Lock up front tire? How common?

[ImolaFem]

Today I was commuting to work on I25 in DTC when a pickup truck put on his blinker and started to merge into my lane. He was ready to sideswipe me doing 65 MPH but then finally looked at me. When I was assured he wasn't going to be running me over I looked ahead again, just in time to see bright brake lights on the truck infront of me. I was about 10 yards away from the truck at this time and grabbed all sorts of front brake.

This caused my tire to lock up and squeal like crazy. I felt the rear of the bike lift off the ground and start to rotate to the right. I thought I was going to highside and be run over.....but finally I slowed down enough to let off the brake and the bike settled down just fine. I however, was not calm. I'd never done a stoppie on purpose before, much less at 65 mph on accident! Luckily my body reacted naturally and shifted weight to the back left of the bike when I felt it going right. I went from 65 to 15 mph in about 10 yards it seemed. I think my rear tire was in the air the whole time.

My question is , I just put on these tires a couple of weeks... Dunlop D220s and this is the 2nd time I've hit the front brake hard on the interstate and heard a squeal from the front tire. This never happened on my Pilot Sports before. Am I just feeling more confident and braking harder? Are these tires not gripping as well and thus squealing? Or was it two uncommon panic situations which caused this and I shouldn't worry about tire quality?

[ebazyl]

I guess it depends, I locked up a front tire during a race at Barber, so I guess it happens. Usually it is caused by grabbing the brakes in an unsmooth manner. Which might acually not slow you down as rapidly.

...glad you are aiiight though.

[Feathered upstart!]

It likely has to do with the new tire being more touring oriented. Meaning its harder for longer life and as I'msure your aware, the harder the compound of the tire the less mechanical grip it has. So this tire does not have the same level of grip that your old tires did. It take less force to cause it to slip.
I'm sure you'll get used to the new compound and develop a feel for the braking soon.
Its nothing to worry about really.

[Mista Black]

the 220 dont grip as well and therefore are more prone to slide. my bike has ABS and i activate it all the time on front (you can hear a nice chirping from the front when it's doing it). you did it right.

on my old bike (no ABS) i would intentionally lock up the front at stops if no one was around just to get used to the feel of it, so when i really needed to haul it down it wouldnt surprise me.

[ImolaFem]

Thanks Jeff. I think I'll be gettin used to locking it up more often. I was suprised at how comfortable my body felt while the bike was sliding and up on one wheel. If only my brain could be that calm too =)

[Anonymous]

When you decide that those 220's are shit, let me know. I have some sets of Pilot Powers in the garage right now you'd like.

[Mista Black]

dont listen to ralph.... he's a dunlop basher

honestly i wish i could afford pilot powers or 208's, but they just dont last enough miles. i'm getting 6000 from the 220s and fairly happy about that. i doubt i'd get more than 3 from a set of real sport tires. and that's about 2 weeks (or less) riding this summer...

[Anonymous]

It's quite possible that, since you were in a panic situation, you didn't get off the gas (& let the front end settle) before grabbing the handful of front brake. This lightness (of the front end) could've caused the squealing until the forks compressed & the rubber heated up enough to grab & lock the wheel. Just a thought.

[RAGrote]

Sssssssscccaaaaaape... scrape, crack.....

The sounds you didn't hear. Good...

[Anonymous]

Consider yourself luck.
Don't follow so fucking close. Your riding is writing checks that your skills aren't prepared to cash.

This Top Gun moment brought to you by RAGrote...

[R1chie]

The other option when it does not look like you can stop is to aim for the white line and ride between the cars or head for the shoulder. I had a similar situation, and I was headed down hill so the bike increased the breaking distance. I knew I could not stop so I rode the white line. Just another tool in the toolbox to avoid accidents. In traffic school this is called an escape route and should always be looked for in case you cannot stop.

[Desmo]

Consider yourself luck.
Don't follow so fucking close. Your riding is writing checks that your skills aren't prepared to cash.

O shit that is fucking rude… if you have nothing nice or informative to say.. best to keep shut.. She just asked a question.. not for some smart ass comments..

[Desmo]

The other option when it does not look like you can stop is to aim for the white line and ride between the cars or head for the shoulder. I had a similar situation, and I was headed down hill so the bike increased the breaking distance. I knew I could not stop so I rode the white line. Just another tool in the toolbox to avoid accidents. In traffic school this is called an escape route and should always be looked for in case you cannot stop.

just dont do it when the white line is wet... or else your in for a nice slide

[ImolaFem]

It's quite possible that, since you were in a panic situation, you didn't get off the gas (& let the front end settle) before grabbing the handful of front brake. This lightness (of the front end) could've caused the squealing until the forks compressed & the rubber heated up enough to grab & lock the wheel. Just a thought.

That's possible, but I don't think that happened because the squealing occured until I got off the brake which would cause the weight to settle back to the rear. I think its just the grippiness of these tires vs what was on the bike before so I'll need to practice insanely fast stops like Jeff to get used to it.

Hell, I'll just start stunting so a stoppie is no big deal :P

[ImolaFem]

When you decide that those 220's are shit, let me know. I have some sets of Pilot Powers in the garage right now you'd like.

Nah, I don't do track time on this bike, I don't need something that wears away in 3000 miles when I ride 140 miles a day at least :P

[RAGrote]

O shit that is fucking rude… if you have nothing nice or informative to say.. best to keep shut.. She just asked a question.. not for some smart ass comments..

Look ass wad... If somebody - like me - pulled some of you noobs aside and said "now you need to stop and think about WHY that happened and what YOU can do to prevent it in the future" more of you will be alive at the end of this year.
Unfortunately youth knows all.

If a person needs to use the brakes to the point of lock up they might want to truthfully evaluate the situation that caused that to happen and seriously think about how to avoid it in the future.

I'm glad she avoided catastrophe but I'll bet she doesn't know what caused it.

Rider error is indicated.

And telling her... Oh gosh, that a$$hole cut you off... oh man you poor girl, gosh why would anybody stop that quickly in front of you....
That isn't doing her a darn bit of good....

So if YOU have something to help her, then post it... otherwise - go play with your leggos.

[Mista Black]

Gosh!! can you feel the love?? i can feel the love!!

10 years ago, before it got over populated with yuppie scum, a friend and i used to go out to black forest and practice our HARD braking. we only ever got talked to by one cop about it. we weren't doing stoppies, but rather trying to stop as fast as we possibly could in a controlled environment. that one cop told us it was a damn good idea and we should carry on

it does help to be used to it and doing it (with practice or lots of close calls) is the only way to do it. and next time, dont give the guy a dirty look for quite so long. always keep one eye pointed to where you're headed.

yes yes i know i just said RA is right in that regard. pilot error was a factor here but she's IS trying to learn from her mistake, too, RA... give a little credit where it's due.

[~Barn~]

Grote misspelled "Legos"



Glad you are alright Imola. There's lots of conjecture we can add as to why this happened, but the main thing is that you don't find yourself in this spot too frequently.

And even though Grote's comment was void of any tact, it does have value. As much as you can, try and keep yourself in traffic "spots" where danger is minimized. Use the bikes acceleration capability to keep you in traffic zones where full-zoot braking will be unlikely.

And even better, practice that stuff when you're out on lonesome deserted streets sometime.

There is no replacement for "comfort", when having to do panic'esq riding.

[R1chie]

O shit that is fucking rude… if you have nothing nice or informative to say.. best to keep shut.. She just asked a question.. not for some smart ass comments..

Look ass wad... If somebody - like me - pulled some of you noobs aside and said "now you need to stop and think about WHY that happened and what YOU can do to prevent it in the future" more of you will be alive at the end of this year.
Unfortunately youth knows all.

If a person needs to use the brakes to the point of lock up they might want to truthfully evaluate the situation that caused that to happen and seriously think about how to avoid it in the future.

I'm glad she avoided catastrophe but I'll bet she doesn't know what caused it.

Rider error is indicated.

And telling her... Oh gosh, that a$$hole cut you off... oh man you poor girl, gosh why would anybody stop that quickly in front of you....
That isn't doing her a darn bit of good....

So if YOU have something to help her, then post it... otherwise - go play with your leggos.

I agree, the only real way to rear end someone is to be follow to close. She did not rear end the car so she was not too close. Giving more than 2 seconds in the 2 second rule is good advise.

Your comment is so rude and in the form of a personal attack and name calling that the person would not even consider what you had to say. If that was your intent, you were successful. If it was to effect change or help, you failed. Do you talk to your wife like this or are you already divorced

[R1chie]

I did not realize you called Desmo an "ass wad" so my question to you is when are you going to grow up and stop calling people names? This is not pre school. And if you are as old as you say you are then you should know better.

[ImolaFem]

Grote, I've never met you and maybe you're less of an asshole in person but that was extremely uncalled for. Obviously I ended up a lot closer than I wanted to be to the truck in front of me. Do I want to be that close to traffic going 65 mph down I25? Hell no. I ended up off my right line because I had to merge into the middle of the lane due to the pickup truck trying to sideswipe me so that out out was gone. I was watching the sideswiping pickup so I didn't see what I had on the left of me and when I looked forward I was a lot closer than I was before I looked away. Shit happens, you find yourself in tight spots. I'm plenty smart enough to know how to avoid them, but I'm not perfect.

I was more concerned about tire quality and braking feel than anything with this post. But everyone likes to tell their war stories, so there it is. Get over yourself and get that chip off your shoulder.

[Mista Black]

Shit happens, you find yourself in tight spots.

no no... WE find ourselves in tight spots... he's made it clear in previous posts that he's never, not even once, had an accident of ANY kind on a bike... and i'd assume that includes any dirt bikes he's ridden and parking lot drops and the like... he's obviously at a higher state of perfection than us mortals. :P

[Dysco]

My take on the whole thing may be different from most riders. I tend to move through traffic instead of with it. When somebody goes to cut me off, I get out of the way first and give dirty looks later or not at all.

If someone cuts me off and I have a few feet of clearance, I take their old spot if there are no other options. Riding the line is always an option but a better one is braking with less force, shifting to the side of the lane and moving alongside the vehicle in front of you. That way you can change lanes if the option exists and you get more pavement out of the deal. I'm pretty comfortable sitting a few feet from a bumper in moving traffic, though. Other riders have commented on it too many times to count- an indicator that my methods aren't for everyone- but the technique that works best for me is braking as little as possible and moving constantly to avoid prolonged exposure to "problem vehicles". (I've heard that this is a trait with ADD riders who wiggle a lot to stay focused)

That said, if you stayed upright and got home safely, you did a great job regardless of funny noises, bad technique or soiled undies. We ALL have 'oh shit' moments ALL the time where we could have done something better. The trick is to figure out what you did wrong and address that. You've done that and have decided you should practice panic stops- that's something we should all practice them- every time I get a new bike, the first thing I test is the stopping distance- there are marks all over my street from it. Adjusting to the bike and the tires is critical but so is lane choice, speed and awareness of your surroundings.

<edit to take out the war story feel >
I have had tires whine before on the track but they were for different uses and sizes than what I had them on- I always figured that if they stuck to the pavement they were doing their job. I figure if you kept the bike up, noise or not, they worked fine. I would check tire pressure in the front, though. I have a ton of experience riding with tires that shouldn't have been on the road and I got around just fine. Don't worry about the noises- if they work, they work. If the noise freaks you out, go with a different tire.

[Feathered upstart!]

Don't mind RA, he is just dumber than a bag of hammers and loves to show it.