Brake Augmentation. This is the art of replacing the amount of braking force from the back brake, with a similar amount from the front brake without upsetting the balance of the bike. Let's say that the front brake is ten times stronger than the rear, so 1 unit of front brake application is worth 10 units of rear brake application. We have all noticed hopw quickly the rear brake 'fades' under heavy use, so in order to have the optimum braking for the entire attack, we need to use the front brake just enough to keep the rear from becoming useless. Top riders will tend to use just one finger on the front brake lever (usually the middle) so that they have a very high degree of brake control without running the risk of using too much and losing the front. This is an 'advanced' technique, but can be practiced readily enough, but only with the bike travelling in a straight line to begin with. Whizz along at a steady speed and apply enough rear brake to reduce the speed by about 10%. Slowly release the pressure on the rear brake lever whilst at the same time adding a small amount of pressure to the front. If you are doing it right there should be no variation in the speed. Try the technique at different speeds and with varying amount of rear brake pressure. Eventually you should be able to apply maximum rear brake and then almost immediately replace it with sufficient front brake. By getting this technique right you will save your rear brake from fading during an attack so it is always there when you need it.
Pffffft. Sounds like a doddle. We've gotten ourselves into a whole new level of bike riding guys! Cheers MGman. I had the same question.
Hey you all. Been out of the loop for some time. Storm Sandy screwed up all of my regular practice locations, and the few times that I was able to get out, I ended up just bouncing from one place to another, without any actual practice being done, and just cruising (which was nice in itself). On a positive side, my friend finally sorted out his bike and now I have someone to ride with. Unfortunately he is not prepared for winter riding, so as the temperatures drop, he will have to wait for the spring, or get some cold weather gear. What is everybody up to? I'm seeing some great posts and explanation on front braking, which always warms my heart I'm seeing some course diagrams, which is always awesome! How are you all doing on GP8 times? Any progress, plateuing, exciting crashes? AMGRASS guys are getting some action on their boards too, with more people joining, posting, and sharing. Which is awesome! I'm going to have the next week off, so will try to get out as much as I can, and find a good spot. I have new tires on my bike, which I still don't trust. Had a small slide during one of the recent outings on a lot, and then was asked to leave by local security, so didn't get a chance to really scrub in those tires. Hopefully this week will get rid of the chicken strips. Oh, what can I do to reducing the screeching of the new brake pads??? My rear screams like a banshee.
I thought squeaky brakes was de rigeur? I'm guessing the caliper was cleaned & lubed when they were changed? Make sure the pads are seated correctly & moving freely on the pins. Check the disc for scoring or warping too. Check the disc carrier & hub mounts too for slop or any damage. If all is hunky dory whip the pads out & give them a good rub on some smooth concrete to speed up the bedding in process. Nothing to report on the wobbling front but I have managed to squeeze in some adventure riding on both bikes. Took me 2 hours to get a pie the other day. Not sure if it's a side effect of the practice but I feel much happier sliding the portly, 240kg, TDM around on gravel. Might just have been a burst of sap now that summer has arrived & it's getting hawt!
Squeaky... yes. But mine literally do scream like banshee. Not only that, but the whaling attracts a lot of unwanted attention. I'll take them out to see if I find anything abnormal about them.
So I went out to the local HS parking lot today to give this stuff a try. Wow, harder than I expected. I just set up a GP8 and did maybe 50 laps. I never did get to full lock, but I did try to drop the bike a couple of times due to slow thinking and confused control inputs. Going back tomorrow...
Squeaky brakes can be a real problem and it's always difficult to find and remove the cause. Brakes can squeak because of several well known problems, not all of which are obvious. A really useful guide to finding and eliminating brake noise has been put together by our friends at EBC. http://www.ebcbrakes.com/troubleshooting.shtml
Thanks to Harvey Krumpet for rubbing in the fact that while the residents of the southern hemisphere sweat it out, we in the frozen north do exactly that, freeze.
I can't modify fonts sizes on tapatalk. if I could, I would make "going back tomorrow" size 48pt and underline it with fire ! when you get full lock, and feel the back tire get greasy... THAT is the good stuff... when you see your buds pushing (and recovering from) the front tire sideways, awesome. keep it up man !
i'm sorry, posted with a sense of relief not cruelty. I believe there are a number of frozen inland sea's in the UK at the moment? The down side is by lunch time it's too hot to do anything including riding a bike, particularly at gymkhana speeds in full gear.
Currently for me, recovering from losing the front involves picking the bike up off the ground & whacking the handlebars straight again before my next lap.
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/0V9GVXydp3c" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
The Aprilia rider making riding in the wet look easy is Fumikatsu Nakamura and as well as being a fantastic rider, he also is responsible for filming all of the JAGE events in Japan. His company is called Motobito and has a huge catalogue of videos from previous events. See www.motobito.com
Now what was it I was saying about it doesn't matter what type of bike you ride in Moto Gymkhana? Check this dude out as he makes hustling a mighty Goldwing look as easy as riding a moped. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/cILWQIjXTd0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
:eek1 That's impressive to say the least. Would have been monumental if he had some bangin tunes on the stereo too. Mind you, it would detract from the sound of graunching metal.
Haha, this is funny. I just got the recent issue of the "Cycle World" magazine, and there is Q&A section and one of the readers was asking if its a wise choice to reduce a wheel size, because his new bike feels extremely wobbly and top heavy during parking lot maneuvers. His local mechanics, have advised him to go one size smaller (diameter) on the front wheel, which "should" improve slow speed characteristics of the bike, while not taking away from highway cruising..... I'm pretty sure he has no idea what "top heavy" bikes are really capable of. Thumbs up to the video.
i think he needs suspension adjustments rather than wheel modifications, and rider training, maybe a clue
Ohhh shit, bad mechanic, owner asking for advice from a stealership (its a motomag, after all) and bad advice all in one. No one mentioned riding more, or training? Someone shove a gang of cheapskates that ride a shit ton his direction quick !