Hey dummy, look ahead for brake lights!

[greatmaul]

Wow glad you are ok! Panic stops on the highway are definitely no fun, and I think that's where a lot of motorcycle fatalities take place. Good job getting off the road and that the idiot behind you didn't hit you.

Oh, and good lesson, too, that no matter what lane you're in for whatever reason, give yourself enough space to stop. I find that in rush hour traffic on the highway, I feel very pressured to keep up with the vehicle ahead of me so that people won't think I'm slowing the pace down. I often ride too close in these situations, so this warning is definitely well taken.

And mrmld1 is correct. Always beware of highsiding!

[Water Warrior 2]

I have sucessfully locked up the rear wheel and released it without mishap. I was practicing emergency braking on a flat straight piece of asphalt with no traffic. Luckily the rear wheel did not move out from a straight line of travel and the wheel was only locked up for a moment or 2. Practice emergency braking with the idea of not locking the rear wheel. Yup, it is kinda hard to do but progressive rear wheel braking will be a bonus when you really need it. The front will always do most of the braking but the rear adds that extra 20% that may save your butt. I have dodged a lot of deer with no dire results and no locked wheels. But I really gotta say a really tall moose adds to the pucker factor 10,000%.

[northsidegz]

Originally Posted by mrlmd1

You said you started to lose the back tire twice but you recovered it. What did you mean? If the back tire starts to skid you have to keep on the brake so you don't highside when the tire regains traction. If you let off the rear brake when it slides you risk a disaster. When the front skids you let off the brake a bit, but keep standing on the rear if that one lets loose until the bike slows to a crawl or you absolutely straighten out in a perfectly straight line and have total control.

Yeah, after it happened, I did have a moment of thought, "Crap, I wasn't suppose to let off the brake like that when it started, was I?" I feel very fortunate nothing worse happened. I braked quickly and at the very instant I felt the bike start to slide to the right from behind (I'm talking very minimally slide), I let them go and then reapplied.

....much like you do with a car that starts to slide at an icy stop sign. I basically started to let those instincts take over (coming from MN, I suppose that makes sense).

....so it started to slide in the back, I let off the brakes. Then reapplied them relatively quickly right away. I started to slide AGAIN and let off the brakes AGAIN and then finally when I applied them a third time I was nearing completing the braking and was able to apply them a third time without additional sliding.

I rode my bike for the first time this morning and needless to say I made sure I was cautious despite the tailgater in the SUV behind me. :whistle: