sinkoman
Party Escort Bot
- Joined
- Dec 2, 2004
- Messages
- 7,457
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Well for a start, you said to start with the rear and ease onto the front, but it's the other way around. The front provides virtually all your stopping power, the rear is mostly for stability and slow control. If you're afraid to use the front brake, you're going to get very badly hurt someday. The rear is good at adjusting your speed when riding slowly and at bringing the bike to a dignified stop, but if you're travelling at any real speed you literally won't notice any effect on your speed from using the rear brake. The front brakes on modern bikes are designed to bring you to a complete stop from over 150mph in the space of a few seconds - use them.
Also, if you treat the rear brake like a lightswitch, you'll have problems - stamp on that thing and you'll be off. Especially in bad weather, over bad road surfaces or when you're not upright. I had a Bandit 600 for a while as an insurance bike, and that was the worst for it - apparently because it's got real cheap rear suspension. Even the slightest touch in the wet would have the rear dancing.
I'm guessing you haven't really ridden in the wet - there's far less grip available and you have to be very smooth and progressive with every input. Manhole covers and other things on the road become as slippery as sheet ice - they offer no grip whatsoever.
No, I haven't seen much wet tarmac. Hell, I haven't really seen much road. I only have my permit, so I spend very little, if any time on the street.
Still working on the MSF course.
"Twisties" is not a reference to hairpin bends. Twisties are just windy roads, rather like racetracks in fact. The Isle of Man TT is "the twisties", and I don't see people competing there on supermotos.
Also, on a V-Twin sportsbike (like the SV650, TLR1000 or pick a Ducati/Aprilia), the power delivery is linear and equal.
I really don't follow you on the "supermoto will carry far more speed into a corner" lark, that's nonsense. Carrying speed through corners is what sportsbikes are designed for. Perhaps you mean that it will reach full lean angle more quickly, in which case possibly but that's purely down to the weight and will also apply to any low capacity sportsbike you care to pick.
If you're making use of that extreme cornering ability the road, you probably won't live too long anyway. Reaching the limits of grip on a sportsbike or supermoto is not something I would recommend on the street...
I probably shouldn't argue this with you, as I must admit, i'm going purely off of hearsay.
God knows i'm probably wrong, but everything I'VE seen so far, which consists of trackday videos and head-to-head videos, seems to show that SUMOs are much better cornering machines.
Btw, have you ever seen a SUMO bike back it in? It's insanely awesome.
It's when they snap down two gears and feather the clutch to break the rear end free whilst coming around a tight corner.
Check out some Youtube vids. One that comes to mind is one where Nicky Hayden and a bunch of other guys are dicking around on sumos in their spare time. Can't check atm, kinda busy.
But as I said, you've much more experience on the matter, so I won't even attempt to argue with you