[taxed2death]

"Can you gear down/engine stop and/or rear-brake?"


Yup... that's for the brave. Most all race bikes and now increasingly more sport bikes have "slipper clutches"....which actually "slip" as you bang down gears... thus somewhat limiting rear wheel lock-up.

Rear brakes?

Whew, you gotta watch out or that dragon will bite ya and bite ya hard. Think about the weight transfer of coming down from 180+ like Rossie, you can see his rear tire come completely off the ground (2 to 3 inches) for hundreds of feet. What's a rear brake gonna do other than set you up for an impromptu yard sale trackside!

My Ducati (being a v-twin) has a huge amount of USEFULL engine breaking for the street...even with a new slipper clutch. It can be handy when riding in wet weather.

[IslandJeff]

It can be handy when riding in wet weather

You just took away my second question. Thanks for all the info. I will try to be more vigilant, but, as you've said, reaction time is critical - if someone doing triple-digits is closing on me, I'm much more likely to just freeze in whatever lane position I'm in. Stay safe - rubber side down.