How fast can you STOP

[craig007]

I was reading these articles ( * All Things Motorcycle * - 031: You Only Hit That Car ... and * All Things Motorcycle * - 032: Stopping Distance And Time ) about stopping, and decided to practice quick stops. In a parking lot, I makred a run up area and marked 5 ft increments after the line. This is what I got:

Speed (mph) Stopping dist (ft) Deceleration (fps/s) g's (fps/s)
15 6.25 38.7 1.2
20 10.6 40.7 1.3
25 15 44 1.4
30 27 36 1.1

I used both brakes as hard as I could without locking either wheel. I wanted to go faster, but the parking lot was too short and I was starting to make marks on the pavement (even though I wasn't skiding). I was pretty happy with the bike's performance. You can pass the state motorcycle driving test if you can stop in 13 ft from 15 mph. This comes to 19 fps/s or 0.58 g. It is nice to know what the bike is capable of.

Do you think these decelerations would translate to higher speeds? (I was able to do one 24 ft stop at 30 mph...about 1.3g) How fast do your practice emergency stops? What is the capability of the FZ6? I thought I saw a 60-0 distance of 121 ft somewhere. This is only a 1 g stop, so unless it gets harder at higher speeds, the bike should be capable of faster stops.

fps/s = feet per second per second..
1g = 32 fps/s so each second you go 32 ft/s slower
Stock tires
dry high school parking lot asphalt

[sportrider]

not that I'm trying to be a "stunta"(LOL) but I've pulled a stoppie on mine!!!

[wrightme43]

Wow Craig. Thats hella cool.
Did you use one of those plug in G-meter dyno things? I forget their name.

I have never actually measured it, just worked on getting it shorter than the last time.

[craig007]

no high tech required. I got some yellow tennis balls and cut them in half with a razor (poor man's cones). Then, marked a stopping line and used a fiberglass measuring tape to mark of about 40 feet behind the line at 5 ft increments. Then I just approached the line at a given speed (with both brakes covered) and hit the brakes when my front wheel passed the line. When I stopped, I just looked to the side and counted tennis ball markers. I got off a few times and actually measured the distance. Then used the math in the articles to crunch the numbers.

I didn't come close to doing a stoppie....if I had, it would have been followed by a sick crunching sound, and me flat on my back!

[fz6xlr8r]

Here's an interesting tid bit for ya. In the book "Total Control" by Lee Parks, he claims "cruisers" are actualy able to stop in shorter distances than "sports bikes" because the curisers have lower centers of gravity and longer wheel bases witch act like a lever to keep both wheels on the ground, giving the crusiers an advantage over sports bikes in breaking. He says the shorter wheel base and higher center of gravity of sports bikes cause the rear wheel to start to lift off the ground under hard breaking and they lose any real stoping power that the rear break could provide causing a longer stoping distance. That's what he said anyway. LOL

[gmickey2001]

Originally Posted by fz6xlr8r

Here's an interesting tid bit for ya. In the book "Total Control" by Lee Parks, he claims "cruisers" are actualy able to stop in shorter distances than "sports bikes" because the curisers have lower centers of gravity and longer wheel bases witch act like a lever to keep both wheels on the ground, giving the crusiers an advantage over sports bikes in breaking. He says the shorter wheel base and higher center of gravity of sports bikes cause the rear wheel to start to lift off the ground under hard breaking and they lose any real stoping power that the rear break could provide causing a longer stoping distance. That's what he said anyway. LOL

I think the logic is solid - except for the fact that for some reason, everybody is riding cruisers now that weigh more than a super tanker.

I used to ride a Kawi Vulcan 750cc (it had plenty of spunk) and I don't understand why the jap cruisers are all 1300 & 1500 cc now. Not to mention what a Harley 1300cc must weigh.

These guys are riding lead anchors around town.

I rode with a guy (he rides with his wife 2-up) on a Honda 1300cc and he asked me what kinda mpg I get. I said 50s when mellow and 40s when gunning for action. He then said nothing - I asked him the same and he reluctantly told me he averages like 23 mpg. 23 mpg???

H*LY SH*T!

I don't think he will be stopping shorter than us - even without his wife on the back!

[DefyInertia]

Thanks for doing the math for us.

I've never measured it but I know that my rear wheel moves around more than I'd like, as in "a sh*t load", under extremely hard braking...I believe this has a lot to do with our low performance rear shock and my crappy blipping skills (at track speeds).

You really have to try to do a legit stoppie as it requires a serious transfer of the rider's weight. I've had my front tire lose traction on the street under hard braking.

Naperville....so when are we going riding?

[craig007]

anytime...but I'm slow!

[Botch]

Originally Posted by craig007

I got some yellow tennis balls and cut them in half with a razor (poor man's cones).

Tip of the Week!
Here's another hint: you can buy a vacuum-sealed, guaranteed-fresh tube of three spankie-new tennis balls endorsed by Jimmy Connors or Martina Navitralovitchniastan, at Walmart or Target, for about $1.88.
Or, you can buy one tennis ball at Pet's-Mart for $5.88!!

Or, like me, you can crawl thru the weeds around a set of tennis courts and grab a bagful of free ones, like me and my corgis used to do!