i never had to many issues with mine either , apart from the poor comfort , but compared to a all the other bikes Ive owned , the brakes and tires are not that good , they are the most important things on a bike , and if they can be improved , then they should be IMHO ,
Ive been riding a lot longer than the OP (34 years), and will always try and ride within a bikes limitations , on a good sports bike i will ride within my own limitations ,
saying that though , the nightster still caught me out a couple of times , usually due to the bad lean angle (R/H) or the tires and brakes when pushed hard ,
BUT .... if you want to feel what really **** brakes and handling are like on a Harley........ test ride a softail slim , and to feel what good brakes and handling are like , test ride a Fat Bob
the nightster sits somewhere between the two

 

So it was, as you say, a "normal braking" situation that made your brake lock up the rear wheel. And not only did you fishtail, like you said, but you went down. So from the description you gave you were not in panic mode, or anywhere close to being in a white knuckle situation. Your heart did not race, your adrenaline level did not rise. It was just another routine, mundane, ordinary, "normal braking" situation. But your back wheel locked up, you fishtailed, and then you went down. That's freaking scary. And very very weird. Some people would call what happened to you a "freak occurrence." Still very scary...

P.S. I'm not a lawyer I'm a mind reader. And right now there's a lawyer who's thinking that a consumer should be able to buy a motorcycle from a manufacturer and use that motorcycle's braking system in any "normal braking situation" without fear of going down and without fear of being injured or killed. The lawyer is thinking that you hit your head when you fell off your bike though you were able to get right back up and ride home. The lawyer is thinking that once you got home you started to develop a chronic headache. You then went to the doctor to complain about the chronic headache. Fast forward to today and you're going to B.I.T. three times a week due to a faulty braking system on what appeared to be a very well kept motorcycle. The other two times of the week you're seeing a psychotherapist for being emotionally traumatized by the incident (you're afraid to ride bikes ever again and since the freak accident occurred you have not been able to stop scratching your sore *** along with 10 other debilitating psychosomatic symptoms we can fabricate for the judge). The lawyer is thinking that there's a good sum of money waiting for you at the end of the rainbow. Even better, you might be able to settle out of court with the manufacturer. The settlement you win will allow you to buy several Road Kings, a couple of Hummers, a round trip flight to the best ***** houses in Rio de Janeiro, 6,000 tabs of Adderall, and then some.
B.I.T.= brain injury therapy

 

Yeah the crazy thing is I seen brake lights so I tapped on the brakes, I did pull in the clutch when I braked so I don't know if that really mattered but I was really thinking to myself that damn I barely hit the brakes and the rear locked up. Even worse I've had a headache since the accident which happened last Friday. I did go to the hospital the day of the accident but they did not take any cat scan because according to them I never lost conscious so it was not needed. I hope they fix it rather then total it out because my friend is going to fix it so Im going to have him check the braking system.

 

It's very easy to lock up the rear on the Nightster in sudden 'emergency' situations. I've done it several times.

I used to ride race bikes and always used to use my front brakes pretty nearly 100% of the time. However, since I started riding my Harley, I began the habit of using 70% front and 30% rear. I think for general stopping conditions, that's fine. However, I believe it's a bad habit because as you experienced, if you need to stop quick your foot will be heavier than you think and you'll lock the back tire.

So, now I've gone back to using my front brakes about 90-5% of the time. I think it's safest.

 

on my fat bob i can get away with using the front brake only , most of the time , but on my nightster i needed both 70 - 30 + down shifting
a couple of guys on here have blamed the O/P , but after riding many different bikes over the years and only getting into Harley's in the last 2 -3 years ,i think the brakes are very poor for such heavy bikes ,
i feel sorry for the guy , he got caught out through inexperience and bad practise but he was also let down by a braking system that should only be on a 125 -250 cc bike IMO
if a Fat Bob can have very good brakes , there isn't any reason all the Harley,s shouldn't have the same ,
test the slim , i took it back after 20 miles because i thought it was dangerously under braked and i wasn't enjoying the ride because i had no confidence in the bike .... you only need to read threads on here about the brakes and pads to know its a common fault on most models

 

I agree that the the brakes on the stock Nightster could be much much better. One front disc for such a heavy bike is not enough. If there's an easy upgrade I'd be all over it.

I absolutely love my Nightster in every other way, and generally I ride the hell out of it. But I'm used to riding race bikes, and for agressive riding the stock brakes are inadequate.

It's very important to learn how to down shift properly on these bikes to blip the throttle and then to use front/rear at about 70/30 % for the fastest stopping action.

Go to a parking lot and practice emergency stopping. You'll see how easy it is to lock the rear brake on the Nightster. And you'll learn what combination of front/rear to use.

But in an emergency, if you hit the rear brake, you will most likely inadvertently lock it simply because you're applying more pressure than you think. It's a habit you really need to learn to brake (pardon the pun).

Raz

 

Dual front discs is 1 of the reasons I bought my 883R.

You could upgrade a Nightster (or Iron) with 883R parts:
-fork leg, caliper, rotor, master cylinder.
-I think the hub is already dual disc capable under the cover.

Or you could replace your caliper with 1 from an XR1200.

 

most likely just pushed down harder than you thought, or slick pavement (dry does not always mean sticky). I hate to be a dick, but a MSF course or at least some coaching in a controlled environment will probably do you a ton of good, and possibly prevent a worse accident in the future. It is a whole lot easier to spend time learning the bike, and working on muscle memory in panic stop situations than it is to go through physical therapy and learning how to walk again. just my .02