Is it alright to ride a motorcycle without a front brake?

I just bought a hardtail chopper and it doesn‘t have a front brake. I‘ve been riding for years, but have never owned a bike with just a back brake. So I guess my question is should I put a front brake on it or will I be able to adjust to just using the back brake. I checked into putting a front brake on it and was told it would run me around $1000 and I don‘t really want to put that much into it right now.

Evil Empire rubber and year-around operation Gawk at the Source provided winter-use films.

You want an answer. Use a can of Pam or any cooking style oil in a can and spray it on your tires. Once your ready to ride your bike just make sure your use a nice dish washing liquid to take off the stuff. Want to do more? Spray down the entire bike and cover it up the best way you can.

With a traditional motorcycle, typically about 70% of your stopping power is in your front brake. However, since this is a custom bike it may have been built and designed to use only a single rear brake. However, this doesn't make a lot of sense, as you will be more likely to lock up your rear brake and have a slideout if all of your braking power is on that one point. Common sense would dictate then that you should indeed get a front brake for safety issues alone, but at the same time we don't know how this bike was designed and if it can get by with a single brake(but again, it doesn't make much sense).

A lot of BS. Back in the late '60's , when American bicycles were big tired heavy duties and the english racer was rare the racer wheel brakes could throw a rider leaning forward over the handle bar, some idiot decided that front brakes on a motorcycle did the same thing. The truth is that 80% of the braking on a motorcycle is done with the front brake. If I crashed out in the country and disabled my front brake, I would ride into town using only my rear. I would not leave my garage to ride into the country with only a rear brake. Like jumping off a building, the jumps OK but the sudden stop ( semi truck bumper) will kill you. The only design you missed was the suicide clutch for a lousy motorcycle.

A chopper doesn't use as much, if any front brake. To the idiots who' ve answered you before me. If you've never ridden a chopper and you don't know sh!t, shut the f*k up! A chopper is not, a god dam fking sport bike. 70% of you braking, does not come from the front, about 5% does. The longer the front is, the less weight is on the front tire. The less weight on the tire, the easier it is to lock up. Lock up you front tire and you will crash. It is fine, to ride a chopper with out a front brake. Depending on the age of the bike, it maybe grandfather under the two brakes law. Meaning you may not legally, have to put a front brake on it. If you have to ask this question, you never should have bought the bike in the first place, it's way over you head. They handle like crap, most can't even get out of their own way. I turned a 1974 basket case Sportster, into a hardtail chopper, with a 9 and a half foot long springer front end. Worst bike I ever owned, tried to kill me four times. Choppers look cool, but I'll never ride one again. The front brake was taken off mostly for looks, but also because it was to dangerous to use.

Evil Empire rubber and year-around operation Gawk at the Source provided winter-use films.

You want an answer. Use a can of Pam or any cooking style oil in a can and spray it on your tires. Once your ready to ride your bike just make sure your use a nice dish washing liquid to take off the stuff. Want to do more? Spray down the entire bike and cover it up the best way you can.

With a traditional motorcycle, typically about 70% of your stopping power is in your front brake. However, since this is a custom bike it may have been built and designed to use only a single rear brake. However, this doesn't make a lot of sense, as you will be more likely to lock up your rear brake and have a slideout if all of your braking power is on that one point. Common sense would dictate then that you should indeed get a front brake for safety issues alone, but at the same time we don't know how this bike was designed and if it can get by with a single brake(but again, it doesn't make much sense).

A lot of BS. Back in the late '60's , when American bicycles were big tired heavy duties and the english racer was rare the racer wheel brakes could throw a rider leaning forward over the handle bar, some idiot decided that front brakes on a motorcycle did the same thing. The truth is that 80% of the braking on a motorcycle is done with the front brake. If I crashed out in the country and disabled my front brake, I would ride into town using only my rear. I would not leave my garage to ride into the country with only a rear brake. Like jumping off a building, the jumps OK but the sudden stop ( semi truck bumper) will kill you. The only design you missed was the suicide clutch for a lousy motorcycle.

A chopper doesn't use as much, if any front brake. To the idiots who' ve answered you before me. If you've never ridden a chopper and you don't know sh!t, shut the f*k up! A chopper is not, a god dam fking sport bike. 70% of you braking, does not come from the front, about 5% does. The longer the front is, the less weight is on the front tire. The less weight on the tire, the easier it is to lock up. Lock up you front tire and you will crash. It is fine, to ride a chopper with out a front brake. Depending on the age of the bike, it maybe grandfather under the two brakes law. Meaning you may not legally, have to put a front brake on it. If you have to ask this question, you never should have bought the bike in the first place, it's way over you head. They handle like crap, most can't even get out of their own way. I turned a 1974 basket case Sportster, into a hardtail chopper, with a 9 and a half foot long springer front end. Worst bike I ever owned, tried to kill me four times. Choppers look cool, but I'll never ride one again. The front brake was taken off mostly for looks, but also because it was to dangerous to use.