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Rear brake used: - In conjunction with the front pretty much always. Got that drilled into my head because systematically failing to do so meant failing the exam. - Anything slow. crawling traffic, residential areas where you can't really go over 15, that sort of thing. Because it's weak compared to the front, its very easy to dose. Also, my front discs have a slight warp which is annoying and makes judging where you stop harder. - Stopping on any elevation. I love my rear brake! I'm closeted cruiser man.
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Nov 16, 2010 22:51
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 13:52 |
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Almost put my KLR into someone's culvert this afternoon. I only have perhaps 2000 miles of experience, and it's been almost three months since I've been out and about. I was approaching a tight 90-degree left turn, slight uphill with full visibility. Turn radius was maybe 50ft, and a truck was stopped in the oncoming lane on the far side of the turn, preparing to turn across my lane into a driveway. My dad entered the curve on his Commando, and when I followed three or four seconds later, the truck began to inch forward into my lane. I began straightening up and braked, swinging wide, and the front end slid out on gravel that accumulated on the outer couple feet of the pavement. Mountain-bike habit had me put my inside boot down hard to pivot something 410lbs heavier than my normal ride. Stupid. If nothing else, I kept control of all else (apart from downshifting into second, obviously) and let off the front brake to keep the tire spinnin'. So, two massive panic failures on my part: (1) Reverted to a carryover MTB habit in lieu of downshifting, and more importantly and foolishly, (2) didn't anticipate the driver pulling in front of me in the first place. I'm terribly defensive driving and riding, but my out-of-character expectation that the driver's vacant eye contact would keep me safe almost put me in a ditch (or Toyota T100). Lesson learned and hopefully kept.
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Mar 13, 2011 06:07
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KARMA! posted:Rear brake used: Also when stopped at a light. If you get hit from behind and you're hard on the front brake, you risk flipping over. If you're hard on the rear brake, you'll mostly just skid. As was unfortunately verified by a friend of mine a few years back.
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Mar 13, 2011 11:18
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KARMA! posted:Rear brake used: -Wheelies.
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Mar 13, 2011 17:08
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Couple nights ago - Cold tires, cold road with probably some water/coolant/oil. I was turning left from the light with my girlfriend on the back and the rear end stepped. Ive had it come out before on turns with a bad surface and didn't really freak out, but this time it felt like it swung out like 30-45 degrees or something. Maybe it was just having someone else on the bike that exaggerated the feeling but it felt like the bike was cranked over like in dirt bike vids and I couldve stuck my foot out supermoto style. I don't remember what I did to correct it but it turned out fine. I think it was probably a combination of cold tyres and road surface and me giving it too much gas/leaning it too much for the conditions. Im usually pretty careful to avoid oil patches etc when rolling up to the lights, but it was dark so I may have hit one. I wasn't even riding like a tool..
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Mar 13, 2011 18:20
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riding with a passenger drastically alters the handling of a bike. It's definitely something you have to get used to.
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Mar 16, 2011 22:06
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I'm not sure if this belongs here or in the other thread. I decided today that my bike really wanted to take a nap at the gas station. I hadn't rode for ~month due to bike issues then my issues, so I took her out today. First stop was gas, so I make the turn into the gas station, pull right up to the pump, stand up, notice the bike is now on the ground. This is the first time I've ever laid it down, and it's just cause I flicked the kickstand instead of my usual pushing it until I feel it's down and locked. The guy behind me in an SUV laughed a little, causing me to laugh harder than I was. I did a once over and the only problem was the clutch was loose, so I rode home expecting that to snap at any moment, my Uturn was a very awkward accelerate out in first gear, tap to neutral, uturn, up to second. Everything seems to be fine, the clutch cable worked itself out back to it's usual position, I couldn't find any binding in it's routing, but all the "threads" of the cable are intact it seems. My folding bar end mirrors just folded, and the only thing hurt was my pride. Needless to say I decided today was not the day to start riding again, tomorrow is!
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Mar 29, 2011 00:51
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Although technically not a crash or an almost crash, I think this fits here. Although this gets batted around a lot, here is one more reminder of why not to wear jeans on a motorcycle: I give you a three MPH slide on one knee over approx 3-4 ft of asphalt:   I have had this point told to me over and over again but, drat. Tripping off a curb and seeing that was a really sober way to bring home what a 30+ mph slide on that same knee might have looked like. Wear your gear!
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Mar 29, 2011 02:29
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For future reference, the trick to getting over a curb is to really lean into it and give it some power with your feet to propel the body forward, thereby overcoming the force of gravity pulling you down. Also, pick your feet up so you don't trip.
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Mar 29, 2011 18:18
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SlightlyMadman posted:For future reference, the trick to getting over a curb is to really lean into it and give it some power with your feet to propel the body forward, thereby overcoming the force of gravity pulling you down. Also, pick your feet up so you don't trip. Squid  If you don't want to end up skidding on your face down the asphalt, pull up safely to the curb and come to a complete stop, lift one foot onto the top of the curb and then transfer your weight onto the curb foot by shifting your body weight forward, and when you're comfortable doing so, bring up the other foot and then carry on your journey.
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Mar 29, 2011 18:29
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Supermoto crew gonna come in here to say "just wheelie on to the curb!"
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Mar 29, 2011 18:41
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ReelBigLizard posted:Squid Whoa, I wish I knew all this a few weeks ago. I used to have some really nice Harley Davidson shoes, but I came up to a curb a little faster than I was comfortable with and had to lay 'em down. Good thing insurance covered them, or I'd still be paying down that second mortgage I took out to buy them.
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Mar 29, 2011 21:55
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I'd like to echo the general rear brake hatred that has been going around, I hit a slick oil spot while braking moderately descending a hill and it was enough to break the rear loose for a bit. I kept things in line, but I'm going to be in the "rear brake only when stopped / 10mph" crew from here on out.
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Mar 30, 2011 00:08
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I've been a front brake only person for a long time but good god, never mention this to other riders without feeling it out first or knowing they are track riders.
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Mar 30, 2011 00:54
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Rear brake is nice in situations where traction is compromised because it can slow you down while minimizing the consequences of a locked tire. Offroad, in rain, or when you're unsure of traction, the rear brake is your friend. But with that in mind, in general, with a good rider in good conditions on a supersport, you'll stop fastest on the front brake alone. If you're on a cruiser or the bike (or rider!) does not comfortably endo on the brakes, you'll need to use both brakes to maximize stopping power. Z3n fucked around with this message at 01:46 on Mar 30, 2011 |
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Mar 30, 2011 00:58
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How about using them simultaneously? Radical, I know. That's just how I roll.
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Mar 30, 2011 01:32
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SlightlyMadman posted:For future reference, the trick to getting over a curb is to really lean into it and give it some power with your feet to propel the body forward, thereby overcoming the force of gravity pulling you down. Also, pick your feet up so you don't trip. Har har, for the record it was a good night at Max's down in Fells point and I was drunk, talking emphatically, and trying to impress the girl I was walking with all at the same time 
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Mar 30, 2011 02:30
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was she impressed?
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Mar 30, 2011 03:41
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ohwandernearer posted:it was a good night at Max's down in Fells point Say no more, it's understood.
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Mar 30, 2011 05:04
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SlightlyMadman posted:Whoa, I wish I knew all this a few weeks ago. I used to have some really nice Harley Davidson shoes, but I came up to a curb a little faster than I was comfortable with and had to lay 'em down. Good thing insurance covered them, or I'd still be paying down that second mortgage I took out to buy them. I had those shoes too. They were really inconvenient because whenever it rained I had to hide under a bridge. The end came when it drizzled for 7 days once (this is England you know). A concerned BMW owner called the RSPCA, who trapped me and placed me in a humane shelter for vagabond trolls, prop. R. Kyanka. Eventually I escaped, but a donkey stole my shoes and chewed them heavily. I came close to crying, I'm not afraid to admit. All that held me back were my HD "1948" sunglasses. One drop of salty water and the chrome would have been all hosed up.
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Mar 30, 2011 06:50
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Weinertron posted:I'd like to echo the general rear brake hatred that has been going around, I hit a slick oil spot while braking moderately descending a hill and it was enough to break the rear loose for a bit. I kept things in line, but I'm going to be in the "rear brake only when stopped / 10mph" crew from here on out. But... How do you back it in? [/supermotocrew] I use the back brake a lot because my area is full of roads defined by the corners of houses and fields. Rear brake helps massively to stabilise the bike in very low speed turns. Sometimes I'll trail rear brake in longer corners too to settle the rear suspension more, am I doing it wrong?
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Mar 30, 2011 09:20
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On the SV I use the rear brake when it is wet out or if there is junk on the road. In emergency stops I tend to stomp the rear brake then modulate the front. On supermoto or dirt bikes I use the rear brake all the time. Mostly to ride like a jackass sliding up to stop lights and stuff.
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Mar 30, 2011 13:04
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I had my first dirtbike crash today. I was going down a paved road at about ten miles an hour to hit some trails with my friends, when my friend in front of me comes to a stop and catches me off guard. There was about a quarter of an inch of gravel on top of the entire road. I grabbed the front brake and ending up locking the wheel up and dropping the bike. I slid about four or five feet on my knee/side, and I could feel the helmet hit the ground and slide as well. The bike came away pretty much unscathed, except for a bent shifter and a cracked chain guard. A valuable learning experience I guess...
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Mar 30, 2011 22:30
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I have always used the rear brake a bunch due to me usually riding around on something at least 30 years old. When I got my F4i I pretty much went to front brake only since it stopped so well unless I was going down my mile long dirt driveway or riding in the snow. Now with the GS I'm back to both since it's a long and heavy beast. It wouldn't stoppie if you shoved a stick into the front wheel at speed. Which brakes you use depend on what bike and what situation you're in.
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Apr 1, 2011 05:44
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On brakes I usually use both front and rear on the GS500 and F2 brakes, I also tend to use the front first then apply a little bit of rear, I hate locking up the rear wheel, i've learned to modulate the front and rears properly though. My BMW K75 rear brake is a drum, the front brakes are also pretty drat good though, I use both when I can, it's easy to lock that drat drum though, and shes a heavy bitch too. Now my Ninja ZX-6R has some ridiculous radial mount front brakes which are incredibly strong, and the rear brake is hilariously weak, it feels like the front is doing about 90% of the stopping with the rear doing about 10%.
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Apr 1, 2011 07:56
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I almost never touch the rear brake. I've started to carefully use it in low traction situations and low speed maneuvers though. Never use it at the track and I'm out braking 95% of other bikes out there
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Apr 2, 2011 00:06
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I will drag it over crests to keep the front down and if I am pulling off the road into gravel or something. I've read that you can use it to tighten up your line in corners, but I haven't really wanted to test it because most of the race bikes you see have swiss cheesed rotors (reducing friction), a lot of the race pads are less aggressive than stock (Kit Kawi rear pads are, at least), and I don't trust not to gently caress up.
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Apr 2, 2011 00:08
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I thought braking widened you corner, even rear? Aren't you supposed to give it a little gas to 'walk' the tire out or something?
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Apr 2, 2011 00:42
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It's the transfer of weight that screws up your traction and makes you go wide in a corner if you brake. I guess theoretically if you used the rear brake while you were giving it throttle so there was no weight transfer, you might be able to do some sort of voodoo, but I can't imagine how that would work.
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Apr 2, 2011 00:48
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It slows the rotation of the rear tire, so it starts to come around the side, pointing the bike into a tighter line. I think. It's the almost-backing-it-in technique.
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Apr 2, 2011 01:21
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Rear brake slows you down. The slower you go, the tighter your line through a corner at a given lean angle. I don't use the rear brake much because I live by slow in, fast out, even on the track. Trying to increase your pace by making up time on the brakes is really only effective in race situations, everywhere else it's a lot of risk for little reward.
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Apr 2, 2011 01:52
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I just found out that I have no more material on my rear pad.  That teaches me that rear brakes wear, too. NEVER use the rear people so this won't happen to you!
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Apr 3, 2011 01:49
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Also, the rear tightens a turn. It is not much, but you can feel the difference when braking hard in a turn. you have to counter the front's tendency to stand the bike up, but the rear keeps following the turn.
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Apr 3, 2011 01:53
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KARMA! posted:you have to counter the front's tendency to stand the bike up I think this is what I was thinking of. I never have had a need to brake in a fast turn though, even 15-double the recommended speed it feels like I could have gone faster. I do trail brake in parking lots and the like.
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Apr 3, 2011 05:06
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With proper suspension setup, the bike should be neutral on the brakes in a corner. A lot of the time when people talk about the bike standing up on the brakes, it's a mental thing...they start braking and they start looking to the outside and the bike follows what they expect it to do.
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Apr 3, 2011 06:02
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I didn't almost crash but I saw a guy almost crash today. I think it might be worse seeing someone else in a bad situation because you feel even more helpless than if it's you. He was coming the other direction on a 2 lane highway. A car had stopped in front of him to make a left hand turn. He clearly must not have been paying attention because I saw him see the car when he was probably 15 feet from it, lock up his rear and immediately go into a death wobble. He somehow was able to swerve to the right onto the gravel shoulder where I thought sure he was going down but he didn't. I pulled over and stopped and he was barely able to keep it on the road and recover. Got my heart going. I thought I was going to witness a death and it wasn't cool.
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Apr 4, 2011 01:57
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Z3n posted:With proper suspension setup, the bike should be neutral on the brakes in a corner. A lot of the time when people talk about the bike standing up on the brakes, it's a mental thing...they start braking and they start looking to the outside and the bike follows what they expect it to do. I think this depends on how heavily the front brakes are applied. A light touch on the front brakes will not stand the bike up when cranked over, but if you start hauling on the front binders, the bike will stand itself up pretty aggressively, regardless of your pressure on the bars. At least I've noticed this tendency on both my CBR and my KTM, and they were both pretty bang-on suspension wise.
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Apr 4, 2011 02:07
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FuzzyWuzzyBear posted:I think this depends on how heavily the front brakes are applied. A light touch on the front brakes will not stand the bike up when cranked over, but if you start hauling on the front binders, the bike will stand itself up pretty aggressively, regardless of your pressure on the bars. At least I've noticed this tendency on both my CBR and my KTM, and they were both pretty bang-on suspension wise. Do you notice how once you're in a corner you can take your hands off the bar and the bike will hold the line? I feel like when I am braking I need to force the bars to keep the line held.
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Apr 4, 2011 02:20
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When I'm trailbraking deep on the KTM my front end gets a little flighty, and if I really get on the brakes it'll stand up, that's what I've noticed. It's been such a long time since I've touched a sportbike that I've forgotten what they feel like with light front brakes while leaned over. 
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Apr 4, 2011 02:29
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 13:52 |
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About an hour ago I had probably the most frightening experience I've had riding so far other than actually being hit. I was riding home from physical therapy (from having been hit in February by an oblivious oncoming driver making a left turn into me). Traffic was a little crowded but running smoothly. I'd been riding beside this humongous beat-up Buick for several miles on a four lane street. I accelerate to get in front of him to make a left turn a few blocks ahead. We come to a stop at a red light that then turned green and we all continue on, no problems. Several blocks later, I put my left turn signal on, look in the rear view mirror to see that I'm far ahead of the rest of traffic, including the Buick, decelerate slowly from about 35mph to a stop and wait for an opening in oncoming traffic to make a left turn. 8-10 seconds later I hear the terrifying squeals of locked up brakes, look in the mirror to see the tremendous Buick careening towards me. All I had time to do was transfer to the rear brake instead of the front brake; there wasn't time to hit the throttle to get out of its way. Fortunately, his skid took him into the right lane just beside me inches away. All I could was throw my hands up and scream "what the gently caress" into his his completely unconcerned face before he just drove away. I made my turn, pulled over, and sat down to stop the adrenaline shakes. Being rear-ended is one of my biggest riding fears, because I feel like by the time you see it coming, there isn't time to do much about it. Granted, if he'd hit me in the skid, I probably wouldn't have taken too much damage, really. I guess I'm still a little shaky from the accident in February.
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Apr 4, 2011 22:16
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