My first rear wheel skid

[Magnar Infectus]

Driving to to work this morning. About 8 minutes before I start typing this. I was on a road that i've probbably driven on almost every day for the past 18 years. Three lanes wach way. I was going about 47 in a 45. The light changes to yellow when I'm too far away to not run through it on red, but closer that I want to be for a normal (slow) stop. There's noone infront of me, and noone behind me. I stop quickly with both breaks. I heard the rear one lock, and feel it start to slide to my right. I let off the front break some and the rear one a tinsy bit and turn into the skid. I think it may have slid 10-15 degrees off center before I recovered. I ended up stopping with the bike straight, upright and with the rear wheel on the double white line. I did however forget to shift all the way down to first. I was in 2 or n iirc.

All in all it was kinda fun despite being a pucker moment.

I'm kinda used to skidding. I used to do in my truck when no one was around, just to get used to the feeling. I think that may have helped, 'cause I turned into it without having to think to myself "Hey dummy, turn or die!"

[Sarris]

Good job Mag. Next time try to remeber to downshift! You get a gold star for not panicking and busting your ass!!

:banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

[gzrider]

I have that happen too, the rear locks up ,especialy in the rain, maby cuz i am scared to use the front as much when its wet, dont want the front to lock and slam down i had that happen on a 50 cc scooter, now i'm in scared on rainy days. i droped the rear tire pressure some and it reduced the rear lock-up, and fugured i need to increase the front brake pressure while slowing in the rain , i wasnt sure if it was the bike or my braking technique needed improvement.

[alanmcorcoran]

When I was a kid our bikes had coaster brakes on them. We used to ride like hell down our dead end street (a short hill) and then stand up on the pedal to see who could lay the most rubber. I distinctly recall one incident where I wore a small patch right through the tire and popped the tube. Kinda took the fun out of it. Not sure if it has anything to do with it, but I felt right at home locking up the rear tire (and the front too, I think!) on the GZ. I probably skidded the thing six or seven times in the class when we were practicing the quick stop. I've done it a few times since when I wasn't paying close enough attention and had to stop quick to avoid rear ending the car in front of me. I've found the bike stays pretty straight and controllable when you really sit on (both) brakes. Front dives a bit, but you'd expect that. Maybe I've just been lucky. When I skidded the bike in the MSF, though, it was like I was getting extra points for a quick stop. They seemed to encourage it.

[Easy Rider]

I have that happen too, the rear locks up ,especialy in the rain, ...................... i droped the rear tire pressure some and it reduced the rear lock-up, and fugured i need to increase the front brake pressure while slowing in the rain , i wasnt sure if it was the bike or my braking technique needed improvement.

Something is WRONG with this picture. :skull:

If you were having the rear lock up THAT often, there is something wrong with your riding HABITS; maybe technique too. :cry:

When the pavement is wet, slow down and increase your following distance. If you do that correctly, you should not be any more likely to NEED to slide the wheels than you would be on dry pavement.

Yes, you absolutely need to use the front on wet roads.....just not as much or as suddenly.

NO, you should NOT reduce the tire pressure more than 1-2 lbs. below the mfgs. recommendation. Doing so is probably just masking the REAL problem.

P.S. Just a little formatting would make your posts a LOT easier to read ! :tup:

[Water Warrior 2]

When I was a kid our bikes had coaster brakes on them. We used to ride like hell down our dead end street (a short hill) and then stand up on the pedal to see who could lay the most rubber. I distinctly recall one incident where I wore a small patch right through the tire and popped the tube. Kinda took the fun out of it. Not sure if it has anything to do with it, but I felt right at home locking up the rear tire (and the front too, I think!) on the GZ. I probably skidded the thing six or seven times in the class when we were practicing the quick stop. I've done it a few times since when I wasn't paying close enough attention and had to stop quick to avoid rear ending the car in front of me. I've found the bike stays pretty straight and controllable when you really sit on (both) brakes. Front dives a bit, but you'd expect that. Maybe I've just been lucky. When I skidded the bike in the MSF, though, it was like I was getting extra points for a quick stop. They seemed to encourage it.


Hope you are just kidding about extra points for skidding in class and being encouraged to do so. Excellant way to check out your health coverage.

[Easy Rider]

Hope you are just kidding about extra points for skidding in class and being encouraged to do so. Excellant way to check out your health coverage.

For some maybe. OTOH, if one can skid the tire(s) and still keep the bike under control, that would indicate to me a pretty good handle on maximum braking........or at least major progress toward that end.

[patrick_777]

Except that the fastest way to stop a bike is NOT to skid. It encourages bad habits.

[alanmcorcoran]

Hope you are just kidding about extra points for skidding in class and being encouraged to do so. Excellant way to check out your health coverage.

Nope, not at all. I skidded it a little on the second or third practice run for a "quick stop" and was congratulated on a "good stop." After that, I probably laid a little rubber on two out of three stops. We're talking stopping from 18-20mph to zero in a pretty short distance. I am certain I skidded on the final exam for the quick stop and I had no point deductions.

Am I alone on this (or delusional?) Anybody else have this experience at MSF?

[Dupo]

You arent alone. In my MSF class they had a specific section during the riding course dedicated to skidding your tire. They wanted you to know what it felt like. We did about 3 runs with a skid stop. Remembering what they said was the most important....if you skid your rear ... keep it locked and skidding until you stop! Letting go increases your chances of a (forget the term) flipping over your bike when the tire grabs after letting off the brake in a skid if you are sideways at all.

[mrlmd1]

Getting "highsided" - getting violently thrown over the top of the bike when the back wheel regains suddenly traction and tries to straighten the bike out, and then having the bike come down on top of you after you hit the ground, sliding over the road. Very bad, dangerous accident.
Getting "lowsided" is sort of what happens when you brake with the wheel turned and you fall inside the turning circle with the bike over your leg if you can't get it out in time. Not as bad but can still lead to injuries depending on the speed, etc..

[Easy Rider]

Except that the fastest way to stop a bike is NOT to skid. It encourages bad habits.

Maybe yes, maybe no.
You never really know what is enough until you know what is too much.
In order to get a good feel for the absolute max. braking point, you must exceed it a few times, not by much, just a little.

[Water Warrior 2]

That clears it up a bunch. It initially sounded way of base but further explanation makes more sense of it now. It is good experience to know what a locked-up wheel/wheels feels like but hopefully under very controlled conditions. The fastest stop is threshhold braking with max breaking without lock-up occuring. A skidding tire has no real traction and far less overall control of the bike.

[Dupo]

Getting "highsided"

Thats it .... the term escaped me completely :??:

[mrlmd1]

Getting "highsided"

Thats it .... the term escaped me completely :??:

Glad I could help you out, after all the times you and the other guys here helped me out.
It's just oldtimer's disease, gets all of us eventually.:) :)