Excellent response! Thank you so much. My husband loved your response because since last week I've been so scared that I have been ABS (new bike shopping)....but I really don't want a new bike. I just never want to feel as scared as I did during and after the emergency stop. I live in the Tampa Bay Area and traffic is a nightmare so your response has a great deal of meaning for me....there's hope. You are right about practicing my emergency stops. I did a lot of them in the MSF Basic Course (but that was on a Honda Rebel 250). Thank you....you are a lifesaver!

 

Thanks to all of you who have responded. Each and every one of you gave me information I was seeking so desperately.

 

Thanks very much. I will practice, practice, practice....and use more front, less back.

 

I've been riding on and off road for 45 years. Have I locked my back tire up? More times than I can recall. When a cage suddenly pulls out in front of you there isn't much time to think of anything else except to get on the brakes so you don't cream yourself and your bike into the side of that huge metal thing.

It's the most freaking scary moments of life. It happens. Practice is great. It'll help, a lot. But in that PANIC situation your going to lock those brakes.

Try to remember that the front brake is your friend. When you panic stop the rear tire unloads and puts the weight of the bike on the front. Practice using your front a lot. It can save you and your bike.

A few months ago a gray haired lady decided she had time to pull out in front of me when I was getting ready to get into the left turn lane in front of my complex. I locked the rear but not enough to lose steering. Using the front brake to get the speed down and turn away from her car at the same time. It was just a natural reaction but I still was shaking when I pulled into my driveway. Missed her by a few inches.

Practice, practice and practice.

 

About once a month or so I still find an empty parking lot and practice my power stops. ABS brakes will not save your life. Knowing instinctively what to do in an emergency just might. Practice.

 

+1...and another +1

 

IMHO better to lock the rear brakes than the front.

I have had a few close calls.

Harleys could use much better brakes I feel.

 

Thanks everyone. I am so impressed
by the quality of all your helpful suggestions...and hearing of your own experiences. I am starting to feel better.

 

if your in a skid let off the brakes then reapply them..keep doing it (jabbing the brakes) till you stop skidding or come to a stop,that is what anti-lock brakes do when they activate..

 

The one thing I would like to say again is that 70% of your braking power comes from your front brakes. fI rarely use my rear brakes unless there is a panic situation. I came up on sport bikes and the like and there was never a need for rear brakes with the pwoer the front brakes ahve on those super light machines. It's a little different on a Harley due to weight distribution and such, but I still rarely use the rears.

Drew