Saw a Harley almost crash - Used rear brake only. Close!

[Titan]

Riding the Valk I fell in behind a Harley on a very congested, 3 lane section of interstate.  I followed him from the middle lane over to the far left and we were cruising around 50 MPH or so. As we topped a little hill everything up front in all lanes was stopped or stopping. Yikes! I guess I was a little focused on the bike up front and the first thing I noticed was smoke coming off his rear tire. He locked that rear brake down and started fishtailing back and forth and seemed to be barely slowing down. I gritted my teeth thinking it was gonna go down! He swerved to the left and went right around the SUV that was stopped in front of him. He didn't get stopped until he had completely passed that vehicle! I never saw any sign at all that he ever touched the front brake. That back tire was steady sliding and smoking. I had recently read on the forum here that most Harley riders only use their rear brakes. Not a good idea!

Meanwhile, I had grabbed a handful of front brake and hauled the Valk down to a sudden stop right behind. and barely to the right of the SUV. My biggest concern at that point was getting hit from the rear so I had positioned my bike so I could go to the right of the SUV if I had to. Everything behind me got stopped ok.

This all happed in seconds and there sure was no time for thinking it out and planning! But instincts just took over and it all worked out. That's the first time I've ever brought that bike down to a stop that quickly.

That poor Harlyy dude must have had problems recovering! After the traffic started moving again he got in the middle lane and poked along about 40 MPH. I waved as I went by but I think he was sitting in somthing uncomfortable.

[czuch]

Glad ya brought er down with out going down. I practice hard core stops every now and again.
 Also,  I get on a smoothish dirt road and lock the rear to see what itt'l do.  Dont lock it hard and pay real close attention. Sounds like ya did it all right.

[Titan]

Glad ya brought er down with out going down. I practice hard core stops every now and again.
 Also,  I get on a smoothish dirt road and lock the rear to see what itt'l do.  Dont lock it hard and pay real close attention. Sounds like ya did it all right.

czuch... Thanks! I've thought a thousand times that I should get someplace safe and practice "panic stops" but just never have gotten around to doing it. But I've always considered the front brake to be primary since my first moped when I was 14. My brother rides a Harley and never uses the front brake. I fuss at him about it and he declares that he would use it in a panic stop. I disagree because it's not a habit or normal thing for him so I figure he wouldn't be able to think about it fast enough.

Something else I should practice is making turns sharp enough to scrape the pegs. I've read where it's important to know just how far you can go before something touches down. The few times I've scraped anything was accidental and I didn't like because I wasn't expecting it!

[Chrisj CMA]

OH ya...."That front brake will put you down"  Thats the mis-information passed along in certain "circles"  Im not sure exactly why so many Harley riders are told this (and believe it) unless maybe its a hold-over from the long forked chopper days with old not so functional brakes.........

This menace of false education is what took Judy and I out a last year.  Our Harley buddy (even after my hard coaching, and his promise that hed learned his lesson and was using the front)lost it in gentle curve in some gravel because of that locking up and swerving thing.  Really shouldnt have happened, but thats life I guess.  (he lied)

[FryeVRCCDS0067]

OH ya...."That front brake will put you down"  Thats the mis-information passed along in certain "circles"  Im not sure exactly why so many Harley riders are told this (and believe it) unless maybe its a hold-over from the long forked chopper days with old not so functional brakes.........

This menace of false education is what took Judy and I out a last year.  Our Harley buddy (even after my hard coaching, and his promise that hed learned his lesson and was using the front)lost it in gentle curve in some gravel because of that locking up and swerving thing.  Really shouldnt have happened, but thats life I guess.  (he lied)

I think it's a hold over from front "drum brakes". Once they got crude in them they could be pretty hard to modulate.

[Chrisj CMA]

OH ya...."That front brake will put you down"  Thats the mis-information passed along in certain "circles"  Im not sure exactly why so many Harley riders are told this (and believe it) unless maybe its a hold-over from the long forked chopper days with old not so functional brakes.........

This menace of false education is what took Judy and I out a last year.  Our Harley buddy (even after my hard coaching, and his promise that hed learned his lesson and was using the front)lost it in gentle curve in some gravel because of that locking up and swerving thing.  Really shouldnt have happened, but thats life I guess.  (he lied)

Ya but you know.........how ignorant is it to keep teaching that in light of both modern technology and much heavier machines.  It gets to the point where you almost have to believe that the few that hold to that myth just want to remain "different" and not keep up with standard safety practices and it really gives me a pain I cant locate.........well, I could locate it last year thats fer sure!

I think it's a hold over from front "drum brakes". Once they got crude in them they could be pretty hard to modulate.

[Red Diamond]

Comes from a lot of people who think they know and do not, refuse to take an MSF course or read what the professionals print. I have an in-law with this attitude, simply because he rode a small bike before. Believe me, he knows it all, won't practice stops or turns, can't stop without putting both feet down and have dropped his Valk on more than one occasion. Some people you just can't tell anything.

[BigAl]

I am a Harley Rider,

I use the Front Brake, Back Brake, Down Shift, use engine braking to save the pads, they are almost 32 bucks for stock replacement in

my zip code.

Drag my feet, hold my hands out to catch air as a air brake of sorts.

Weave back and forth to scrub speed when needed.

But I don;t use the Valk Back Brake , because we have found since the small outboard bearing is on the same side as the disc brake,

it melts the grease right out of the seal eventually, we have taken them apart and the grease in the sealed bearing was cooked.

Bearing failure imminent.


So I guess a Harley Rider knows a thing or two about brakes.

Alwasy use stock OEM Replacement , they last 10 times as long as aftermarket pads but do cost more.

EBC pads you may as well glue leather to the old pads and never use them'

[old2soon]

I had an oppurtunity to test out the hard braking and the hard accleration yesterday-in the rain. With my d/s choice i did NOT have any problems. I really expected a lockup on the rear -but it no happen. I take the oppurtunity to do hard hard braking when i can-SAFELY-and the idle in first gear feet on pegs in empty parking lots so when i do encounter a real emergency-hopefully i am better prepared. Leaning farther and faster as i progress-but nuttin like smokinjoe. RIDE SAFE.

[sandy]

I don't work on Harleys and find most of the metric bikes I see have "little used" front rotors. I try to educate my friends and tell them to not use the back brakes at all until they recondition their brain to get on the fronts harder than the rear.

[alph]

the only time i avoid using my front brake is when i'm in a turn.  your front brake gives you 70% of your braking, why wouldn't you use it!!!

[OverdueBill]

Most of my biker buddies have Harleys.  They all talk about "laying it down" in a bad situation.  Think I'll use my brakes and ride it out.  Chrome doesn't stop you very well.

[solo1]

I've always used the front brakes.  The old Matchless that I had would squeal the tire with its front brake. It probably wouldn't have done it after a few hard stops but I learned to look ahead always and not knowingly get into a bad situation.  Even in the '40's all of the HD riders that I knew didn't use the front brake 'Lay 'er down' to stop was the rule.

The only exception for me was with my Valk with sidecar AND a CT .  That back brake would haul things down in a hurry. The wide tread and extra weight on the back made a difference.

[BigAl]

The Lay Her Down is best left for other activities.

Brake, Steer, Counter Steer, Try for another outlet, an escape path, then if all else fails lay it down to keep

from having a head on collision.

There is no one way to stop a cycle, and every situation is different, in my case as an ex dirt bike racer and off road

rider, sometimes it's good to just know how to fall with out getting injured too severely.

Roll on and Rock on to new places and have fun.

[Dirty Dave]

I find it difficult in a panic stop situation not to use too much rear brake. I have found myself locking up both wheels in extreme cases with my rear end swinging around. I haven't mastered my brain's ABS system yet.............