I had astudent in my Ride Like A Pro class yesterday who covered his brake during the braking exercise. Actually, I was correcting him about this pretty much all through the day, so I know heit is a habitual behavior for him. His problem was that while he could quickly squeeze the brake lever, he was not rolling off the throttle. He was deploying the front brake with the throttle applied. Everytime he came to a stop he either stalled the bike, or the engine was revving.Not safe.This is what usually happenswith a lot of riders. Their wrist stays down holding the throttle open, while their already extended fingers squeeze in the brake lever. So you end up with engine vs front brake. Not a good thing. Do as the man said. Practice rolling off the throttle while simultaneously applying a progressive squeeze to the front lever. That .5 seconds you save by covering your brake is lost if you do not completely roll off the throttle.

As an MSF Rider coach, yes, they do teach covering the controls, but only during early skill development. By the end of day two, I am telling all my student riders NOT to cover the front brake, especially during the braking exercise. I find it to be a habit I do not want these riders to develop. Like many have posted, it'sokay to cover in areas or conditions you feel need it, but not ALL the time.