First Legit Emergency Brake

[Hutchmaster34]

So last night, after 3 years of riding, I finally had to perform a very, very quick stop on the freeway. I always give myself plenty of room from other cars and always have a quick escape route in an emergency, but last night was my first exception. The scenario is really hard to explain but long story short I was coming out of a clover leaf exit and the right lane was was immediately closed, traffic was still going very quick. So I had to merge 2 lanes with some speed, and as I turned my head back from looking left a Jeep Cherokee in front of me was hitting his brakes hard (I could see his rear suspension lifting up) and faster than I thought I could think I was grabbing clutch and pulling in the brake as fast and smooth as I could while putting pressure on the rear brake. Managed not to lock up either wheel and kept the rear tire on the pavement and came to a stop 2 feet from the Jeeps bumper. Talk about an adrenaline rush

Anyways I was wondering to myself how close others have gotten to bumpers or maybe even tapped a bumper with out crashing. So if you have a story please post cause I'd love to read them.:rockon:

Oh and hers a pic of the clover leaf I was on, was going westbound on 494 and merging onto 35w south

 

[discgolfdude]

Good job, I don't practice enough at higher speeds, but I do at 25 and 35 mph. Your picture doesn't show up but just a block.

 

[VEGASRIDER]

Glad your mental skills kicked in. And for those who are not in the habit of using both brakes, that 10-15% aid from the rear brakes could have been the 2 foot difference of whether you would have rear ended the vehicle or not. Once again, can't stress the importance of muscle memory.

Now, your next legitimate test will be swerving vs braking. Riders often mistake grabbing a handful of brakes when there is clearly not enough stopping distance to stop the bike. So the only alternative is to swerve.

 

[Norbert]

good job! :thumbup::thumbup:

 

[Motohead]

Since motorcycles can outbrake cars by a large margin, just think if a car had been behind you. Scary thought. Thats why I always try to keep track of all the cars, in front and behind.

 

[clunk]

Since motorcycles can outbrake cars by a large margin, just think if a car had been behind you. Scary thought. Thats why I always try to keep track of all the cars, in front and behind.

I thought we had this debate a while ago and settled on motorcycles and cars with about the same stopping distances (with maybe a slight edge to cars).

 

[Kriswithak]

I thought we had this debate a while ago and settled on motorcycles and cars with about the same stopping distances (with maybe a slight edge to cars).

Hmmm every time I hear someone say that bikes have a better stopping distance, normally an experienced rider quickly corrects the person and warns of the dangers of this assumption.
3s rule in the dry, 6s in the wet, and making sure no ones tailgating you.

I had to emergency brake with a new front tyre one day and managed to stop in time, but then proceeded to not put my foot down fast enough in my shock. :spank:

 

[brad81987]

I need to practice more at high speeds as well. I've had to make a few quicker stops in town but I've avoided any on the highway so far. I keep plenty of distance, especially when traffic gets heavy.

I don't for half a second believe bikes can stop faster than cars. If anything I'd say they are equal. Cars may weight 8-12 times more than a bike, but they also have significantly more tire surface area in contact with the ground and equally proportionally large brakes.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

glad your mental skills kicked in. And for those who are not in the habit of using both brakes, that 10-15% aid from the rear brakes could have been the 2 foot difference of whether you would have rear ended the vehicle or not. Once again, can't stress the importance of muscle memory.

Now, your next legitimate test will be swerving vs braking. Riders often mistake grabbing a handful of brakes when there is clearly not enough stopping distance to stop the bike. So the only alternative is to swerve.

+1 on all the above!

As for stopping distance bike vs car, there are some variables (Corvette vs KLR) but the bike in general, with a good rider, will outstop a car, easily...

 

[brad81987]

+1 on all the above!

As for stopping distance bike vs car, there are some veriables (Corvette vs KLR) but the bike in general, with a good rider, will outstop a car, easily...

Two very important points. The type of car and the riders skills. I seriously wonder how many riders out there practice enough to make a safe emergency stop. The advantage cars have is drivers don't need to be expert brakers. Most cars on the road today have ABS so all the driver has to do is stomp on it and the car does the rest. Cars also have the ability to turn while braking.

 

[Kriswithak]

I'm pretty sure research has shown that motorcycles like cars all have different braking capabilities. There is no perfect answer to the question. But the idea that motorcycles have vastly better stopping distance isn't really accurate and certainly is dangerous.

This aside motorcycles have ALOT more to worry about when braking than cars, since generally a car driver just slams down the brake and either skids to a stop (no ABS) or relies on the ABS to eventually stop them. If they hit something they are in a metal box and thats what they have insurance for.

 

[niben001]

I was on west broadway through Crystal last summer when they redid the pavement. I was going about 30 in the left lane and hadda crawler to my rear left and a car about 15 ft in front. We are going along fine when the front vehicle decides to turn left NOW I had no choice but to flick it hard to the right and hope the crawler behind right saw me. He did and I didn't need to post an accident report thread.

 

[RDly]

Bikes brake faster than cars? Is there any evidence to support this?

 

[Tailgate]

I recommend tailgating but not the traffic behavior type. If you, on your bike, and the motorist in back of you also is tailgating, you should double check your life insurance policy and make sure it's adequate. Remember, it doesn't make a whole lot of difference why a motorist in front of you suddenly slams on the brakes, you are responsible for maintaining adequate stopping distance. Most motorists are tailgaters and don't realize how quick one can get caught off guard. (lecture over)

 

[robaho]

Glad to hear that everthing worked out for ya on the emergency stop! That whole area is a real mess right now with all of the construction going on just north of there.