The 2009 'Run For The Wall' I borrowed my brother's trailer for the week. It was a steep learning curve towing a trailer for the first time.
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- Thread starter DaveM
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That looks very cool and I would think it would be a huge learning curve.
The motor never knew that trailer was back there, but touch the rear brake pedal and the bike would go sideways in the blink of an eye as the rear wheel locked up. The rear tire in the photo is a Bridgestone Potenza Grid (225/55R16) car tire. I rode that over the 'Tail of the Dragon' on the ride home (sans trailer for that day's adventure) and never lost grip on the back no matter how hard I pushed it. But touch the rear brake with the trailer on was asking for trouble, so I learned never to use the rear brake while towing (and now it's just habit, I rarely use the rear brake on any of my bikes).
Aren't you supposed to use both front and rear brakes evenly/equally? That's what my motorcycle safety class taught me.
Yes , definitely use them equally . But I can understand how with a trailer things could go awry . When my CXE’s original brake hoses got spongey I replaced them with steel ones . After a couple of bad scares I adjusted the amount of air in the rear brake line to reduce its effectiveness . Should have realized that the rear tire chirping on down shifts was not good .
Do that on a panic stop and you'll low side faster than you can recognize the problem. When you use either brake the weight shifts to the front tire. Next time you ride your bike get up to about 35 mph and then stomp on ONLY the rear brake and watch the front end dive hard as the weight shifts from back to front, even though only the rear brake is being applied. This characteristic is what caused my Rocket to lock the rear tire when the trailer was on it. As the weight shifted the tire unloaded and broke traction when the coefficient of friction was exceeded at the speed I was traveling. Since it's shifting weight to the front, the front tire becomes more important in stopping than the rear. I've included a picture to illustrate my point about rear tire stopping power (i.e. traction) under strong braking. Under normal riding conditions using both brakes is just dandy, just be aware the rear brake is only as good as the traction of the rear tire and the harder you brake the less effective it becomes until a magical point of no return on invested pedal pressure. Somewhere between 70% and 80% of effective braking is done by the front tire alone and learning to use that knoweldge can improve your riding experience.
In my case the learning curve was the fact that even though I had about 300% more rear rubber on the road vice a motorcycle tire was totally useless when the tire traction was lost when the tire unloaded due to the weight of me, the bike, and the trailer all shifting to the front tire. The rear tire lost traction and the trailer, which had no brakes, was free to try and pass me. Hence I got sideways with the trailer pushing the rear out of line with the front tire. When I used only the front brakes (why they put 2 disks up there BTW and only one out back) the bike was controllable no matter how hard I applied the pads. Steering got heavy, but I could still steer it and exactly what I had to do to avoid slamming into the guy in front of me on I-70 in eastern Missouri.
Hope that explains my position on the topic.
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I think my motocross / ice racing back ground has served me well since I got into street bikes . But once in rural Vermont I must have been taking a nap when a busy intersection jumped up in front of me complete with a glaring red light . I didn’t think I had a chance of stopping before the crosswalk but I applied all the levers the Tiger 800 had and much to my relief ceased forward motion just in time as the rear wheel came down with a thud . That old tiger had good brakes and the smallish Anakee 3 performed above expectations.
December Submissions.
Well the Christmas season is here once again so don't forget to get your Submissions in for December.
For those that are not currently in the riding season don't feel left out as I am sure you must still have some awesome photos in your archives.
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Well the Christmas season is here once again so don't forget to get your Submissions in for December.
For those that are not currently in the riding season don't feel left out as I am sure you must still have some awesome photos in your archives.
The photo does not have to be Triumph but any awesome motorcycle photo you may have taken.
If you like any of the photos that are submitted please remember to use the Like function in that post.
Stunning work 
Bloodknot
Well-Known Member
In the late 60s I was a member of TOMCC and one of our regular activities was to Marshall for the bike race meets at Snetterton and Brands. This photo was taken by a national news paper press photographer at the exit from Paddock Bend (adverse camber right hand) before the uphill run to Druids.
In it you will see three machines and their riders coming to a premature stop. The first of which, No 18, has our guys scampering back up the straw bales to safety, Neil is having to leap up in the air for No 5 to slide beneath him and the rider of No 5 looks as though he may be collected by bike No 24 but I don’t recall any need for the medics to attend.
The machine still on the track is either a 250 or 350cc Aermacchi. Harley Davidson purchased 50% of the company in 1960 and these bikes had a respectable turn of speed with the 350 pushing the ton.
This is our crew, all kitted up in our Triumph Works overalls. Taken in 68 or 69 at Brands above the entry to Clearways where the International circuit rejoins the Indy circuit.
In it you will see three machines and their riders coming to a premature stop. The first of which, No 18, has our guys scampering back up the straw bales to safety, Neil is having to leap up in the air for No 5 to slide beneath him and the rider of No 5 looks as though he may be collected by bike No 24 but I don’t recall any need for the medics to attend.
The machine still on the track is either a 250 or 350cc Aermacchi. Harley Davidson purchased 50% of the company in 1960 and these bikes had a respectable turn of speed with the 350 pushing the ton.
This is our crew, all kitted up in our Triumph Works overalls. Taken in 68 or 69 at Brands above the entry to Clearways where the International circuit rejoins the Indy circuit.
cncman1966!
Member
Enfield gone , R30 recommisioned and gone miss that one. My old 2010 triumph gone but new one in the garage, just no photos yet. And currently working on a Bullit 125 to sell on for funds to buy naughty bits for new triumph.
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Beautiful bike!
ccamos
Member
Couple weeks ago…limited access road in eastern Washington, close to home. Lesson learned: do not ignore the sign that says: road closed Nov. 15 thru March 15. Dirt road, after a few days of rain = “slick as deer guts on a door knob”.
No traction at all, had to lay grasses down in order to lift the bike. Final photo: freeeedommm! After about 45 minutes of first gear slip and slide.
No traction at all, had to lay grasses down in order to lift the bike. Final photo: freeeedommm! After about 45 minutes of first gear slip and slide.
