Two mistakes almost cost me my life...

[gat803]

Originally Posted by John Hopkins

....always remember it takes twice as long for a motorbike to stop than a car or truck....
John.

Not only is this ridiculous, it simply isn't true.

Braking distance depends on many factors. Road surface, dry or wet, brand/style/age of the vehicle, and rider/driver skill. The fact of the matter is that some bike/rider combinations will out brake most cars and some won't. On average the braking distance is just about the same car vs motorcycle.

Car vs motorcycle / stopping distance on Vimeo

From the MSF, see number 8...

For Car Drivers

Volvo Trucks & BESIP safety - breaking emergency test - YouTube

Volvo Trucks & BESIP safety - breaking emergency test - YouTube

There's lots more, but you get the idea....

[justinmahn]

Very informative on the video. I would say a bigger difference is being used to ABS in the car, where on bikes they are less commonplace. Also breaking in turns is more problematic for bikes.

[harpomatic]

So, what is the safe way to re-engage the locked-up rear wheel? I've done it myself every time, but cannot really analyze it - what have I been doing right? I read that you should not release it but ride it out, however, at some point you simply must re-engage - true or false? Admittedly, all my skids were slow speed ones, no severe stuff, so it makes me wonder...

[John Hopkins]

It takes me twice as long in wet weather or curves to stop my bike in an emergency than it does for me to stop a car, that is why I always allow four seconds between me and the vechicle in front.

John.

[justinmahn]

I've locked and unlocked before with no problem. I made sure I didn't get sideways, though. I think my briefs were a bit worse for wear.

Sent from my MB886 using Motorcycle.com Free App

[gat803]

Originally Posted by harpomatic

So, what is the safe way to re-engage the locked-up rear wheel? I've done it myself every time, but cannot really analyze it - what have I been doing right? I read that you should not release it but ride it out, however, at some point you simply must re-engage - true or false? Admittedly, all my skids were slow speed ones, no severe stuff, so it makes me wonder...

Like most things, there are degrees of truth in the "once it's locked leave it locked" school of thought, but it's not even close to 100%.

If you lock up the rear and it swings out to the side.....leave it locked until you can bring the rear back in line with the front. As long as the rear tire is in line with the front when you lock it, you can release with little problem.

[harpomatic]

how do you bring it back in line with the front? I must have done just that(few times), but so intuitively that I would not be able to explain it to myself if I think about it. Would be great to know consciously, what to do & not just rely on intuition, should it happen next time.

[frbob]

I agree John, I too leave about 4 seconds between me and the car in front. I've not done much riding in the rain but I add some more distance in those few cases. I had a major pucker moment on a wet road and a white stripe and a car too close. Now it's at least 4 car lengths between me and them.

[steed2death]

thanx for sharing.. i learned some lessons too

[meeve]

Originally Posted by harpomatic

how do you bring it back in line with the front? I must have done just that(few times), but so intuitively that I would not be able to explain it to myself if I think about it. Would be great to know consciously, what to do & not just rely on intuition, should it happen next time.

Turn into where your rear wheel is going. Change your centre of gravity. YMMV.