Stopping on a sixpence?

Most of us need about a second to assess a hazard. We also need roughly a second to react.

At 60mph / 90kph we will travel roughly 88 feet before we can react to the hazard perceived. Add an additional 88 feet of 'reaction' distance while we implement the evasive action decided upon. Combine this with the stopping distance of your bike and you have the total distance it will take for you to come to a halt.

Say it takes your bike 150ft to stop at 60mph / 90kph then you have a total distance approaching 326 (88 + 88 + 150) feet that you will travel before stopping.

[magick]

Hi Ged

Thanks for that info - it has really made me think

[Trouble 61]

mmm....likewise. As a new rider and new to Harleys I don't always find it easy to judge stopping distance. I assume it will come with experience.

[Batman]

Wassa sixpence?
;)

Batman who was once an ol' s'Groat

[devil-uk]

somethin u find in xmas pud i think if ur old git !!

had many sports bikes with brakes that would throw u off if pulled too tight and a few bikes that hit brakes then wait for long delay before anythn happens,remember drum brakes in the wet lol brown trouser jobby eeeeeeeek !!

now i ride to best ability to state of roads and slow when needed especially in wet or damp conditions lessons learnt are you never know when some idiot will pull in front of you or kid will run out as happened to me few months back so now i ride safe and not like t@at on a mission.

keep safe people

[Moley]

How about if you have servo assisted, front and rear linked brakes with ABS fitted as standard ;)

I've found stopping distances vary wildly even between bikes of the same make. I wish Harley would actually bother to fit decent brakes across the range.

Modern bikes are much better than some of the previous models but, given that I ride an Aprilia with Brembos & a BMW with the system mentioed at the top of the page, my '01 Deuce falls way short of "modern" braking standards

[MjJack]

so whats the best brake system to fit to HD, sporty, or softail

[WildBill2566]

Yes stopping distances vary greatly depending on all sorts of things, in fact so many I cant be arsed to list em all and do not intend to insult your intelligence by doing so anyway.

The constant is that the best you can expect is a one second reaction time to an unexpected event which happens in front of your vehicle.

That means as an easy approximation 4.5m for every 10 mph.

So at even 50 mph if that unexpected event should happen in front of your vehicle, after 1 second you will still be travelling at 50 mph but you will be 22.5 meters nearer to the problem.

That is held as a given minimum, no matter how good a driver/rider you are.

However the important part is the 'unexpected' part of the situation. If you practice and improve your ability to spot and plan for hazards, then your chances of surviveing or even avoiding a collision at all are greatly improved, as now it is not an unexpected event.

The good thing is it isnt rocket science, anyone can do it, and the more you practice the better you become. I dont mean you have to over react to every potential hazard, just the ability to spot it and have a 'what if ' plan will drastically reduce the reaction time.

If more time were spent on risk assesment during driver training, a lot less people would be injured on our roads.

Originally Posted by WildBill2566

If more time were spent on risk assesment during driver training, a lot less people would be injured on our roads.

Among the most important pieces of advice for any biker! ;)

And constant reassessment of risk practices for all of us!

[Clive_Frog]

Coming from Sports bikes myself , with brakes "that do, what it say's on the tin" , this is like going back in time to my first Beezer.
And thats with braided hoses !