever gradually. With practice you will quit using your rear brake as the front will be all that you'd need. The only situation when the front disc use is tricky is on wet/uneven/gravel or sand ridden roads.

Just practice light braking using the front on empty roads at lesser speeds and see how the bike brakes. The stopping distances will eventually reduce with practice.

What I do is I never brake at the last moment. Hug the tank nicely between the thighs, hold the handlebars firmly, move a little back on the seat [as I am tall] and whenever I approach a signal, I start braking early and gradually squeeze the lever more and more. You can use rear+front braking which comprises of 70% front and 30%rear. But never brake hard when in a corner.

As said....at high speeds disk breaks shouldn't be used like...."EVER"

then should one solely rely upon rear breaks during high speed braking??

As i had quoted earlier, please read the following books which explain a lot on riding techniques and not just braking... Sport Riding Techniques by Nick Ienatsch and Twist of the Wrist by Keith Code (also avail. on DVD).

Or refer to the links mentioned in the earlier posts.

This is just a myth. As pointed out earlier, as long as you DON'T jam the disc that is pull the lever with full force, everything is fine. just use two fingers for the front brake use. this kind of ensures that you don't pull them with full force all of a sudden. also start practicing at slow speeds