PSA : Engine braking is not a substitute to actual brakes, it's an add-on.

I have been hearing more and more in not just this subreddit but many indian forums and YT/Insta comments sections about "Bro, just use engine braking". And I can't help but think how this is just one of the tidepod trends that is doing a lot of harm. It's actually very physics oriented. Let's do it in a simple question and answer format. Q : What happens when you brake hard. Notice how when you brake there is a lot of weight transfer to the front. This weight transfer increases the weight on the front tyre. This increased pressure increases the contact patch offering more grip. Now if you use engine braking in this setup, all the braking is transferred to the rear. It is counter intuitive. Even your tyre design supports this. Go and have a look at the front and rear tyre tread lattern. They are usualy not the same. The front tread pattern is for braking support and the rear tread pattern is for acceleration support. This is massively evident on Michelin road 5/6. Q : so what should I do to slow down very fast? A perfect fast straight to really slowing down, near panic braking, is only one sliver of confidence away from threshold braking. Above 3 photos are examples of MotoGP riders braking hard into a corner. Notice how their front tyre is compressed into the ground and their rear wheel is floating in the air, just millimetres from the ground. Your bikes have capable brakes. Trust them. You will not do what MotoGP riders are doing and get the rear wheel skimming the ground, but you will get close to stopping the bike in an optimal fashion. Q : but MotoGP riders also have highly tuned adjustable engine braking setups. Yes they do, but that's not for hard braking, that's for after the speed is shed, to control their turn in and prepare for the apex, which is combined with trail braking (trailing off on the brakes and shift to engine braking) to control both acceleration and deceleration with throttle relying more on engine braking here for extra precision. Pros also dab the rear brakes to make the rear end loose and tighten their turning radius. Q : Aha! So rear brakes are indeed used! Yes, once the maximum speed has been shed. But when the speed is being shed, the rear wheel has minimal braking on sports bike but it is still useful on commuters and even more on cruisers. Remember weight distribution from earlier? Sportsbikes are front weight biased, cruisers are rear biased. Q : I still wanna use engine braking because it sounds cool. You can. Without bringing on the risk of engine braking. It's called downshift and rev match WHILE using your brakes. All the pros, none of the cons. Q: so no use of engine brakes? It's a very good skill to have. It can be used to slow down when not in a hurry. It can be used to slow down on long tours when you have been riding long and want to give a rest to your brakes. This is doubly true when coming down the ghats. Use engine brakes for slowing down the descent and your brakes only when you want to come to a stop. This is why you bear brake fail stories. They don't use engine brakes and only use brakes. Q: but my emgine braking time is less than my actual brake time Then you need your brakes serviced. Engine bas a much longer service interval. Brakes require a more detailed and knowledge and feel based service. When was the last time you purchased a brake cleaner? When did you last bleed your brake line and tuned it to your liking? Engine gets refreshed with just a change of oil. Brakes need more attention. Go out there and treat your brakes to a good service today. Epilogue : I am not against engine braking. I am against engine braking being promoted as being better than actual brakes. Learn both skills, engine braking and threshold braking. And become the safest rider out there.