Rear Brake.

[He Man]

better than how hte michellien babies come

[Raux]

personally i use my rear brake a lot. use it for setting up my speed for corners. use it for in town speed adjustments, use it for stop lights. and rarely if ever use only front brake. but i do use it lightly and under hard braking, use more front brake as i know the rear is getting light.

that being said, i've tried using different shoes, and each give a different "feel" to the brake and shifting. nothing i have feel as good as my bike boots.



not the most expensive, but the feel and the sole thickness is great for feeling what the brake is doing.

[corey]

I too use my rear brake A LOT. I use it every time i come to a stop. It's simple physics. 3 calipers clamping 3 rotors is going to slow you down faster than 2 calipers clamping on 2 rotors. It's especially helpful in situations where you're riding slowly on gravel. Lock up that front wheel, and you'll be kissing the rocks faster than you can blink. It's also great for lowspeed maneuvering... Pin your throttle at about 2000 rpm in 1st, and just control your speed entirely with your rear brake. I had a police instructor show me that one, and it works like a champ...

As far as "feel" goes with the rear brake, after recently switching to a new pair of boots, i can definitely say that it's just something you need to get used to.
I used to ride mostly in a soft-soled, casual boot without much stiffness or protection. I could really easily feel what the brake was doing.

I switched to the Sidi Strad Evo-Air boots, which i can't say enough good things about. http://www.newenough.com/boots/sport_street_touring_boots/sidi/strada_evo_air_motorcycle_sport_boots.html

They have a nice thin profile, which makes shifting easy... but i have noticed that the soles are very stiff, almost like boards.
At first it was very hard to feel out the rear brake properly... But after a few sessions, i had started to get used to it. It's just like my old boots now.

I'd say, get yourself some nice boots that you can afford, and then just work on getting used to the change and how it makes your rear brake feel.
You'll make it work just fine.

[FastAndLight]

Your rear brake master cylinder could be like mine was on my 07 S2R1000, dying. 

I had rear brakes for a little while, a mechanical adjustment and a bleed helped, but at the end of the day the best thing for it was a new cylinder.  The pedal feel was dramatically better after the master cylinder replacement and there was no "wondering" if I had found the brakes.  I was told that the cylinders on our bikes don't last as long as you would expect, possibly due to the heat and the more horizontal mounting position.

If you don't do it yourself, make sure the shop reattaches the rear brake caliper...bad things happen when it comes loose at speed.  Don't ask me how I know.

[junior varsity]

your rear caliper or rear master was dying?

[FastAndLight]

your rear caliper or rear master was dying?

Rear master.  Sorry for the confusion. 

[junior varsity]

yeah, saw the caliper issue, and wasn't sure. Should be rebuildable, depending on the line of brembo master, but a replacement is relatively cheap anyhow.