Quick stop and felt the bike tire start to fishtail back and forth

[Hitman]

While riding back home from a drill weekend this person on the freeway just stopped in the middle of the freeway. Luckily I was on the outer lane so we were not going top speed but still fast enough.

The car that stopped was the second car in front of me. The car directly in front of me had to slam on his brakes too and he swerved to the right into the emergency lane. That was good because it gave me that extra space to stop. I felt the bike's rear tire start to fishtail back and forth but I was able to maintain my balance and not fall. I stopped just in time but as you can see from the force of my braking that it ate up my tire and left permanent marks on it from the lines in the road.

[Linuss]

I had that happen yesterday when headed home from work. Was in the far left lane of 4 lanes when a sign warned of construction ahead. This section of road specifically states "NO TRUCKS LEFT LANE", but a semi driver dip**** felt like ignoring it and forced his way in to the far left lane, while also hitting his brakes. The truck infront of me was forced off the road on to the shoulder, barely avoiding being hit.

I had to slam on my brakes as well, and my rear tire swerved back and forth. All I could think was " *** I'm going to highside on the highway as soon as my rear tire grips"

[CC Cowboy]

Mikey, front brake,less rear brake, or no rear brake. This will help more than a front break, which usually means you had an accident.

[CZroe]

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/phot...eat=directlink

My FRONT tire.

that's actually after I rode it several more miles.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by cc cowboy

mikey, front brake,less rear brake, or no rear brake. This will help more than a front break, which usually means you had an accident.

+1036

[oblivion007]

What CC Cowboy said, maybe you locked up the rear?

I've locked up my rear many times. Finally think I got a good balance of front and rear now after a few months.

[Flashmonkey]

LOL I did that during my test. Take home lesson: don't do that during your test.

[wtfh4xx]

I fishtailed my rear about 8ft yesterday as well, didnt realize how easy it is to lock up that rear tire.
Noted to brake harder on front/less rear.

[blink]

Don't you highside when front catches grip?

[CZroe]

Originally Posted by blink

Don't you highside when front catches grip?

You can. It's likely. I didn't. I'm lucky.

The tire basically folded and jerked the tire/bars to the side almost as soon as the tire chirped but I had already let go of the brake and it snapped back and righted itself. I felt the bike lean left and then snap back up, so I almost got tossed. Strangely, the bars didn't move enough to snap out of my hands so the jerk isn't what released the brake and freed the front tire... it was just fast/lucky reaction.

I finished riding to work and took that picture. The tire felt really soft and gummy/sticky where the tread was roughed up.

[Boom King]

Yikes! That's one hard skid. It doesn't take much to lock up the rear. I did it once when I had to do a quick stop and I didn't feel like I put that much pressure on the rear brake but I clearly put too much. I wonder how effective a linked abs braking system would be in these situations.

[Linuss]

Originally Posted by blink

Don't you highside when front catches grip?

I believe it's when the rear catches grip. When the front loses it, you get a tank slapper.

[KawiKid860]

I've locked my rear up once in a parking lot practicing.. it only lasted a second but it slid out about 1.5 feet to the left then regained traction and snapped back straight, scared the crap out of me! I was just getting a feel for the rear brake didn't realize how sensitive it was!

["A"]

I was told to look ahead from time to time, 3 to 5 cars up, keep a safe following distance, have yet to exercise a skid in traffic this season.. But practiced a few times in empty parking lots. Let off the rear brake just as you feel it start to skid, use the front brake as your main stopping power.

[zartan]

Originally Posted by CC Cowboy

Mikey, front brake,less rear brake, or no rear brake. This will help more than a front break, which usually means you had an accident.

+1

[zilaniz]

I don't use my rear brake in emergency braking situations...it locks up too easy.

[kkim]

Originally Posted by zilaniz

I don't use my rear brake in emergency braking situations...it locks up too easy.

...and if you ever do skid your rear tire due to using too much rear brake, don't let up on the brake pedal till the bike comes to a complete stop. otherwise, there is a chance the bike can highside when you let off on the rear brake. MSF 101.

[kaiserz]

I heard that our bikes are soo lite that almost every-time you do an emergency stop, there's a big chance that the rear will lock-up (And I've fish-tailed a couple of times but not that bad. I need more practice)

[Alex]

It's not just due to our bikes being light. Any short-wheelbase sportbike with enough front brake to stop the wheel quickly has the same issue. The weight transfers to the front, leaving very little weight on the rear to keep it in contact with the ground and provide any braking force. The front is the brake that matters. Get it right, and the stops will be short, no matter what you do with the rear. Screw up the front braking, and you can't make up any of the performance by even textbook perfect braking on the rear. If you lock up the rear during braking, directional control is pretty much lost, and the bike will go straight where its inertia is already carrying it. This may be OK in a straight line, but in a curve it means that the bike is going straight off the road if the starting speed is high enough.

More info in these threads, linked from the riding skills sticky: Thread 1 Thread 2

[bdavison]

Locking up the rear doesnt automatically result in a highside. If the bike remains upright and going straight, it wont do much other than skid. Not only that, but if the bike is straight up, and the rear tire is locked, releasing the back break also does not guarentee a highside.

What causes a high side, is when the rear tire is not in alignment with the front. When it regains traction( usually by letting off the brake), it has a tendancy to try to realign itself with the front wheel. When it does this, it rapidly snaps the rear wheel back to a straight alignment....which launches the rider.

I have highsided on a bike before. It is not a pleasant experience. Basically at first it feels like you are drifting the rear (which you are). When it regains traction, the rear IMMEDIATLY trys to go from a drift back to normal upright riding alignment. The launch feels like the seat kicks you in the arse.

And of course the next second, your butt catches air, and your feet come off the pegs....the rest is motorcycling's way of ruining your day.

Now, ive gotten into potential highside territory again since then.. What i usually do is use my legs to lift off the seat a bit...when the rear bucks, i try to absorb the kick by letting my knees soak up the push...similar to jumping off something, and flexing your knees when you land on your feet to soak up the energy.

I however dont recommend this strategy to inexperienced riders...a highside kick is still a highside kick...better to avoid it all together.

The last one, i had was in a high speed really leaned over corner. Apparantly i ran out of tire, and got too close, or on the sidewalls...it started to lose traction, and i let off the gas a bit, knowing it was going to kick me when i did. I lifted off the seat a bit in preperation, it regained traction, kicked as i suspected... And i rode it out.

Again...do not try this...just FYI if you somehow manage to mess up, and things are not looking good.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by bdavison

Locking up the rear doesnt automatically result in a highside. If the bike remains upright and going straight, it wont do much other than skid. Not only that, but if the bike is straight up, and the rear tire is locked, releasing the back break also does not guarentee a highside.

Agreed on both points. But - if a rider is trying to maintain directional control with a skidding rear tire due to lockup, they will have a much harder time concentrating on applying the maximum amount of braking force to the front tire. In many cases, they release it completely, leaving a very long skid mark from the rear tire, much farther than the entire bike should have stopped by anyway. Unintentionally locking up the rear needs to be a wakeup call that the rider does not have good brake control, there's really no way to sugarcoat it. More seat time, more practice, and more understanding of how much force can/should be applied to the front/rear brake controls in different conditions is called for so it's unlikely to happen again.

[kkim]

Originally Posted by bdavison

Locking up the rear doesnt automatically result in a highside.

no one said it did.

[Linuss]

Originally Posted by N Ja

I was told to look ahead from time to time, 3 to 5 cars up, keep a safe following distance,

Funny thing is, life hardly ever works out the right way, and people suck in traffic no matter how safe you try and make it.



The rear brake takes a very small amount of pressure... and it's hard to control that in an "OH SHOOT" emergency.

[CC Cowboy]

Originally Posted by Linuss

Funny thing is, life hardly ever works out the right way, and people suck in traffic no matter how safe you try and make it.



The rear brake takes a very small amount of pressure... and it's hard to control that in an "OH SHOOT" emergency.

Are we talking about stopping or a drive by?