Emergency braking

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Bad'Tude

New member
I'm not a speed demon by any means (usually, haha), but I saw an interesting quote from Nick Ienatsch recently about emergency braking. He said, "If you're going to ride at 100 miles an hour, you need to practice braking at 100 miles an hour." Have y'all ever tried to do that? I have and it's definitely out of my comfort zone, but I thought it might make some good food for thought for anyone who likes to get it up there.
 
Knox

Knox

New member
Nick lenatsch is an amazing racer and instructor. What he says makes sense, but I worry that it would be bad for the bike's mechanical parts. Seems like it would cause extra stress on the brakes and you'd need to do it more than once to become comfortable with breaking at 100 miles an hour.
 
Santiago Red

Santiago Red

New member
That's one of the many reasons I want to replace my Kawasaki Ninja with an Indian FTR 12000 S-model. Buying a bike like this, you want to go fast and push it to its limits. Nick lenatsch gives sound advice and I can't wait to work on it.
 
Zigg

Zigg

New member
It's a bit of interesting advice for sure. I've had people told me to always test the limits of my brakes, especially as I get more comfortable with high speed. Knox, if only someone could test it for us so we know how often we could practice before trusting our instinct!
 
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Rikosintie

Member
Knox said:
Nick lenatsch is an amazing racer and instructor. What he says makes sense, but I worry that it would be bad for the bike's mechanical parts. Seems like it would cause extra stress on the brakes and you'd need to do it more than once to become comfortable with breaking at 100 miles an hour.
Click to expand...

I would respectfully disagree. I have a 2010 Ducati that I purchased new. It has Brembo brakes and I love braking hard and doing stoppies on it. I don't brake 100 - 0, usually 100 to 65 hard, stoppies from 65 and lots of stops on a particular downhill from 85 to 0 (stop sign). In 9 years I have just done regular fluid replacement/bleeding and two sets of pads. The Brembo pads are pricey, I went with EBC HH rated pads and they work well. The next time I am going to try the EBC Race compound.

The FTR has Brembos, they are THE high-performance brake company, I wouldn't worry at all about braking to the limit as often as you want. I think every European high-performance sportbike has Brembos (even Honda finally gave in on the literbike) and 100 isn't close to what those bikes do on a track day.

One thing to note, I have found that with the stock tires you can easily engage the ABS on the front. I'm still working on getting the FTR's rear wheel off the ground!

As you said, the more you practice the less likely you are to panic if an emergency hard stop is needed.

And finally, I bought a high-performance motorcycle. I expect to spend more on wear items in trade for that ear to ear grin:)
 
Max Kool

Max Kool

Well-known member
About engaging the ABS on the front, actually you can do that on any front tire. The stock tires may not be the best available, but they're not bad. They have a soft compound rubber and offer good grip. On any tire you need to build up pressure on the front tire gradually before you can brake really hard.

There's mainly three things the stock should be better at:
  • Lean. They run out of tire surface about when your shoes touch the road. Still plenty of grip in that situation. For street riding these tires are sufficient for most. Track demons will most likely run out of edge grip at some point.
  • Wear. As the rubber is a softer compound they assumably won't last long. On my bike the front wears even quicker all the way to the sides, than the rear. We'll see.
  • Behaviour on longitudinal grooves. The bike becomes squirrely in concrete freeways. Doesn't concern me personally, but yes, it's there.
I'm riding them edge to edge (who doesn't?), and deliberately try to throttle out of corners soon. They never surprised me.


And actually, most other option rear tires are lower section than the stock (150/70 or 160/60 vs 150/80 stock). I expect them to give better feel but a harsher ride (as confirmed by those who switched to A41's). Less tire wall to squirm I guess.


These DT3-R's are already getting the same reputation as the Trailwing 41/42 on the DR650 ("Deathwing"), which are really good tires for street riding. In fact, if anyone has take off FTR tires, give me ping. I may buy them from you.

ps, front wear, they wear the most right on the outer blocks... (pic taken after first canyon ride at 150 miles on the ODO)

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Rikosintie

Member
I am pretty happy with the stock tires. I like the look and as you say, "No Surprises."

I have never had a bike with electronics before so it was interesting to feel the lever pulse.

On my Duc with Dunlop Q3s I have never had the front lock, the rear wheel comes up before I notice any vague feeling in the front. But, it's a motard so it's much shorter and lighter than the FTR.
 
Max Kool

Max Kool

Well-known member
Yeah, the center of gravity of the FTR is pretty low, so lifitng the front rear may take a little more effort. I do know you can.
 
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Rikosintie

Member
Lifting the front is no problem, a stoppie is what I'm after:)

I haven't had time to get out of town and work on it. I have seen a guy on youtube doing a serious stoppie on the FTR. I couldn't do what he is doing if I mounted a road racing slick on the front!

Ripping Raw on the FTR 1200

On the Hyper it's just a matter of picking a smooth section of road and squeezing the lever!
 
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Rikosintie

Member
Lifting the front is no problem, just whack the throttle in 1st gear. A stoppie is what I'm after:)

I haven't had time to get out of town and work on it. I have seen a guy on youtube doing serious stoppies on the FTR. I couldn't do what he is doing if I mounted a road racing slick on the front!

Ripping Raw on the FTR 1200

On the Hyper it's just a matter of picking a smooth section of road and squeezing the lever!
 
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