Regen is basically the equivalent of rear brake. Unless you are using it with throttle, of course,(rear brake that is, you can't regen and throttle at same time) I use it constantly. ESPECIALLY IN TURNS, it helps you get pointed where you need to while keeping the wheels loaded up. Coming to regular stops regular riding, it's regen / rear brake all the way down. No you do NOT want to hit the front brakes much at all coming into a turn, if you hit them while leaned over, hit them hard enough and it'll stand your ass right back up... that transition can be a very fine line..good luck on that turn! Any hard / front braking really needs to be done BEFORE you start any kind of turning or leaning, but any additional braking, to help the turn, it's rear all the way for me.
The funny thing is, I have heard several harley riders tell me, oh you NEVER use the front brake EVER!! It'll cause a wreck every time!!
I would come into a turn fairly hot, let off the throttle and basically regen hard into it, let the regen pull me down into the direction I need, basically decreasing my turn radius until I am getting about where I want to go, then ill start bringing the throttle back up to push me out to the outside wall / line to get me lined up for the duck into 2 apex and hammer it all the way down to 3 at Jennings. I got to a point where the only way I was going to shave time is to come in longer until I start braking on 1.. which means your regen no longer is enough to slow you in time to make the turn, so come in hot use brakes to get slowed down so you CAN make the turn, let off front brake let regen finish helping you turn as you feather and then finally open up the throttle again as you exit the turn and hold it all the way until you need to slow for 3-6.
It's a tool you can decide to use or not use. Different riders do different things, and just like Trout fishing, there is no ONE correct way. So much is situational, and also, how you learned to do it. Some swear by it, others swear at it, who's right? Well, they BOTH won many races, so maybe both of them are right. Whatever fits your style best.
That's absolutely ridiculous not letting you have a lever operated rear brake unless you are crippled, I mean why not? NO logical reason to do that, if it's giving the rider an extra, oft time better tool with which to ride with. Sometimes your body positioning or leaning makes it difficult to get to the rear brake lever, or you have to actually think and make an effort to do that, feel around for the brake lever, and that takes brain power away from what's in front of you, to fiddle with what's under you. Handlebars are there all the time, the brake can be pretty much muscle memory at that point and unless you are about to fly over the handlebars, easier to engage too. Besides your fingertips give you awesome feedback how much pressure you are putting on the brakes, vs a foot in a solid boot stomping on a pedal where it's hard to judge the actual point of engagement. I think now of my foot that I broke earlier in the year and it being mostly paralyzed now, and having to feel on that? Yah that's a game changer there if it was my brake foot. It IS my shifting foot, and that is already a problem on an ice bike, no more quick pow pow pow on the shift lever when your nerves don't fire that fast anymore and it feels more like a piece of 2 x 4 than a foot.
Finally if you get into an emergency situation, ie some fucknut pulls in front of you and STOPS and you are about to T bone them at 60 MPH, you are going to be standing, pulling, praying for any method of stopping you can think of. You are so tensed up that modulating the rear brake, you may not be able to if you start to slide, although ABS should help you a bit if you got it, having a brake lever might make it easier to control...just some idle thoughts on that, I hope I never find myself in a situation like that again!
My front brake is sensitive, you just give it a little fingerin and it's engaged solidly. If I want to come in for a slow roll down, it's easier to regen down or just rear brake all the way down, it's a less aggressive less sensitive way to brake.
Aaron
