First 900 miles on my new Road King Custom

[borntothesaddle]

I have got to share this with someone! I ordered the ABS option on my scooter and have now run through some personal tests on flat, dry asphalt. Riding solo the bike stops from 50mph to 0mph in about 76 feet. Riding two up with a guy who weighs about 270lb, the bike stops in about 65 feet. To put this in perspective, I was seeing stars from the deceleration when doing the test two up. I never did totally stomp on the brakes because I was afraid I would black out from the deceleration G's. The bike came to a graceful stop in all situations. It was initially surprising that the bike stopped faster with two of us on it until I realized the rear passenger made the rear brake even more effective. The DVD Harley supplied with the bike said that tire chirping and black marks are normal with ABS. I got neither during the tests. I feel the brakes pulsing, but nothing extreme or annoying.

 

[Hoodaman]

What a good choice of ride u have... I didn't get the ABS option , wasn't sure how well it would work. But may end up with the upgrade. Found the braking to be great as is but will always go with the safest option.(eventually)

 

[Not Very PC]

I have got to share this with someone! I ordered the ABS option on my scooter and have now run through some personal tests on flat, dry asphalt. Riding solo the bike stops from 50mph to 0mph in about 76 feet. Riding two up with a guy who weighs about 270lb, the bike stops in about 65 feet. To put this in perspective, I was seeing stars from the deceleration when doing the test two up. I never did totally stomp on the brakes because I was afraid I would black out from the deceleration G's. The bike came to a graceful stop in all situations. It was initially surprising that the bike stopped faster with two of us on it until I realized the rear passenger made the rear brake even more effective. The DVD Harley supplied with the bike said that tire chirping and black marks are normal with ABS. I got neither during the tests. I feel the brakes pulsing, but nothing extreme or annoying.

Enjoy!

 

[glider]

Sounds like you are enjoying the new ride. I'm still not sold on the ABS on bikes yet, it actually takes a bit longer in distance than without ABS to stop but it does do it safer.
Enjoy the ride and welcome to the forum.

 

[borntothesaddle]

What a good choice of ride u have... I didn't get the ABS option , wasn't sure how well it would work. But may end up with the upgrade. Found the braking to be great as is but will always go with the safest option.(eventually)

Absolutely the new road king brakes are a mark above the previous brakes even without ABS. HD is using Brembo (Italian) brakes now.

 

[borntothesaddle]

Sounds like you are enjoying the new ride. I'm still not sold on the ABS on bikes yet, it actually takes a bit longer in distance than without ABS to stop but it does do it safer.
Enjoy the ride and welcome to the forum.

In a contrived test (like what I was doing) a really skilled biker might get equivalent or superior performance without ABS. That was not the reason I went with ABS. It was always the PANIC situations where I only had about 1/2 second to decide whether to brake, lay the bike down, or collide with the least hazardous object that I was worried about. Now I can just slam the brakes automatically and have more time to make the other decisions.

 

[Stormrider51]

Just one comment. Never, ever, choose to lay a bike down. Both you and the bike stand a better chance of surviving if you continue to brake right up until the moment of impact. By remaining upright you also leave yourself the possibility of driving out of the accident if that option presents itself. That tactic is called "brake and evade". In 26 years of working as a paramedic I saw way too many riders who "had to lay her down" and then slid under the car they were trying to avoid hitting or were run over by a second vehicle. By laying the bike down you have given up all control over what happens from that point on. Take your bike to a large parking lot and practice max braking and brake and evade tactics. Better yet, take a motorcycle safety course. They will teach you to do things with that big bike that you didn't think possible.

John