| Author | Message | ||
     Staindus |
Was riding with my cousin on Saturday in NJ. He was on a Katana I on my XB9SX. I was following him up a hill when he stopped short at a stop sign he didnt see. I was going a little fast up a hill. The MSF course I took taught me to squeeze both rear and front brakes to stop quickly which I did but locked up the rear and almost ran into the back of my cousin, the rear slid out a little I released the brakes to turn away from hitting him, and then re applied this time not locking the rear and kept the bike up. WHEW! I never really got on the brakes like that but did I do the right thing using the rear brake? Or should I have not used the back brake at all. I know I probably should have used less back and more front but would like to hear your opinions. Thanks, Rob | ||
| Whodom |
Rob, MSF is right; using both brakes minimizes your stopping distance. However, they also teach you that if you lock the back, KEEP IT LOCKED until the bike stops. I guess you were going slow enough by the time you released that it wasn't a problem, but at higher speed this can cause a "high side" accident when the back wheel regains traction. The best thing to learn from this is to take some time to find a big, empty parking lot or deserted stretch of road and practice some panic stops. That way, the next time this comes up it will be instinct and you will be much less likely to lock the rear. | ||
| Beachbuell |
You did exactly right! If you had only used the front brake you would have done a face plant into the pavement, for sure! Just remember that 70% of your stopping power is in the front brake the other 30% in the rear brake. You need the full 100% front and rear combined to fully slow/stop the bike from speed in a panic situation. I used to practice locking up the rear brake, just so I would know how the bike is going to react and what to expect. Good job Staindus, ride on! | ||
| 984gasm |
Hey Staindus, my parents live up in woodstock, I'm always around there riding, lets hook up sometime and go riding, Im sure you know the spots to go.. | ||
| Staindus |
Whodom: I did not feel the bike jerk too much when I got off the back brake. If I did keep it locked I would have hit him. It happened so quickly it was instinct that took over. I will find a lot and practice panic stops. Thanks. Beachbuell: Thanks that is what I remember from the course. Cheers. 984: I actually live in Middletown NY. A bit closer, but am keeping my bike in Jersey for now because I have friends and family to ride with. I just went to bear mountain with my brother in law to meet a ducati group. Maybe Badwebers in the area can do the same (if they dont already) Thanks to all Rob | ||
| Lpowel02 |
Staindus - there's quite a few badweb members in and around the Hudson Valley area...and we spend a good amount of time at bear mtn...cool place  we'll have to figure out a time to get people together | ||
| Staindus |
Just name the time and place  | ||
| 984gasm |
Next time I'm up there, I'll give you a heads up and we'll tear sh#t up | ||
| Jaimec |
From a former MSF Instructor (me): If you discover your rear wheel locked, LEAVE IT LOCKED and concentrate on your front brake where 70-90% of your braking occurs anyway. The rear is locking up on you most likely because most of the weight of the bike has transfered to your front wheel. HOWEVER, if it looks like an impact is inevitable you have two choices depending on whether you have an escape route or not. If you do not have an escape route, continue braking as hard as you dare so that when you do hit, it will be at as low a speed as possible. If you have an escape route (and avoid target fixation by NOT staring at the object you want to avoid), release BOTH brakes and execute a swerve to get around the obstacle, then get back on the brakes after you've straightened yourself up. NEVER NEVER combine swerving and braking, they should ALWAYS be separate actions! | ||
| Staindus |
Quote: release BOTH brakes and execute a swerve to get around the obstacle, then get back on the brakes after you've straightened yourself up. NEVER NEVER combine swerving and braking, they should ALWAYS be separate actions! Thanks for the confirmation. That is exactly what I did. I am going to find an empty lot this weekend and practice some panic stops without locking either brakes My 883R had dual discs up front and I had to get on them hard in a parking lot where someone decided to pull out without looking. I think I locked the front and almost had it slide out on me, I am amazed to this day that I kept it up. maybe I am shell shocked from that experience. Practice makes perfect! Rob | ||
| Kootenay |
If you had only used the front brake you would have done a face plant into the pavement, for sure! I disagree with Beachbuell on front brake usage--it can easily supply 100% of your braking in good conditions. The power of the front brake, combined with the short chassis and forward weight distribution on the XBs, means the rear wheel is easily lightened to the point it no longer offers any reasonable amount of braking (right off the ground in many cases). In other words, unlike Staindus' Sportster, an XB is more likely to stoppie than lock up the front wheel. Notice the relative weakness of the rear brake, too! Almost as if the engineers at Buell were anticipating this... | ||
| Edonis |
As more weight shifts to the front wheel you will find that the contact patch on the rear tire becomes less and less as more weight shifts forward. To compensate, you train yourself to slightly back off of the rear brake while still having it applied. The deeper you dig into the front, the more you back off of the rear. Make sense? As long as you don t have touring rubber on your bike, it will perform a stoppie instead of locking the wheel like your sportster. (H-D brakes are shockingly inefficient.) By the way, its not "panic stopping"-that is a horrible uncontrolled stop. Its maximum braking The brake proportion on the XB is more like 90 front, 10 rear. However you still need to use the rear brake, and it will help you achieve the shortest distance. Find a parking lot to practice max braking on your bike. Out of all of the things that we teach in the BRC, this is a motor skill I can not stress enough to continually develop. (Message edited by edonis on July 12, 2006) (Message edited by edonis on July 12, 2006) | ||
| Staindus |
Kootenay and Edonis: Thanks, this is giving me a better understanding of just how different the braking is from what I am used to. Is it a good idea to slide back on the seat and add more weight to the back while Maximum Braking? | ||
| Kootenay |
Is it a good idea to slide back on the seat and add more weight to the back while Maximum Braking? Yes. |
