Welllll, that didn't take long.

[Denis]

Got my father-in-law's Road King police bike in late April and I've been riding it while cleaning it up, removing skulls, etc.

Thursday afternoon some mofo took a left in front of me, I hit the brakes and down I went. Banged up but nothing broken. Even though I was on the other side of our neighborhood I was wearing my full face, and armored Joe Rocket jacket, leather gloves and shoes. Going slowly so no road rash at all, not even a rub through on my jeans.

Damage to the RK was almost unnoticeable thanks to those giant front crash bars.

[john fish]

That sucks. 
Glad you're OK.
Things like that give me the "jumps" for a little while. 

[giusto]

Yes ditto, Glad you are ok!!


So how did this happen? issue with brake adjustment?


Its good it wasn't a guzzi.  Glad the bike is ok too

[Denis]

That sucks. 
Glad you're OK.
Things like that give me the "jumps" for a little while.

Thanks, man! Yeah, I hear you there.

[Ncdan]

Glad you were not hurt and that you were wearing protective gear and obeying the motor vehicle laws. It’s a lesson for all of us.

[Denis]

Yes ditto, Glad you are ok!!
So how did this happen? issue with brake adjustment?
Its good it wasn't a guzzi.  Glad the bike is ok too

Thanks!
When that guy took a left in front of me he was maybe 20-30 feet away. I wasn't going very fast but that's not a lot of room to play with, especially on a new bike you're still getting used to. I had a suspicion that one or both front rotors were warped and needed attention. A buddy rode it back to my house and then yesterday up to MotoMax for an inspection. He felt the brakes were grabby, so it's possible they contributed to the sudden lockup.

[Denis]

Glad you were not hurt and that you were wearing protective gear and obeying the motor vehicle laws. It’s a lesson for all of us.

 
This is exactly why I gear all up even when I ride to the store on the other side of the neighborhood!

[twodogs]

The Harley brakes are way more powerful than they used to be, it don't take much to lock up the front end,
Glad to hear you are ok.

[Denis]

The Harley brakes are way more powerful than they used to be, it don't take much to lock up the front end,
Glad to hear you are ok.

Oh yeah, they'll sure stop that big bike.
I was thinking about what would have happened if I had been on any of my other bikes.
The '40 Indian wouldn't have locked up the wheel but it very possibly would not have stopped in time either.
The 4LS Eldorado MIGHT have stopped in time.
The SPII, Lemans and Cal probably all would have stopped in time. With those I might have even been able to get my feet down in time. Those integrated brakes sure spoil you.

[Siamese]

Did the offending motorist have an opportunity to share his reasoning for cutting you off? 

[Two Checks]

Quote from: twodogs on Today at 10:52:42 AM

The Harley brakes are way more powerful than they used to be, it don't take much to lock up the front end,
Glad to hear you are ok.

Yep, they're Brembos!

[Scott of the Sahara]

a couple of years ago we were riding and my friend locked up his Road King at about 35mph and went down. He was fine. The first words out of his mouth were "don't tell my wife". The crash bars were bent and there was a few scratches on the panier, but he was able to continue on the ride. later he replaced the crash bar.

[giusto]

Did the offending motorist have an opportunity to share his reasoning for cutting you off?

No offence to Dennis at all....but it's always about compounding issues rather than one person's fault...In this case Dennis mentioned not being very familiar with the "new to him" bike, the brake issues (warped/touchy) 20-30 feet to react and the "unpredictable driver" ( 4 wheelers...aren't they all unpredictable)

Dennis thanks for reminding us of the possibilities.    and to always gear up

[oldbike54]

Quote from: twodogs on Today at 10:52:42 AM

The Harley brakes are way more powerful than they used to be, it don't take much to lock up the front end,
Glad to hear you are ok.

Yep, they're Brembos!

 Some years were , some were not . The Brembos on early 2000's HD's were some weird version of Brembo brakes , they used a cheap, poorly designed clip to hold the pads apart . The clip would bend and actually hold the pads against the rotors at the front . My nephew the used to be HD salesman owned a 2003 Street Glide with that series of Brembo brakes , the right front rotor was warped because of the problem . One of the mechanics where he worked said "They all do that , Brembo brakes aren't any good" . It took me ten minutes to fix after we got a replacement clip .

 Dusty

[Rough Edge racing]

While we are on this topic,  does anyone think a rider on let's say a 450 pound bike stands a better chance during a brake lock up or similar event to save it from a fall in comparison to a 750 pounder?

[giusto]

While we are on this topic,  does anyone think a rider on let's say a 450 pound bike stands a better chance during a brake lock up or similar event to save it from a fall in comparison to a 750 pounder?

wow brings back physics class...."A more massive object has a greater tendency to resist changes in it's state of motion"
so the larger the mass of the object, larger the inertia offered by the object to change it's state of motion....lots of other variables consider...like the rider, the surface resistance (N number)...dumb luck is also imporatant

[kingoffleece]

And, a large cruiser let's the rear brake pay a larger role as weight transfers forward.

[Penderic]

Gun holster option!   

[Denis]

No offence to Dennis at all....but it's always about compounding issues rather than one person's fault...In this case Dennis mentioned not being very familiar with the "new to him" bike, the brake issues (warped/touchy) 20-30 feet to react and the "unpredictable driver" ( 4 wheelers...aren't they all unpredictable)

Dennis thanks for reminding us of the possibilities.    and to always gear up

No offense taken. The guy pulling out in front of me simply brought all possible high risk instances to the table in one fell swoop.

Most things I did right, especially considering I was riding a new-to-me bike. I was paying attention, didn't hesitate to act, was wearing the right gear, wasn't speeding, etc.
What I did wrong was not confirming my suspicions the rotor(s) may have been warped and dealing with them, and probably not trying to learn more about how big, heavy bikes like that react in emergency stops.

[BrotherJim]

Did the offending motorist have an opportunity to share his reasoning for cutting you off?

Check local listings, but one motorist causing an accident for another without property damage or intoxication will usually be allowed to leave the scene without fault.  Learned that the hard way!  No doubt the offending motorists reasoning would be, "I didn't see him."  Glad Denis is ok.

[jumpmaster]

Check local listings, but one motorist causing an accident for another without property damage or intoxication will usually be allowed to leave the scene without fault.  Learned that the hard way!  No doubt the offending motorists reasoning would be, "I didn't see him."  Glad Denis is ok.

Well, the crash bars are probably bent, at least a little, or at least scratched up if the bike was moving at all when it hit the ground.  Not to mention that the rider probably needed a new pair of skivvies.  That counts as "property damage" in my book - especially if you check out the price of a new crash bar, and labor to install it, if you wanted to stick it to the car driver a bit.  I had someone back into the front of my old electraglide years ago and break the sidestand and scratch up the crash bar on one side.  I could have lived with the scratches on the bar, but because the girl driving the SUV tried to leave the scene (local kids ran into the building where I was and alerted me in time to get outside and stop her), I was PO'd enough to insist on a new bar - I gave her a break and installed it myself, which was a 15 minute job the dealer would have charged her $100 to do.  She also paid for the new sidestand part, another 15 minute repair I let her off the hook for.

[BrotherJim]

I should have clarified collision, Jumpman.  If Denis didn't hit the offending motorist, which it sounds like he didn't, then said motorist will not be at fault.  YMMV  This happened to me many years ago while riding my Yamaha SRX250.  Erratic cager pulls a leftie in front of me, causing me to have to brake excessively to avoid hitting him, but since I didn't hit him, he was not at fault.  Of course my bike was damaged, but that was between me and my insurance company.  Erractic cager was free to go and cause more accidents.

[BrotherJim]

Sorry... Jumpmaster!  Parking lot collisions are no fault in my state, which I think is total BS.

[Denis]

Again, I didn't hit the person who took the left in front of me, and I learned from the police report  which was just posted that that person didn't stop either.
Crash bars aren't bent, just scratched.
Didn't shit my pants either!

[Kev m]

Again, I didn't hit the person who took the left in front of me, and I learned from the police report  which was just posted that that person didn't stop either.
Crash bars aren't bent, just scratched.
Didn't shit my pants either!

Sorry to hear all this. Glad you're ok and sounds like the bike pretty much is too.

I have to admit, for many years we only had one bike at a time with ABS (my R1100RSa, and later my wife's Duc).

After swapping out some bikes in the fleet over the last 5-6 years I woke up one morning and realized 3 out of the 4 are now 6-speeds WITH ABS. Weird. Only my 2013 MKI V7 is the uhhh, odd "Duck".

I'm actually REALLY glad the FLHP has ABS as those brakes are quite good and it's a LOT of bike.

[Groover]

Glad you are OK. It's that time of the year where cars don't expect bikes on the road. Lost a coworker/friend last year that same way

[Denis]

Glad you are OK. It's that time of the year where cars don't expect bikes on the road. Lost a coworker/friend last year that same way

Thanks, man. Sorry to hear about your buddy.