Thnx guys for te info....that video for me was kind of an eye opener.ABS is definitely a life saver but having ABS does not straight off make you a pro at braking.

I didn't understand what you used linear/ non-linear for here?

I might be wrong here but what Ten means by linear is we are slowly pulling the liver with a constant pull or we are jabbing it which should be non-linear.

I for one totally agree with Ten when he says about the way the the brake lever is pulled. Many of us (and that includes me previously) have a habit of holding the brake lever from where it bends. That's basically accentuating the disc brakes as drum brakes. The moment you hold the brake lever from it's edge, the braking increases manifolds. I've experienced that first hand

yes the new 2010/2011 R1 is the bike to go for, since the new bike has a completely new engine. The crossplane crankshaft and the uneven firing order makes the bike much more usable. At full chat it sounds like the Yamaha M1 "rossi wannbes might wanna get one of these". the biggest difference between the 2008 and 2010 R1 is the power delivery. It now produces power much down the revs. So the power is always available and handy unlike the 2008 R1 which is too peaky and power is only available 7000rpm and upwards. The new R1 however suffers from topend power deliver which is not good as say ah Fireblade, Gixxer and Ninja( since i have ridden my cousins R1 i can say so, i dont know how many will agree with me on this fact, but thats just my opinion). So the new R1 is the one i would go for. It sound amazing, it attracts massive attention in White, and is also easier around town.

Hmmm ok, I dont think I've ever heard that being used. Well, the only reason the braking is increased when you use the edge of the lever is because the moment (torque) increases as the distance from the axis(where the lever "bends") of rotation increases. This is the right way to brake.

If you press the lever at the axis of rotation braking reduces not because youre "accentuating the disc brakes as drum brakes" but because it requires a huge amount of torque to press the lever even by a small amount. Same applies to the clutch lever.

My 2 cents

Braking has to be linear.
It can be best summed by saying that it has to be operated as a regulator and not as an on-off switch.
When you start your braking you first gotta make sure that the contact patch at the front wheel widens. So the initial bite at the lever cannot be too strong else the tyre looses traction even before it gets a chance to widen itself.
Once you are past the intial bite of braking the tyre has now widened good enough and is begging for more braking. Now you brake with firm vigour and gentle force. The patch widens even more resulting in greater surface area stopping you at its maximum efficiency.
Thats what i meant by linear/non linear braking.
Holding the lever at its end has its own advantages due to the Moment of Force, as mentioned by AsimB.
Its the same reason why door knobs are found at the outer edge of a door and not close to the axis about which the door is rotating.
I personally dont hold the lever at its outer edge. Gotta inculculate that habit in me yet
I have ner felt the need to brake harder by holding the lever at its outer edge tho for the brakes on all the bikes I have had were more than what I ever needed lol. If I am not falling short of braking force (for my level of riding) then I dont want to change the grip on the levers to increase the braking force, i already have enough :P

Asim Bro - I just used that statement as an analogy to state the difference of braking force you get when you hold the brake lever towards the bend. The basic principle remains the same as you said.

Tenhut - Absolutely agree with you above But yeah, would say that holding the lever from it's edge while braking, gives a lot of confidence while applying the brakes and also makes the application very subtle.