[crx81]

Ok, I've got a question that no one that I have asked so far has been able to give me a straight answer on. I know the rule that if you panic stop and lock up the rear, to keep it locked or you risk a highside when the tire catches. So my question is, does locking up the rear necessitate that you MUST STOP? I'm thinking of situations changing. Here's an example scenario: A car in front of you slams on the brakes. You hit yours and lock up the rear (easy to do with the FZ's rear brakes). The car in front of you doesn't stop, but hits the gas and keeps going. You have cars barrelling up behind you. Now that your rear has locked, are you committed to stopping in the middle of the road (now for no reason) with cars coming up behind you? What is done to recover without risking a highside?
I know it CAN be done, because the other day I did it quite by accident. Without getting into specifics, I hit the brakes pretty hard to make a turn that I almost missed. Rear locked, but only for a split second. Does time locked make a difference?
Anybody able to give me a definitive answer on the proper technique for this or if there even is one?

 

[SqDancerLynn1]

If you are still going straight it would be safe to release the brake

 

[laimbeer]

If you are still going straight it would be safe to release the brake

dot

It's when the rear starts to torque around on you that will put you into a highside. I've locked the rear for a second or two in a situation as you described above on more than one occassion, but came out OK. If you stay on the rear brake and your back end starts coming around, you're better off sliding it out than taking the chance of letting the tire spin again while out of alignment with the front.

 

[mwellbel]

As the guys above have said, you only going to high side you if your rear tyre is pointing in a direction other than what your momentum is taking you. Hence the catapult effect of being high sided when the tyre grips and then resumes its normal course. If you have managed to get the silde back into line, releaseing the lock will be fine.

Same principle as for advanced car driving without ABS to avoid a hazard. Your are told to intentionally lock your breaks. Fully lock your stearing in the direction you want to go and then release the lock. Will then turn much sharper as the tyres grip than just trying to turn the steering without locking!

 

[Aburke27]

I have locked up my back brakes on several occasions ( some on purpose, some on accident ), and i have let it go. Just make sure that you are upright and your back tire isnt tweaking in any direction. I have had one instance where it caught and i got a little wiggle which sacred me pretty good.

 

[Binary Jay]

I've had it lock making sudden stops more than I'd like to admit, a bit of wiggle but I've always kept on the brakes and completed the stop - not sure why, just always seem like the right thing to do by instinct.

 

[greatzippy]

Same here, I've locked my rear before and let up on it. I've even had the rear slide to the right on me (not sure how much) and I've still let up on the break. It's not something you want to do yet still have to practice enough to pull it off .... but it is possible. A skilled rider shouldn't have a problem letting up on the brakes during a rear wheel lock. Whatever you do DON'T be giving it any throttle when you do let up, that'll just make things worse.
Without any throttle the rear should just re-align with the front, provided your holding the front in one direction that is :lol

 

[mwellbel]

Just a quick question, how are u guys locking up your rear break. Is it after fully breaking with the front first? or just using it by itself. Reason I ask is because I have had to do a few emergency stops, but tend to do all my breaking with my front breaks. Way quicker and more control than rear. Genuianly only use the back to keep the bike under control and going straight. or when it is a bit slippery out?on a corner and need to slow down?

 

[segue00]

Practice to use both breaks at the same time without locking any wheel.
I'ts a habit that must be instinctively applied especially duing panic stops.

 

[R1Rookie]

Practice to use both breaks at the same time without locking any wheel.
I'ts a habit that must be instinctively applied especially duing panic stops.

When I get home from work, I'll often make a quick 20 mile run that includes practicing some panic stops. I've locked my rear tire a bunch of times doing this. As stated, the real risk of high siding is if you get the back to step out while leaned over. When the bike regains traction, it will come back to center and stand up, which is a combo that results in a nice catapult.

 

[Sparker]

according to the Colorado DOT it states in the manual that if you encounter a rear wheel lock, transfer more braking power to your front brakes and release the rear brake completely and then re-engage.


it also states that you should not randomly stop in traffic as cars are not as aware to you, as you are to them. your brake lights may not catch the attention of the cars behind you.

personally id much rather risk a highside than stop in traffic and run the risk of a car just slamming into the back of me.

 

[Binary Jay]

Well, at least getting rear-ended isn't an at-fault accident on your part. Hide side the thing and you're looking at big bills!

 

[Eyespy]

In a true emergency stop maximal braking situation, the rear brake is rendered essentially useless on a sportbike. Practice maximal front only braking emergency stopping drills.

 

[skeleton]

I am not necessarily recommending anything ...

I occasionally go out to an unoccupied parking lot during the rain. At low speed, I intentionally put the bike into a lean, lock up the rear tire, and the rear slides out. I will then either: 1) spin out to a stop, 2) straighten up and carry on, 3) or release the brake an experience the jolt (pre-highsiding).

The safety here (relatively speaking) is being on a wet road at low speeds. I find this gives me an opportunity to practise against real-life situations. After about 20 repetitions, the instinct becomes fairly good.

 

[skeleton]

according to the Colorado DOT it states in the manual that if you encounter a rear wheel lock, transfer more braking power to your front brakes and release the rear brake completely and then re-engage.


it also states that you should not randomly stop in traffic as cars are not as aware to you, as you are to them. your brake lights may not catch the attention of the cars behind you.

personally id much rather risk a highside than stop in traffic and run the risk of a car just slamming into the back of me.

I am not one to speak with experience. But the above suggestion seems odd. As I understand it, in a slide, the rear tire is gradually moving forward faster than is the front tire. This came about because the front tire is engaging excellent braking traction, while the rear has lost traction (lock up).

IMHO, the sliding rear can be returned to a straight line position by getting the front to speed up (by lightening up on the front brakes). Once the bike has straightened up, only then can I release my rear brake, and reengage a high braking pressure on the front tire.

 

[CorvetteBoy]

Resist the temptation to let off the rear. And if you do, do it very carefully and progressively in a way that won't throw you off the bike. Most rear brake lock ups aren't a big deal if the speed is reasonable and the bike is not leaned.

 

[Eyespy]

It's got little to nothing to do with rear spring compression and stored energy.

 

[CorvetteBoy]

Would you suggest that a highside is caused by the by rear tire regaining grip and that is what pulls the bike over and throws a rider off?

 

[Eyespy]

Yes, it is caused by the rear tire regaining traction while out of line with the front tire, as a mc is a single track vehicle. You could have a solid rear without suspension, and the same thing would happen.

 

[Eyespy]

In fact, with a solid rear, the high side would be even more violent as there is no rear suspension to damp the vertical force transmitted to the seat secondary to the righting of the bike. The compressibility of the rear suspension would actually provide a protective element against a high side by lessening the rate of vertical recovery.