so I finally got my 07 zx6 broken in fully and that thing is a beast. The first time I opened it up on the highway, I felt as if I was flying lol.Then I pulled to the side of the road and noticed my leg was twitching (I'm guessing from the excitement mixed in with the nervousness), but a great experience none the less.
But this brings me to my question. I was on the street and opened up the throttle to really see if it goes 0-60 in about 3 seconds or so (which it does ), but I was approaching a yellow light and I tried to brake (with the front and rear brake)so I wouldn't go through it and pass through an intersection when cars would start moving from the opposite end. I used the front and the rear brake and for some reason I felt like my rear tire was gliding somewhat and pushing me sideways. Why did that happen? Was I not squeezing the front brake hard enough or what? My tires were warmed up already and it was a warm day so I am a little stunned.
And I have one more question.When I am on (for example) 4th gear and I am moving at a decent amount of speed andI try to brake hard with the front and rear brake, the front of my bike begins to jolt back and forth. Is that normal or should I be on a lower gear when I try to brake hard?
Thanks

 

Not sure if I understand your question fully or not but...

If you are going to do any kind of serious braking up front I'd recommend staying off the rear brake altogether. It shifts all the weight up front leaving nothing at the rear of your bike. This will usually cause the rear tire to lock up if rear brake is applied. Without the weight on it, it contributes very little stopping power at that point and becomes a liability if you lock it up. This could lead to a high side once it regains traction.

Once again I may not have understood your question 100% so if you find that not helpful feel free to keep asking and I'm sure the real pros on here can give you a much better answer to your question.

BTW I'm actually a big fan of the rear brake, it just serves different situations better than others. Sometimes I only use that brake and other times I don't use it at all depending on what the situation is. (Basically if I for whatever reason need to do a speed correction while in a turn. I'll use the back since using the front could lead to a low side.)

 

I agree with The Mav.. in normal riding, as in going the speed limit, i will use the front and rear combination when doing normal braking. If i need to slow down fast i mostly use the front because i find that i have very little breaking power in the rear.

In turns, i only use the back no matter what. If i start to slide in the turn i just let the back off a bit and it sorts itself out.

 

rear brakesare imortantwhen you get off the track and you hit dirt.

 

Thanks for the responses. So ifI want to brake fast, just use the front brake.

But in the MSF course why do they teach you to emergency brake with the front and rear brake. The front provides 75% braking power and the rear provides 25%. So if you apply 100%, shouldn't the bike stop faster. Can someone explain the forces acting on the bike when both brakes are applied? (Just out of curiousity)

And my other question,"When I am on (for example) 4th gear and I am moving at a decent amount of speed andI try to brake hard with the front and rear brake, the front of my bike begins to jolt back and forth. Is that normal or should I be on a lower gear when I try to brake hard?"

Thanks again.

 

the only reason why ppl use rear brake...is when they are geared really high and want to keep the front wheel down..the rear brake is only one disc...the front has two...so as the others said brake more or all with front brake...the rear brake comes in handy when wheelies are happening...

but be cautions when using too much front brake or you will stoppie or endo...use both brakes when you are in town not going to fast...on the free way use one tenth of the front brake pressure on the rear brake...in other words if you press down with 20 lb/ pressure on the front...only do 2 lb/s on the rear...

also using a combination of down shifting and braking you will come a custom to using more engine braking then regular braking...saves money on brake jobs...

as you progress in years of riding you will find that engine braking enough will help alot...like when you are white lining...if you are in low rpms...or in too high of a gear...you won't be able to stop if some one sweaves in front of you...but if you say are in a higher rpm...and lower gear...you can let off of the throttle to increase engine braking making a successful way to stay out of dangerous sitiuations....

furthermore there is a downfall to it...you will learn that if you are in a high rpm...and in a low gear...say like 2nd...you will have to apply brakes before you shift down to first...because the slipper clutch isn't that great...and it will become unstable...

bottom line when it comes to braking downshifting can be your ally...

 

Thanks...this was all very helpful information. Its a beautiful day out today so I think I'm going to try to apply all the advice I was given when I go fora ride. Its going to be around 71

 

Downshifting and/orengine braking is the same as using the rear brake becausethe engineslows down the rear wheel. The rear brake is good for getting out of some situationsand as a back-up. You felt the reartire gliding because that is exactly what it was doing. Your forks bottomed out and all the weight was transferred to the front.The reason your bike jolts back & forth is most likely due to not enough preload in the front forks. Read the Sport Rider or Race-Techarticle about setting your Suspension Sag and follow the directions. Also the MSF statement about brakingis inaccurate. (75-25%). The more you squeeze on the front brake, the more weight transfer & percentage of braking is done by the front. So it's proprtional to the amount of braking force you apply. Just like stoppies use 100% braking by the front brake.

 

Thank you very much speedracer. You completely answered my questions and i finally understand whathappened with my bike . Now, I'm going to take a look at that article.