I may be getting old and slowing down...

[ultrafxr]

As part of my plan to stay on the top side of the dirt for as long as possible, I regularly practice emergency braking on all my bikes/trikes (along with evasive maneuvers, slow speed handling, etc.)

Weight does not shift to the front wheel as much on a Trike as it does on a 2 wheel bike. Because of this, in a true emergency braking situation, if you use anywhere near as much front brake on a Trike as a Bike, the front tire WILL lock up.

If the road is wet, and you use just normal amount of front brake on a Trike (not an emergency) for moderately fast stopping....forget about it...front tire will lock up and slide...usually steering the trike sideways a little.

I believe it to be a good practice to regularly find an open parking lot and practice emergency braking, getting the distance shorter and shorter. When you do this you find out how much brake can be applied without locking up the front or rear tires. My best guestimation is 40/60, unlike a bike that is closer to 90/10.

btw, since I ride 2 wheelers still, and some have ABS and some don't, I literally have had to develop muscle memory for 3 different types of rides.

Trike

ABS 2 wheeler (where I can grab all I want, front and rear)

non-ABS 2 wheeler, where I have to carefully modulate both front & rear to almost lock up, but not quite.

The nice thing about the Tri-Glides are that even if you do over apply the brakes a bit, and lock up the tires, it is very forgiving and stable, maintaining a straight line (on dry surfaces).

Kevin

Excellent advice to practice, practice, practice so that muscle memory / reflex action is ingrained and there when you truly do need it. I've not yet locked up the front wheel on my TG and I've done some pretty aggressive braking. Guess I need to push it a bit more to find the limit. And I agree the linked brakes make applying the rear brake pedal on the TGs much, much more effective than any two wheel H-D I ever had.

[DK Custom Products]

Excellent advice to practice, practice, practice so that muscle memory / reflex action is ingrained and there when you truly do need it. I've not yet locked up the front wheel on my TG and I've done some pretty aggressive braking. Guess I need to push it a bit more to find the limit. And I agree the linked brakes make applying the rear brake pedal on the TGs much, much more effective than any two wheel H-D I ever had.

Next time you're out and the roads are wet...give it a try...I think you'll be surprised how little braking traction there is in that front tire.

Kevin

[FuzzyWuzHe]

Next time you're out and the roads are wet...give it a try...I think you'll be surprised how little braking traction there is in that front tire.

Kevin

When did you start using any brake????? Last time I rode with you were putting the tri in neutral, killing the engine and coasting down the mountains ... LOL ... and still leaving me behind

[DK Custom Products]

Next time you're out and the roads are wet...give it a try...I think you'll be surprised how little braking traction there is in that front tire.

Kevin

Hey Jerry, I should have added to the above....do it when going really slow. At lower speeds, there is very little weight shift to the front tire when using the front brake. It is surprising.

When did you start using any brake????? Last time I rode with you were putting the tri in neutral, killing the engine and coasting down the mountains ... LOL ... and still leaving me behind

You're never going to forget that are you?

That was an amazing ride you led us on that day!

Kevin

[FuzzyWuzHe]

You're never going to forget that are you?

That was an amazing ride you led us on that day!

Kevin

Nope ... that was a great couple of days.

[DK Custom Products]

Nope ... that was a great couple of days.

Agreed! Looking forward to next month!

Kevin

[Firewrench22]

I'm with Jerry, I try to always use both brakes to keep that muscle memory. When you really have to stop fast, you won't have time to think about it.

Sometimes I find myself getting lazy and not using the rears, I give myself a mental slap...

I think using both front and rear helps with the wear too, if a guy mostly uses one brake, either front or rear, it will wear that much faster.

[rhino 2]

One irrefutable fact about getting older is, When you hit pavement it hurts a lot more and takes a lot longer to recuperate...When it did in your Youth.....-

[DK Custom Products]

One irrefutable fact about getting older is, When you hit pavement it hurts a lot more and takes a lot longer to recuperate...When it did in your Youth.....-

So True.

Kevin

[hogcowboy]

One irrefutable fact about getting older is, When you hit pavement it hurts a lot more and takes a lot longer to recuperate...When it did in your Youth.....-

I'm still trying to recover from hitting pavement in 2012. Just how much longer does it take than that little fact??? It's looking like I need one more surgery but I'm not sure I can recover from yet another. Isn't 8 enough?

[rhino 2]

I'm still trying to recover from hitting pavement in 2012. Just how much longer does it take than that little fact??? It's looking like I need one more surgery but I'm not sure I can recover from yet another. Isn't 8 enough?

So just imagine if you did it now....When i went down in 1975, With the help of another motorist i pick up the bike rode home 30 miles bleeding with a bone sticking out of my elbow....If that happened today 2018 i'll be in an ambulance headed for a hospital crying for more morphine....

[FuzzyWuzHe]

Agreed! Looking forward to next month!

Kevin

Me too ... you and Mary are some of my favorite people.

[DK Custom Products]

I'm still trying to recover from hitting pavement in 2012. Just how much longer does it take than that little fact??? It's looking like I need one more surgery but I'm not sure I can recover from yet another. Isn't 8 enough?

Yeah, I hear you. Been about 8 years for me too...after only 2 surgeries (1 or 2 more still needed), truth is, I'll never be back to pre-accident condition.

So just imagine if you did it now....When i went down in 1975, With the help of another motorist i pick up the bike rode home 30 miles bleeding with a bone sticking out of my elbow....If that happened today 2018 i'll be in an ambulance headed for a hospital crying for more morphine....

Yeah!

Kevin

[hogcowboy]

Yeah, I hear you. Been about 8 years for me too...after only 2 surgeries (1 or 2 more still needed), truth is, I'll never be back to pre-accident condition. Yeah! Kevin

Yep. That's a fact that is hard to accept but is in your face every time you throw(with much effort now for me) a leg over to start a ride. What I'm having the most trouble with is my balance is still so off. That's what I'm fight but having to face the fact that if I want wind in my face I'm going to have to trike or sidecar sooner than I wanted. Every time we take my wife's Spyder in for service or go to a burger burn at HD, I'm looking now. Trying figure out how to keep riding yet prepare for trike conversion or something else is freaking hard work and taxing on the brain. What little there is left.

[Burnerboy]

Great advice!

Also, ALWAYS look in your mirrors BEFORE a fast stop...no reason to compound problems by getting rear-ended!

Kevin

Very good/excellent reminder advice here::: Thank you!

Ronnie

PS: Sorry to cut into your conversation here, (I just had to say this) But again, excellent reminder

[FuzzyWuzHe]

Yep. That's a fact that is hard to accept but is in your face every time you throw(with much effort now for me) a leg over to start a ride.

I resemble that remark. Even with the "new" knee, I still have a time getting the leg over the bike. Mostly I think because when I get my "girth" all on the left leg to throw the right over the bike, I don't really trust the left to support me like I should.

To help with this, I'm really considering this fall or winter putting the detachable kit on the tour pak. I don't really need it around town, just on the longer trips. With it out of the way, it would be more of a swing over the bike than and actual lift and slide procedure. It would make the Ultra Limited more like a street glide when the tour pak is not on.

[jeyoung]

Gosh all this talk about brakes I thank during my by-pass recovery I need to check my pads. I am taking the exhaust off now to decat and maybe mod the stock slip-ons. Life was a lot easier back late 60's early 70's when I raced flattrack motorcycles, Heck we did not have brakes on the bikes, gear down, pitch it sideways and back on the gas.

James Young

2013 Tri-Glide #1146 of 1450 Anniversary Edition

Vietnam Vet 1971/72 DaNang 196th LIB M60 gunner

[Tucci]

Rode two wheels for 50 years, now three for past three years, (64 years old).

Old saying ---There's two kind of bikers - those that have been down and those that are going down. Ive been down, hard, two times and didnt like it either time.

[Jack Klarich]

Rode two wheels for 50 years, now three for past three years, (64 years old).

Old saying ---There's two kind of bikers - those that have been down and those that are going down. Ive been down, hard, two times and didnt like it either time.

Joe, add to that ole saying, you will get a flat tire, and run out of gas when you least expect it

[520fd]

When I have to stop in an Emergency, I use the front and rear brakes. Plus, I'm down shifting as fast as I can. I try to keep the trike going straight. Takes a lot of coordination to get it right. But practice is the key. I've had a few friends that tried to evade deer strikes and tried to swerve and miss them. The result is losing control of their bike and wrecking and getting hurt. I've had both my knees replaced. One of them, twice. (Infection). They had to remove the knee joint for 2 1/2 months. Put a spacer in place of it till the infection went away. Had both of my shoulders replaced. I'm running out of joints. But, still Biking.