I like a lot of space too, but I tend to close up quite a bit entering an area
with cross streets. My take on car drivers is they don't "see" a bike. Coming
out of a side street, they wait for the car to go past and then pull out....
not good. When I'm close (not too) I pass by before the dufus pulls out. it
takes a bit more concentration to do this but keeps the bad guys from do a
"Pearl Harbor" on me. "I didn't see him" doesn't help explain why Bob won't be
coming home anymore. I was taken out many years ago by a car that turned left
across five lanes suddenly. From the oncoming slow lane to contact.... Another
"where'd you come from ?" That's what he said as I laid under my bike. The real
problem was, I was the only thing on my side of the road. He'd have seen a car
but no luck there. Before I pass a car, I ask myself if I want that A-hole
behind me.. most of the time the answer is no. I'd rather watch him in front of
me. It's safer. Couple of weeks
back, sitting at a light, truck in front of me, I got bumped (hard) by an old
lady in a Buick. That moved me ahead about six feet. I looked back and got an
empty stare from her. She hits me again. Now, I'm up against the truck bumper.
Soon as the light changed, I passed the truck between him and the curb, on the
right. Dumb move but I didn't want to find out what she'd do next. Her hood
must look good, she curled my license plate under. Survival above all.
--- On Fri, 10/9/09, stanley/ Randolph <tinkrm...@yahoo.com> wrote:
From: stanley/ Randolph <tinkrm...@yahoo.com>
Subject: [Nighthawk Lovers] Re: braking
To: nighthawk_lovers@googlegroups.com
Date: Friday, October 9, 2009, 11:10 AM
I read the below after writing my experience in the previous post...
Yes, road conditions have to be right to use the combination as I did. I could
hear the rear wheel squealing, because I was mashing down hard on the front,
using more engine on the back than brake pedal.
Had the road been wet, I would have been going slower (was going about 35 mph,
the limit), and would have approached the intersection more slowly, but who can
say if that would have been enough, had the same thing happened?
I believe that part of riding is learning to anticipate dynamically. I started
out with bicycles and first rode a step-thru 50 in Phoenix traffic, then my 160
in Seattle traffic, which was worse.
I like to keep plenty of space between me and other machines on the road.
Stanley
From: Dennis McCarten <djmccar...@gmail.com>
To: nighthawk_lovers@googlegroups.com
Sent: Fri, October 9, 2009 9:42:03 AM
Subject: [Nighthawk Lovers] Re: braking
Dennis,
That was a great comment! Thanks. Having laid a bike down when the rear wheel
locked in first gear, I can attest to the value of experience. When it
happens, it's something you'll only do once. Thanks again.
Dennis
On Fri, Oct 9, 2009 at 1:09 AM, Dennis Hammerl <blues...@yahoo.com> wrote:
It's a very good question. The best answer to which would be to direct you to a
training facility. I prefer to give the answer that there is no hard, fast
rule. There is no substitute for experience. The surface must figure into any
scenario. Wet, dry, gravel, leaves,,,,
Straight line or cornering ? There is no rule. Better to be educated on proper
riding and gather the experience. So many people have really dumb ideas about
braking. Let's look at a modern motorcycle; Two big disc brakes in front and
maybe one on the back. Still see drum brakes in back of some. What does this
tell you ? Yeah, you could really haul it down on the front brakes. However, I
have inspected many a Gold Wing with no wear on the front pads and deep grooves
cut in the rear rotor. Why ? The owner doesn't use the front brakes !
The owner has deprived himself of about 80% of the bike's capability to stop.
Honda recognized this years ago and has employed a
system that applies one of the front brakes with any application of the rear
one. Pitiful but better than rear only. Me ? I use my back brake to hold my
bike at a light. Not much good for anything else. I consider the rear brake to
be a stabilizer... That's just me, I use front brakes really hard. Would I do
this on a wet street or gravel road ? No. That's when you use a little finis to
slow down.
Down shifting ? Another can of worms. Dropping down a gear (or two) and letting
the clutch out can be a thrill on a wet or loose surface. Can you say "swap
ends" ? Causing the rear wheel to slip / stop suddenly is ... not good. With
some skill applied, it becomes another tool in riding survival. Again, no
substitute for a lot of seat time. Riding in traffic sometimes doesn't allow
enough time for such fancy practices. The name of the game is get it
stopped...NOW !
Another story before I let this rest. Few riders know this and most techs don't
either
(or don't understand it) The VT family of Honda's (V twin 700, 750, 1100 and
such) use a familiar seven plate clutch system to drive the bike. However, when
letting off (roll off, down shift, etc) a clever device uncouples four of the
plate pairs. SO, the clutch actually slips a bit. Better than eating the handle
bars or dropping the bike due to rear wheel lock-up. Believe me, without it, it
can get violent...quick.
SO, if you consider that under hard braking the weight shifts hard to the front
wheel, giving it a lot of traction and the rear gets really light... what makes
sense to do ? Use lots of front brake and down shift one gear at a time (if
time allows) The whole thing is a dynamic and what you do is (should) be based
on your immediate need to stop / slow and what the surface is like. Unless your
name is Valentino, you never stop learning how to ride. I used to like to watch
Carl Fogarty ride at 110%... scary. I'm like the pilot that said any
landing you walk away from is a good one. I thank God every day for a good,
safe ride. You still have to do your part.
--- On Thu, 10/8/09, Dapper Dan <dapperd...@gmail.com> wrote:
From: Dapper Dan <dapperd...@gmail.com>
Subject: [Nighthawk Lovers] braking
To: nighthawk_lovers@googlegroups.com
Date: Thursday, October 8, 2009, 1:15 PM
a quick question i have always been curious about: is it better to use a
combination of downshifting and braking to slow your bike or is it better to
use just your brakes? pros and cons?
thanx
dan
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers!" group.
To post to this group, send email to nighthawk_lovers@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
nighthawk_lovers+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/nighthawk_lovers?hl=en
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
