locked tires and lowsides.

[klr6501995]

Good info. I'm a big believer in also testing the rear brake when first getting on the road after rain starts. And Checking lock up conditions. I do avoid testing the front lock up in the same conditions on road after work, I would like to get home unhurt. But Nothing is like pushing the front wheel down on a dirt rode regularly to get the feel. Highly recommended to all riders. When I was 18 in Wy. on a ts-185 and 20 in elpaso tx on a klr250, I did a lot of power slides and slinging the rear tire around off road. I have never been able to ride the klr650 like I did those smaller bikes. But then again I ain't never got myself a good hurt on the 650 either...So maybe I'm doing something right nowdays.

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "transalp 1" wrote: > > It's a perverse sort of fun. But, one of the things I do when I get a new bike (after a break in period for tires and brake pads) is to deliberately see how hard I have to brake to lock either tire. On a softly sprung forked bike like our KLRs, it's more a test to see how much dive can be induced before things get scary-scary. > But, locking a rear tire on a dusty road to understand what a slide feels like and how to recover is something dual prupose riders do on a regular basis without trying. > I've heard it many times from varied sources: A good way to be a better street rider is to get a dirt bike. > Power slides are fun on a big trailie down a gravel road,too. Not so on a touring rig leaving a toll station with oil on the road. I once had my Honda PC800 crossed up like that on Ga. 400 in Atlanta. It wasn't pretty and I bet I worried a few drivers. But, I made it - barely. It took a pair of channel lock pliers to get the chunk of seat foam out of my *** later. . . > Point is, there's a real need to practice braking harder and harder from time to time. I'm not talking the MSF 15-20mph skid either. HOWL them knobbies! =) > Scaring yourself a little now might take the panic out of a bad situation later. > > "Lay 'er down for safety"? That's a myth from the bad old days of hard tires and wimpy brakes. > > eddie >