Leaving work, it was 100.4 as recorded on my dash. I'm pretty confident that the pavement was more like 150. I was thankful that I put the bikini top on this morning. I left with the intention of finding an open parking log. It seems that every parking lot was hosting a cage convention, so I started exploring. I had no idea that I was going to find myself in a gorgeous canyon. I will have to go back and get some pictures.
As rush hour would have it, I got behind some traffic. I was tempted to just pull a u-turn; but, the width of the road I was on was about 16' and there was a commuter behind me. I decided instead to start my slow riding practice. I've done lots of this; but, I had one burning question - will this bike stall, or idle at a certain speed if given no throttle inputs from me? My Harley will stall. You're working the friction zone intensely if you're in traffic. For what must have been four miles of pavement that was on a slight incline, I idled, with my right hand off the handle bars at 8 miles an hour. There wasn't a cough or sputter. There was no indication that the engine was straining, except that the fan kicked on to cool the bike down...but, who could blame it? Did I mention the air temp was 100.4 and at this point, I was idling for 4 miles. I digress. When I was satisfied, with the idle performance, I decided to see how much feathering I could do with the clutch, again, with no throttle inputs. I was able to work around the friction point to about 5 miles per hour. Any less than this, and I really needed some rear brake and throttle to stabilize the bike. With rear brake and a little throttle in the friction zone, I was able to keep the bike pretty stable at 1 mile per hour. Wow.
So, eventually, the traffic gave way and I was getting pretty hot, so I set a course for home. I didn't forget that I wanted to do some braking work; but, still couldn't find an open parking lot. My first opportunity to test the ABS was at a railroad intersection. I wasn't leaned in at all, so this was a good opportunity. If I were to choose, and I'll bet any experienced rider would choose, I'd prefer that the rear wheel get loose long before the front. So, I went with a firm application of rear brake going over the tracks. I was impressed - no skidding at all. I felt the pedal vibrate as the ABS kicked in. It was all very anti-climactic.
When I was getting close to home, I found myself on a side street with no one in sight for a mile in front or behind and decided to test out hard braking. On a straight away, I accelerated to 45mph and grabbed a fist full of brake. Remember, when grabbing the front brake, the lever is linked to the rear brake as well. Also keep in mind that there are 2 independent disks up front and one in the back. That's the same brake surface area as a car with only one wheel! Before I did this, I realized there was a real possibility of the rear end coming off the ground, skidding, and/or being lifted out of the seat, so I was mentally prepared for all of it. Mind you, I did not just slam the lever to the bar, I squeezed it quickly; but, did not stab at it. For maximum braking, it's always better to load the tires first. It increases the surface area in contact with the ground and allows for quicker braking. Also, given that the pavement was probably about 150 degrees, I expected maximum braking since the tires were hot and pliable.
The results were not what I had anticipated or thought possible. The braking was fast and mostly smooth. The ABS kicked in about halfway between the time I started applying brake pressure and the time I actually stopped. The ABS remained on and vibrating 90% of that time. Somewhere about the middle of that time, the ABS kicked off for a brief moment and the front tire slid, after which the ABS came back on. The ABS was back on probably a full 2 seconds before I would have let up on the brake handle. The ABS stayed on until the very moment I was stopped. The stop was so sudden, I could feel the blood in my head rush to my face. I am a pilot and am familiar with G forces. I am sure I was pulling G's. That said, the rear end stayed firmly in contact with the ground, as my butt did with the seat.
I need to do this again so I can measure my stopping distance. I also want to work on this more. I realize that this bike puts me into a whole new riding capability and that capability includes more braking than I thought possible. On my other bike, I'm very comfortable with where maximum braking is; but, on this bike, there is more than I thought possible and I better get my brain in alignment with the bikes capabilities. It would be very bad if I hit something and had the ability to stop quicker and just didn't know it. It would also be bad if I counted on the ABS and for some reason they didn't perform. There's work to be done!
I need to do this again so I can measure my stopping distance. I also want to work on this more. I realize that this bike puts me into a whole new riding capability and that capability includes more braking than I thought possible. On my other bike, I'm very comfortable with where maximum braking is; but, on this bike, there is more than I thought possible and I better get my brain in alignment with the bikes capabilities. It would be very bad if I hit something and had the ability to stop quicker and just didn't know it. It would also be bad if I counted on the ABS and for some reason they didn't perform. There's work to be done!
Until I read this, I hadn't thought about the braking limitations of my bike. This is clearly something that all bike owners should do. I've had to do some hard breaking in the 8 years I've owned my Wing, but I haven't gone to the limit as I didn't need to. And then there's the limit with a 2nd rider, gear, and/or trailer attached. I don't have ABS since it game out on the Wing a year after I purchased mine. I'm wondereing about the surprise factor for the 2nd rider in a braking situation, and how that would effect my ability to maintain control with the 2nd rider pushing me forward due to the g forces applied to them. I really need to think this through and develop a training plan on how best to deal with braking situations. For me on my bike, the with or without a 2nd rider makes for completely different methods for stopping the bike. Thanks for the post Bob.....
ReplyDeleteMike, don't over think this. Start by yourself in a parking lot. You have a big bike; but, you have an advantage over mine - you're closer to the ground to start with. If the bike gets sqirley toward the end of the stop, your feet and the full power of your legs are available to keep you from tilting over.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't recommend starting at 45 mpg. I plan to get in a parking lot and first get really used to hard stopping before I start marking pavement to see just how far I can stop at a given speed. I plan to start slow - 25 mph and work up in increments of 10 from there.
Once you're comfortable, start adding things - Crystal first. Since she's almost always going to be your riding partner, you won't have to worry too much about variability in back seat passengers. Being a bachelor, I hope to be lucky enough to have that problem.
Once you both have have achieved your best and are really used to it, take the next step and load the bike up - without the trailer. Finally, do it all with the trailer. I have no idea what to expect with that. It's something that's always concerned me. I can imagine a hard stop from high speed where the trailer jack knifes and takes the riders out of the saddle. I can also imagine other problems like getting into a corner, tucking the front wheel and getting run over by the trailer. I'm not sure I'll ever be comfortable with a trailer behind a bike. Maybe when you get it down, you can show me that I'm being overly cautious.