when coming to a sudden stop, like when someone cuts you off or a light turns red. on the occasions when i have run into this situation, i feel as though my rear wheel hops. is there a better way/technique to apply the brakes to avoid this?
Not really. Unless you install a slipper clutch, you'll just have to use less rear brake and more front brake. If you feel the rear start to hop, ease up so it doesn't lock up.
Skids, hops or if I really need to slow down the rear is off the ground completely. Just gotta watch that you don't lift it too high or you'll suddenly either find that you're endoing and not decelerating very fast at all or your rear starts to come around on the side if you're not completely straight. The first time my rear tried to pass me on the side, after I panicked and grabbed the brakes, it unsettled the bike quite a bit and I ended up not stopping or turning but crashing. Damn, it still pisses me off royally. I can't believe I couldn't keep a cool head. After that I got help setting the suspension so the rear won't come up so easy anymore, but it still does when you're reallly trying to slow down, as in passing someone on the brakes or something. Haven't had any incidents on public roads lately.
What does slipper clutch have to do with it? It would not help if you used too much rear break. Sometimes I downshift fast and engine break when entering a corner. I had rear hop a few times, so for that slipper would have been great. I see 10R in my future.
heck with most current bikes you can get almost 100% of your stopping power out of just the front brake along....
had a pretty big issue last week when I went into a turn, paniced becaseu of gravel and accidently stomped on the rear brake...not fun to have your rear end step out mid turn and then catch again....kinda like bull riding....
I am with Andy, I use alot more front brake than rear. Hell most of the time I dont even know if the amount of rear brake that I use has any effect at all.
A forum community dedicated to all Kawasaki motorcycles including the ZX-6R, KLR 650, Ninja 250, Ninja 250R, and Vulcan. Come join the discussion about performance, modifications, troubleshooting, maintenance, and more!