what are you guys doing ? dual calipers ? single calipuer upgrade? upgrade pads ? upgraded rotor ?
i need more initial bite when slowing down in emergency situation (cruising at 80 and slowing down to half that speed in the shorest amount of time as possible ?
im open to anything- including a stiffer front end.

 

80 in Brooklyn... Well.. lol.. Did you make sure your existing set up is functioning correctly? If your chops aren't up to par why ya riding 80?

 

A set of Galfer sintered pads mated to a Galfer rotor and a braided brake line will give you much improved braking over the stock setup. I am running all of that in a Brembo caliper with custom bracket to mate it to stock fork legs. The setup isn't cheap but my bike stops better than any HD I have ever been on...You could try all of that in a stock caliper and get very very good results.

 

I went with dual discs and a pair 6 piston calipers. Cost was around $2k. Need to find an Indy that can do fabrication. I used the same Fat Boy wheel, road king fork legs, Drag Specialty cow bells. The road king fork legs are shorter than the fat boy for legs. Need a master brake cylinder off a touring bike.

 

You mention "riding skill."

How is your braking skill?

Practice?

Initial "bite" is ok in non panic situations, but what about when your adrenalin gets pumping when you are hard on the binders for an emergency stop/slow? You may not have the hand sensitivity you want to modulate the brake lever.

Remember, we do in an emergency, what we practice.

 

VERY nice set up. For future reference whom supplied.you with the caliper? I have a bracket and Brembo from QTMI and can't believe how much better that Brembo works compared to a high dollar popular 6 piston.

 

It would be nice to know what, specifically, you find deficient with your front brakes. Generally though, you may want to have your brakes serviced and/or replace brake line fluid if it hasn't been done within the past couple of years and check your pads.

You are correct in identifying the front suspension as a possible issue. This thread is directed at Breakout owners but could easily apply to you too:

https://www.hdforums.com/forum/softa...ools-tips.html

I've done the Ricor / RaceTech upgrade and it improved my braking ability noticeably. Needless to say it improved riding and handling characteristics too. For heavy and/or aggressive riders, HD's front suspension is notoriously soft.

I'd recommend you do these mods before moving on to more expensive options which would require these changes in order to function optimally in any case.

 

I went with a 13" disc and 6 piston caliper from PM to find the braking capabilities I was looking for. Also went with a progressive monotube front to limit the dive. Very happy with the results

 

what size tire do you have up front? IMO the stock caliper will lock up that skinny 21" 90/90 tire way too easily.

 

Dual disc do not stop you faster. The tire and its compound does. A single disc H-D can lock up the front tire.

What is needed is emergency braking training and experience.

First feed in pulling the front lever. Then as the front end dives increase pressure until the front is bottomed at that point the tire has the most traction and can accept the strongest lever pull.

Do the same thing with the rear brake. Light initial and heavier.

Never stab either brake. Modulate them both.

There is a school in Calif. that teaches braking only. The program finds that the average rider brakes and decelerates at 0.4 g's. At the end of the class they are at 9 g's.

I have a 07 FXSTC since Sept of 06. It has never been an issue from speed to bring it down.

There is one practice that can be done at home. Walk your bike along in neutral and grab the front lever as quickly as possible without strong pull just a light contact. Do that repeatedly to gain muscle memory to get on the brakes fast without locking up. At that point go to a lot and learn how to feed the brake pressure until maximum front end dive is achieved without locking up. Repeat every month. Always use both brakes. That is unless you don't want to stop in time.