Locked up rear tire TWICE in last two weeks...

[albertaduke]

definitively true , the rear brake is best used a a speed trim or as a line modifier in turns but not for stopping ,without going in the maths of explanation one should not apply more than 15% of rear brakes in any stopping situation or sure enough it will lock up quickly .
of course the darkside tires are entirely a different game but in regular tire the brand makes no difference it will skid quickly

 

[CanberraR3]

What everyone else says. Can't really blame the equipment: you just need to get used to it. I've locked mine a couple of times in panic or hurried stops and actually think it's more to do with reflex. When driving a car - and they almost all have ABS these days - the imediate reflex action is to stomp on the pedal and I think that's what I did automatically on the bike a couple of times. It may well be true that the rear is more sensitive than on other bikes (there's a lot more weight to shift forward for a start) but that's not really the point. It boils down to understanding what happens when you do something and practice practice practice.

 

[atomsplitter]

definitively true , the rear brake is best used a a speed trim or as a line modifier in turns but not for stopping ,without going in the maths of explanation one should not apply more than 15% of rear brakes in any stopping situation or sure enough it will lock up quickly .
of course the darkside tires are entirely a different game but in regular tire the brand makes no difference it will skid quickly

Dark side isn't a cure for lock up. I'm a dark sider and I locked it when I had a bozo pull out in front of me. That 'panic' reaction locked up in a heart beat. I had to let go and use more front brake and steer the bike to avoid the collision (which I did). It's that initial stomp on the brake that will skid the tire because of the dynamics involved. Just get used to always going to the front brake first (you'll still panic react to the back as a reflex) but you'll quickly realize the error and correct before disaster (hopefully).

 

[HellFire]

I imagine that the howl from a darkside tire locking up might work better than the horn at getting the other drivers attention. LOL

 

[beatle]

change your brakes

i use to have this problem all the time
i'd barely touch the rears and it would skid
i switched to after market padds and it stopped
now i have to realy step on them hard to make it skid
i dont know why it worked but it did
i'm on my second set of after market padds
and i feel much safer

 

[HellFire]

i use to have this problem all the time
i'd barely touch the rears and it would skid
i switched to after market padds and it stopped
now i have to realy step on them hard to make it skid
i dont know why it worked but it did
i'm on my second set of after market padds
and i feel much safer

Are they sintered (metal impregnated) pads?
Plain organic material brake pads will grab well but don't stand up to alot of excessive heat. I like organic pads because they wear fast and don't wear the rotor hardly at all. Organics are typically cheap and readily available, I'd rather replace pads every 8,000 miles than ever have to buy a new rotor.

 

[albertaduke]

Are they sintered (metal impregnated) pads?
Plain organic material brake pads will grab well but don't stand up to alot of excessive heat. I like organic pads because they wear fast and don't wear the rotor hardly at all. Organics are typically cheap and readily available, I'd rather replace pads every 8,000 miles than ever have to buy a new rotor.

ideally one should consider sintered in front and organic in the back since all the braking is done by the front, the rear being only to modify a trajectory in a turn or staying put on an encline anybody using the rear brake for stopping even in panic better take some riding courses!!

 

[mjensen2k]

Thanks everyone for all the feedback. I pretty much figured it was user error, and I appreciate the info. I'm also pleased to hear I'm not the only one ;-).

Thanks again everyone!