what to look for, back tyre after skidding?

**sunhuntin** · 9th December 2005, 21:05

another near miss on the way home tonight via a country road. tootling along at about 60k [100k zone] wet roads. cars coming from opposite direction, i dip my lights. cars get closer, one behind the other. bugger me if the rear car doesnt come up beside the first on my side of the road. brakes go on, back end skids and fishtails slightly, luckily second car gets back in behind the first. they were going way over 100. i looked at car, then at the ditch, which is naturally where the bike went, but didnt end up in it, luckily.
i manage to get stopped and just sit for a while with headlight back on full and indicator going. move slowly back into town, back end feels weird. whether its me or not, im wondering what to look for in terms of wear to the back tyre, and anything else to look at. dunno how i didnt dump her, back end was going pretty wild.

FECKIN CAR DRIVING WANKERS!

**froggyfrenchman** · 9th December 2005, 21:09

You dont have the best luck with cages do you? check the wheel alignment.

**emaN** · 9th December 2005, 21:17

good to hear you 'rode away' from it all...
on a cambered road you'll feel more movement,factor in the wet and possibly crappy brown stuff and things definitely get exciting! have a play with your rear brake pedal 'sensitivity' & travel too - might help to 'soften' it.

**sunhuntin** · 9th December 2005, 21:25

froggy...yeh, thats what i was thinking. actually feeling tempted to hang up the keys for good.

eman...so do you mean fiddle with the rear brake? and keep riding?

**froggyfrenchman** · 9th December 2005, 21:29

its your choice, but dont give up on bikes just coz of a few bad incidents.

**sunhuntin** · 9th December 2005, 21:32

cheers frog.

ill check back tomorrow after work

**froggyfrenchman** · 9th December 2005, 21:38

see ya then

**emaN** · 9th December 2005, 22:08

you should be able to adjust it so there's some 'give' or 'softness' when you first go to hit the anchors. most times we kinda panic, jump on the brakes, then settle into the 'manouvre'. if we can 'soften' that first impulse reaction (as well as practice emergency stops) it could stop the rear locking...
make sense?

**Ixion** · 9th December 2005, 22:13

Nine times out of ten, a locked rear wheel (provided it's not mid corner) will scare the hell out of you but no worse. It's one of those things, like wind gusts , that feel real bad, but mostly aren't (There are always exceptions of course)

Personally, in emergencies , I just slam the back on and let it lock, whilst I concentrate on the front brake and figuring where to go. My logic is, that because of forward weight transfer , the back gets so light that the wheel if prolly going to lock unless you pay close attention to it. That attention can be better spent elsewhere.

**Karma** · 9th December 2005, 22:15

Originally Posted by Ixion

Nine times out of ten, a locked rear wheel (provided it's not mid corner) will scare the hell out of you but no worse. It's one of those things, like wind gusts , that feel real bad, but mostly aren't (There are always exceptions of course)

Personally, in emergencies , I just slam the back on and let it lock, whilst I concentrate on the front brake and figuring where to go. My logic is, that because of forward weight transfer , the back gets so light that the wheel if prolly going to lock unless you pay close attention to it. That attention can be better spent elsewhere.

I'm only new at this but wouldn't engine braking help as well? The back will only account for 25% ish of the braking power... but that might make the difference between stopping and dying.

**Ixion** · 9th December 2005, 22:22

Less than 25% in an emergency. How much braking does the rear wheel contribute in a stoppie? Sure, if you can keep the rear tyre at 15% slip, while doing the same with the front, avoiding lockup, and plotting a course to get to safety, go for it. I find that devoting my attention to avoidance, and front braking,pays better survival dividends. With modern brakes , odds are that if you're giving the front all it can handle, there's not going to be much weight (and thus not much stopping) at the rear. Those 25% figures date back to 7 inch SLS front brakes.

**Karma** · 9th December 2005, 22:28

True... I can see where you're coming from...

I've never had to emergency stop anyways... avoidance is always the best policy, but in a stopping scenario, every little helps.