| Author | Message | ||
     Dannyzuko |
I was going down the highway at about 75mph about to get to my exit which is almost a complete uturn so I have to slow down to about 20-30 to take it. I didn't notice all the loose rocks in the exit lane and I started to slow down with just my rear brake and realized I wasnt slowing down at my normal rate so I gave it some front brake while getting on the rear a little harder. Thats when the ass end started sliding around and I knew if I didnt get off the brake I was going to slide right through the turn and go off roading. Well I decided I wasn't going to be able to make the turn so I let off the brakes and prayed I would be able to make it back onto the highway. I barely missed the big pile of dirt they have between the turn and the shoulder of the highway. Once I had control of the bike again I pulled over and looked at my rear tire to see if it was flat. It's funny how your brain can make you think things that aren't true because I thought that the tire looked like there was maybe 10 lbs of pressure in it. So I started back down the highway (taking it very easy) headed back to work the long way. The whole way back I could swear that the bike wasn't riding as smoothly and I was sure that the rear tire was low. Needless to say the tire was fine. It didn't really scare me while it was happening. I guess I was just concentrating on what I had to do to avoid going off road. My eyes will definitely be looking for loose rocks in the road everytime now. | ||
| Jimduncan69 |
glad to hear you made it through with out laying it down. i don't like loose gravel at all. i am alway's looking for that. | ||
| Mikexlr650 |
jimd, sorry i took so long, gonna try and set another dragon trip late in the year. maybe as the weather begins to turn here, one last trip for the year. thinkin 1st or second week of november, should be beautiful down there. | ||
| Jimduncan69 |
mike sounds cool..... no pun intended this time. i will be down there sep.10th. i am not sure but my bike might be torn down by nov. i am going to go nuts on it this fall/winter. if i can resist the urge to tear it down long enough i will be there. i have already done a bunch of stuff to it since you last seen it and it is torn apart as we speak. but 3 trips to the dragon in 1 year would be a really nice year! | ||
| Lenb |
I was going down the highway at about 75mph about to get to my exit .... I started to slow down with just my rear brake.... Why were you slowing down with just your rear brake?  | ||
| Mesafirebolt |
Yeah gravel...Glad you were able to make it. I've been through it a few times, we get a lot around here (Az) but I wasn't quite so lucky the last time!!!!  | ||
| Dannyzuko |
I start with my rear brake and then I get on the front brake. I am breaking my bad habit of never using the rear brake so I've started breaking with the rear brake first. | ||
| Diablobrian |
You ALWAYS have to leave enough room for error to account for gravel on a corner. This is the street we're talking about here, not a nicely groomed race track. A lot of riders push too hard on the street. Be careful out there guys. | ||
| Beachbuell |
Gravel sucks. The very first time I ever laid a bike down was due to gravel/sand. I was leaned over going into a right sweeper and there it was in the middle of where I was going. Tires washed out and I lowsided, luckily into some grass. Bruised ribs and ego to me, messed up the Yamaha pretty good (busted up fairing and stuff), still rode it home. | ||
| Jackbequick |
Daniel, You got out of a bad situation without any damage or pain. Good on ya! But you may be trading one bad habit for a worse one. I'm a firm believer in using both brakes at the same time unless the conditions make it not the right thing to do. When you are braking with only the rear there is a balance of weight and drag at work at the tire contact patch that is slowing you at a given rate. If you then start using the front brake, the front end starts to compress and the weight and center of gravity of the bike shifts forward taking some weight off the back tire. That can result in the rear tire locking up suddenly. In a straight line with the bars square to the direction of travel, you can lighten the pressure on the rear brake and everything is okay. But in a curve or turn, the locked rear tire may want to slide, "step out", or hop to the outside of the turn. At that point, depending on a number of factors, you are approaching a low side or high side depending on what you do with the throttle and front and rear brake. Jack | ||
| Chiefiron |
I guess i should get out the "Twist of the wrist" books i have. On my Softail i used only the rear for some reason. now on my FireBolt i use only the front? well except for running off the track into the wet grass at Pocono. it was rear all the way without much thinking about it. Tim | ||
| Old_man |
They throw gravel on the roads then oil them here. They did several of the road I travel last week. I avoid them for a while. Today I tried them. They seemed OK. Going along a large piece got thrown up by my front tire, hitting me squarely on my face shield between my eys, sounded like a bullet. Wihout a good face shield I know I would have been injured. I think I'll stay off those roads a while longer. | ||
| Lenb |
"Jackbequick" is right with his explanation of why it is not a good idea to apply the rear brake first. I'll just add that on a bike, especially a short wheel-base sport bike, the front brake does most of the braking work when you need to slow or stop quickly. When braking hard, your rear can even come off the ground - so what use will the rear brake be in that case? On a sport bike, the rear brake is really only of use for low speed stop-start riding, U-turns and hill starts. (This is why the front brake has a humungous great big disc with a 6 piston caliper while the rear brake has only a puny disc and a meagre single piston caliper.) My advice is, any time you need to brake from road speeds, get your front brake on first and, once the front end has dived, add a bit of back brake if the conditions allow it. | ||
| Grimel |
I start with my rear brake and then I get on the front brake. I am breaking my bad habit of never using the rear brake so I've started breaking with the rear brake first. Why bother with the rear brake on a sportbike? Front brake much stronger. As you apply the front brake the weight load shifts fwd lightening the rear wheel. That makes it very easy to lock the rear wheel. Unless I'm on a dirt or gravel road I only use my rear brake while I'm warming up the bike in the morning. | ||
| Grimel |
I guess i should get out the "Twist of the wrist" books i have. OH YES! Those are probably the best books for describing WHAT happens and WHY it happens. | ||
| Jackbequick |
"Why bother with the rear brake on a sportbike?" The same question came to mind when I got my M2 as it did not seem to be contributing much at all. But after I checked it and bled it and spent some time riding the bike, I realized that it was working as intended and perfect for the situation at hand. The M2 had the best brakes of any bike I've owned. I got back to my normal habit of using both brakes at the same time. By that time I had added a Back Off! brake light flasher, I frequently gave the rear brake a light touch around town even when I did not really need to do any braking. I think using the back brake adds some measure of stability and balance. For me, feathering in a little rear brake at low speeds/low power adds some control to tighter/parking lot maneuvering. Jack | ||
| Rok |
Ouch, Just had my first gravel lowside after 12 years of riding, didn't see it, blended into the road perfectly. sprained ankel, rider foot peg, new bars grips and framepuck and brake lever. Happened bout 15mph. Need new boots, but overall came out VERY lucky. (Message edited by rok on August 24, 2006) | ||
| Snowhownd |
Perhaps its because the suspension is so tight and finite, but my XB is waaayyy more sensitive to ANY gravel on the road than my old 500 Suzuki GS was. Probably because the suspension was so spongy and crappy on the GS I couldn't feel the bike sliding. All the intersections/turns I know there is always gravel on scared the crap out of me the first time I took the XB on them compared to the GS - going the same exact speed. |
