Check out my new bike?

Message

Mintbread · Sun Dec 31, 2006 3:22 pm

No traffic lights on a racetrack either.

80 odd % of braking is done with the front. To remove them for aesthetic reasons is madness.

Dragonhawk · Sun Dec 31, 2006 3:37 pm

Mintbread wrote:No traffic lights on a racetrack either.

80 odd % of braking is done with the front. To remove them for aesthetic reasons is madness.

But it's important to look like a "cool biker" when you fly into an intersection and get creamed by an SUV because you couldn't stop. Come on, man. Get your priorites straight. You gotta wear a beanie helmet and have no brakes and you'll look like such a tough badass getting reconstructive surgery to remove the Ford Excursion hood ornament from your left cheek.

#13 Unread post by **Koss** » Sun Dec 31, 2006 4:31 pm

The weight transfers forward because of momentum during any braking action. Less and less pressure and weight is being forced upon the rear tire, greatly reducing traction. With reduced traction you have to use less braking force. With less braking force the more the stopping distance increases.

Kal · #14 Unread post by **Kal** » Sun Dec 31, 2006 6:20 pm

Mintbread wrote:No traffic lights on a racetrack either.

80 odd % of braking is done with the front. To remove them for aesthetic reasons is madness.

Yeah but these are the same bikes that have wheelbases longer than most cars...

Besides back in the day everyone had drum brakes which give you plenty of time to pray before stopping anyway...

That is a pretty looking ride, shiney side up and safe rides.

qwerty · #15 Unread post by **qwerty** » Mon Jan 01, 2007 7:06 am

BWAAHAAHAAHAAHAAAA!!! Don't be lecturing me about motorcycle safety until you've survived 600,000+ miles as I have.

Nobody had brakes on dirttrackers in the olden days. The bikes were so light and manueverable it was easy to avoid collisions because everyone was pretty much going the same speed, anyway. If someone looked like they were about to lowside, they would slide outside anyway, so you could just enjoy the low groove and miss the carnage. Actual collisions or hitting a downed bike or rider were so rare I never saw either happen during my three years of racing.

There is a lot less weight transfer on a low-slung hardtail custom bike with a raked neck and 10-over springer than one would imagine if one is used to short wheelbase bikes sprung on both ends. It is VERY different from modern factory bikes, even stock cruisers. In fact, with a 2.75 front tire, any front brake at all could be considered fool-hardy as the tire would too easily lock.

The cure was a wide, sticky, low profile rear tire (think 180/60R16), and a powerful rear brake. Would such a bike stop as quick as a modern supersport? No. Would such a bike stop as quick as a modern cruiser? Pretty darn close. It would for sure stop better than some of the 250-500cc beginner bikes I've ridden.

However, brentw's bike does not have the attributes necessary for good performance from a single rear brake. He's smart enough to know that and has already stated his intention to remediate the problem.

#16 Unread post by **Koss** » Mon Jan 01, 2007 9:18 am

You know, having a hard tail custom thats really raked out for a crazy stable castor value, that would make sense. And with the narrow front tire, old compound and tread design technology, it wouldn't have as much traction to play with as we do today. So I could understand that too. But, those iron horses weren't known for their saftey, manuverability, or in city riding. I bet they sure were stable on the open interstate though! Could they ride in city? Sure, you just had to be smarter about it. So I just misunderstood that you were talking about this type of motorcycle, and not just cruisers in general.

Either way we all agree that on his bike its best to have the use a front brake in addition to the rear, and the OP already knew of this before hand. So best of luck to them! Safe ride and enjoy your motorcycle!

qwerty · #17 Unread post by **qwerty** » Mon Jan 01, 2007 8:31 pm

Those old choppers weren't too bad around town as long as you planned for broad turns. Their weight was carried very low so low speed handling, while not exactly crisp, was heavy but predictable. You'd never get one through the double u-turn box on a BRC course, though. Now, those fools who put 6-over to 10-over fork tubes on Japanese standard bikes without raking the neck, they died quickly.