this spring i had a little mishap when i locked up the front brake and laid the bike over. i have gotten it all back together now and made some changes along the way. one of them was to change out the handlebars and put on chrome controls. after the install the front brake has just felt mushy. i have bleed it a few times, did all the tricks from the forum and even bought a one man bleeder bottle. but still if i squeeze the brake hard, i can pull it back to the grip. so theother day while riding i decided to test it to see how much braking it had up there. so while slowing down i pulled the brake back pretty hard. to my surprise it locked the front wheel pretty easy. i was only running about 30 or so when i grabbed it but it locked. i would have expected to feel like i was going over the bars but i didn't get that feel at all. i was on a blacktop road and it is pretty warm out, in the mid-80's.
my question:
are the tires (and this one is a brand new harley tire on the front) that easy to slide or is it more a design thing with too much weight to the rear of the bike? or is it just me? i have an 02 low rider model. i do not have any frame or suspension modifications. i did change the rear shocks from the lay-over because one was scratched. when i did i put a little taller one on it than was on it. but it was a stock shock. i believe it was about 12.5" where the one that came off was 12". i can't imagine this made much difference.
Thoughts?

 

vette, tire will lock up and slide when you pull the brake back pretty hard.

Be careful.

mud

 

easy on the front brake....use the back mostly....

 

I would be afraid if you couldn't lock it up. It would mean the brake wasn't doing its job.

If it is still spongy it probably still has air in it.

 

With all due respect to Coyote, I wouldn't advise a strategy that relies on the rear break over the front. You get about 2/3rds of your stopping power from the front brake, and the rear break will provide much less stopping power before it skids than the front will. Rather, I suggest you spend some time getting to know both your breaks better so that you can use each to its full effect during normall--and panic--stops.

I couldn't lock up the front wheel on my 98 Wide Glide if my life depended on it with my stock single-piston front break setup. I upgraded to a Performance Machine 4-piston differential front caliper with Russel full-floating rotor. I now can lockup the tire (not that I choose to do that or have done it accidentally) abd it's damned nice to know I have some real bite up there now and the tactile feedback I get from this setup is awesome. Using both front and rear breaks to their full effect (just south of skidding), I can now stop this bike on a freakin' dime.

Chuck

 

I don't know what your level of experience is, but perhaps your braking techniques need work as well.

Here's a good starting reference:

http://www.msf-usa.org/CurriculumMat...dbk_2005v6.pdf

see pages 37 and 38

 

My $.02... Harley front brakes are nothin' to write home about... too little disc..vs. too much weight... That being said, You'll find that out by correctly braking. You should use your brakes at a 85% front then 15% rear.. apply front first... once doing that the weight transfer renders the rear useless until you start slowing down... I only use my rear slowing down for a light.. even then I use it lightly.. When racing I used the rear brake in the pit area only.... Sorry.. But, the crotch rockets didn't invent the stoppie...lol.. Kidding aside I'm just mentioning this, incase somebody needed a little info... and yes I went to Penguin Racing School.. Oh.. one more thing riding in the rain changes how braking should be applied, our wider tires cause their own little problems... CYA..Skee[sm=biker2.gif]

 

appreciate the replies. yes i understand technique and all. but the issue i had was it locking up so easily. in years gone by and other bikes, i remember feeling like i might go over th bars before it would lock up. but then those were lighter bikes. this just seemed to slide too easy. i did not know if maybe the harley tires were prone to this. i will try some more test runs and try to get a better feel for where it happens.

thanks again for the suggestions
the dog

 

tl vette...
I don't know if this is your problem... but, I've heard of instances where chromed controls..ie; the Brake Reservoir had the tolerances screwed up by the chrome build up... they had poor braking either totally on (locked) or mushy soft where the bleeding never really got all of the air out... worth a look into.. kinda scary not knowing how your brakes are gonna work....good luck... Skee

 

I went to the Performance Machine site looking for calipers for my 2003 FXDL and never could find them. That's the worst site I think I've ever seen for navigation.