What would you do to avoid a skid?
Thread Starter
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6th Gear
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 10
Likes: 0
From: Seminole
Excellent response! Thank you so much. My husband loved your response because since last week I've been so scared that I have been ABS (new bike shopping)....but I really don't want a new bike. I just never want to feel as scared as I did during and after the emergency stop. I live in the Tampa Bay Area and traffic is a nightmare so your response has a great deal of meaning for me....there's hope. You are right about practicing my emergency stops. I did a lot of them in the MSF Basic Course (but that was on a Honda Rebel 250). Thank you....you are a lifesaver!
Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 5,615
Likes: 9
From: Escondido, CA
I've been riding on and off road for 45 years. Have I locked my back tire up? More times than I can recall. When a cage suddenly pulls out in front of you there isn't much time to think of anything else except to get on the brakes so you don't cream yourself and your bike into the side of that huge metal thing.
It's the most freaking scary moments of life. It happens. Practice is great. It'll help, a lot. But in that PANIC situation your going to lock those brakes.
Try to remember that the front brake is your friend. When you panic stop the rear tire unloads and puts the weight of the bike on the front. Practice using your front a lot. It can save you and your bike.
A few months ago a gray haired lady decided she had time to pull out in front of me when I was getting ready to get into the left turn lane in front of my complex. I locked the rear but not enough to lose steering. Using the front brake to get the speed down and turn away from her car at the same time. It was just a natural reaction but I still was shaking when I pulled into my driveway. Missed her by a few inches.
Practice, practice and practice.
It's the most freaking scary moments of life. It happens. Practice is great. It'll help, a lot. But in that PANIC situation your going to lock those brakes.
Try to remember that the front brake is your friend. When you panic stop the rear tire unloads and puts the weight of the bike on the front. Practice using your front a lot. It can save you and your bike.
A few months ago a gray haired lady decided she had time to pull out in front of me when I was getting ready to get into the left turn lane in front of my complex. I locked the rear but not enough to lose steering. Using the front brake to get the speed down and turn away from her car at the same time. It was just a natural reaction but I still was shaking when I pulled into my driveway. Missed her by a few inches.
Practice, practice and practice.
Grand HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 4,626
Likes: 98
From: Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri
About once a month or so I still find an empty parking lot and practice my power stops. ABS brakes will not save your life. Knowing instinctively what to do in an emergency just might. Practice.
Tourer
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 325
Likes: 1
From: missouri
+1...and another +1
Thread Starter
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6th Gear
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 10
Likes: 0
From: Seminole
Thanks everyone. I am so impressed
by the quality of all your helpful suggestions...and hearing of your own experiences. I am starting to feel better.
by the quality of all your helpful suggestions...and hearing of your own experiences. I am starting to feel better.
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Elite HDF Member
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 4,598
Likes: 14
From: navarre ohio
if your in a skid let off the brakes then reapply them..keep doing it (jabbing the brakes) till you stop skidding or come to a stop,that is what anti-lock brakes do when they activate..
Former Sponsor
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 19,364
Likes: 40
From: Los Angeles, CA
The one thing I would like to say again is that 70% of your braking power comes from your front brakes. fI rarely use my rear brakes unless there is a panic situation. I came up on sport bikes and the like and there was never a need for rear brakes with the pwoer the front brakes ahve on those super light machines. It's a little different on a Harley due to weight distribution and such, but I still rarely use the rears.
Drew
Drew