Rear brake on track: Cory West on when he uses it
In a Champ School clip, 2024 MotoAmerica Super Hooligan champion Cory West says a bagger is almost impossible to ride without the rear brake. He uses it less on a sport bike, and in the dirt it is almost a necessity.
2 min readUSABy PitPin Desk
Champ School put the question to Cory West during a recent school at Indy Motorsports Ranch and published his answer as a short video on 28 October.
West won the 2024 MotoAmerica Super Hooligan National Championship on a Saddlemen Harley-Davidson Pan America after 23 years of racing at pro level. He also races in King of the Baggers. His short answer is yes. How much he uses the rear brake depends on the motorcycle.
Baggers
On the baggers, West says, it is almost impossible to ride without the rear brake. His bagger has a thumb-operated rear brake on the handlebar. He uses it to help the bike turn mid-corner, and coming off the corner it works, in his words, "like a little bit of a traction control".
Sport bikes
On sport bikes he does not use it a lot. It still has a job, especially on a powerful bike over crests where the front wants to lift. A touch of rear brake helps keep the front wheel down.
Dirt
On his own bikes West rides adventure, dual sport and off-road, and there he uses the rear brake a lot. With less grip at the front in the dirt, you cannot lean hard on the front brake, so the rear becomes almost a necessity. He comes from flat track and grew up using only the rear brake.
He calls the rear brake a valuable tool. The more you know how to use it, he says, the more you can apply it.