Linked Brakes question

So I was out riding around the neighborhood and decided to practice my braking in a parking lot. I didn't go real fast, probably up to 20-25 mph, then would hit the brakes pretty hard. First a combination of front and back, then more front, then more back. I could get the front brake to lock up and skid the tire, the back brake alone was more of a gradual slow down, albeit a rapid one. Is this normal, or should the rear tire lock up as well?

Hitting both brakes was a really quick stop, but my front tire did skid across the pavement some, which on one test, sent the handle bars to the right, then left as I corrected, I thought I was going down for a second there. The practice was helpful, as I have an Ultra Limited with ABS, and it would be easy to forget these brakes are not ABS. Practice from time to time pays off.

I doubt if many folks are going to be able to give you a 100% correct answer. The "linked system" seems to stop & work great for most folks. I brake the same way I've done for decades. I suggest you try to google: Honda Goldwing linked brakes & see what pops up.. let us know...……..

Good idea, not able to read them at the moment, but every find so far is from one forum or another, so there may never be a true answer. :D

The type of tires you have on front & rear would be good to know also

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Originally Posted by STRaider

So I was out riding around the neighborhood and decided to practice my braking in a parking lot. I didn't go real fast, probably up to 20-25 mph, then would hit the brakes pretty hard. First a combination of front and back, then more front, then more back. I could get the front brake to lock up and skid the tire, the back brake alone was more of a gradual slow down, albeit a rapid one. Is this normal, or should the rear tire lock up as well?

Hitting both brakes was a really quick stop, but my front tire did skid across the pavement some, which on one test, sent the handle bars to the right, then left as I corrected, I thought I was going down for a second there. The practice was helpful, as I have an Ultra Limited with ABS, and it would be easy to forget these brakes are not ABS. Practice from time to time pays off.

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Totally agree with this. An underutilized safety feature is practice, something I am guilty of. Practicing threshold braking builds up muscle memory, which is what your default reaction is under a panic/high stress situation.

I do like to zip around manhole covers at slower speeds, pretending they are obstructions I am avoiding. Every now and then, on an empty road, I like to try an aggressive maneuver by performing an evasive maneuver at higher speeds (~40), such as swerving in between passing lines into the other lane, then back within the space between those lines. I always have my full gear on when doing this in case I lose it.

One time, while doing one of these maneuvers, I took myself and the make believe situation too seriously, and counter-steered hard and leaned up and in, left knee just inside the faring. I was pleasantly surprised how well the bike reacted.

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Originally Posted by Felloverboard

The type of tires you have on front & rear would be good to know also

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I have the Dunlop Elite 4's.

Keep the pressure up where it should be, they'll be good til they wear out. I prefer AVON's, I found the Dunlop's sidewall to be on the hard side. Just my personal opinion.

The Motorcycle Safety Foundation teaches the best stopping distance is achieved when both breaks are applied together to a point just below the wheel lock up.

I noticed the other day under heavy rear brake application only, the link between rear and front was really noticeable as the front end would dive. I am typically a hard front braker, with upgraded rotors and pads on the front, rear are stock. Linked system is amazing and knowing how it will act under extreme braking.

Great practice also to do slow and high speed maneuver, very important to understand how the bike will act when you have the real need...Thank you for sharing!

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Originally Posted by Pumper

I noticed the other day under heavy rear brake application only, the link between rear and front was really noticeable as the front end would dive. I am typically a hard front braker, with upgraded rotors and pads on the front, rear are stock. Linked system is amazing and knowing how it will act under extreme braking.

Great practice also to do slow and high speed maneuver, very important to understand how the bike will act when you have the real need...Thank you for sharing!

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I have to admit, I was caught off guard when the front wheel locked, skidded,and pulled hard to the right from the skid. I would not have been ready for that under duress. Granted, I was experimenting and not operating the brakes as I would normally, but I am much more familiar with the brakes characteristics now. I've practiced braking before, but not just really slamming down on them, front vs back, etc. The linked brakes work great, but it'll be just ABS for me going forward. That was one hesitation of buying this bike, but I do like the bike (a lot) and have not had any issues with the current braking system while on the road.

That is why we practice, to have an understanding (hopefully) of how the bike will act, or how we will react I should say.

Pumper

Rolling friction...if you do not practice extreme braking...one may be in for a big surprise when they need to do it for reeal

Having ridden a 2000 VFR, linked brake system very similar to the 6, since it was new I would say your experience with panic stops and the rear brake is pretty normal. The rear tire is very hard to lock up on dry pavement with any combination of technique. When using the rear brake there is a proportioning valve that controls how much front brake force is applied, along with a mechanical delay that initiates that force just after the rear pads engage. On a bike like the 6 that carries a lot of weight over the rear, and the balanced system, the rear is hard to lock up.

Pumper:

As said I've ridden a VFR for many years and love the way the linked brakes work, especially the way the rear brakes work. I'm not as happy with the 6's rear braking performance. The amount of braking force sent to the fronts comes on too strong and sudden. It may be the delay built into the system is just a touch too long.

I ride fairly aggressively and have had to change my braking technique on the 6 because I don't like the way the 6 feels when trail braking into a corner on the rear brakes. That initial jolt to the front makes it feel a little wonky to me.
All that said, when you need to get stopped in a hurry on the 6 the brakes are like throwing out an anchor!

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Originally Posted by sabre85

Having ridden a 2000 VFR, linked brake system very similar to the 6, since it was new I would say your experience with panic stops and the rear brake is pretty normal. The rear tire is very hard to lock up on dry pavement with any combination of technique. When using the rear brake there is a proportioning valve that controls how much front brake force is applied, along with a mechanical delay that initiates that force just after the rear pads engage. On a bike like the 6 that carries a lot of weight over the rear, and the balanced system, the rear is hard to lock up.

Pumper:

As said I've ridden a VFR for many years and love the way the linked brakes work, especially the way the rear brakes work. I'm not as happy with the 6's rear braking performance. The amount of braking force sent to the fronts comes on too strong and sudden. It may be the delay built into the system is just a touch too long.

I ride fairly aggressively and have had to change my braking technique on the 6 because I don't like the way the 6 feels when trail braking into a corner on the rear brakes. That initial jolt to the front makes it feel a little wonky to me.
All that said, when you need to get stopped in a hurry on the 6 the brakes are like throwing out an anchor!

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Good post. Thank you for the info.

Yes, agree the transfer to the front end is rather abrupt when rear braking into a corner, learned quickly I needed to adjust also...for a lunker of a machine it does have good braking abilities...for the most part.

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Originally Posted by sabre85

Having ridden a 2000 VFR, linked brake system very similar to the 6, since it was new I would say your experience with panic stops and the rear brake is pretty normal. The rear tire is very hard to lock up on dry pavement with any combination of technique. When using the rear brake there is a proportioning valve that controls how much front brake force is applied, along with a mechanical delay that initiates that force just after the rear pads engage. On a bike like the 6 that carries a lot of weight over the rear, and the balanced system, the rear is hard to lock up.

Pumper:

As said I've ridden a VFR for many years and love the way the linked brakes work, especially the way the rear brakes work. I'm not as happy with the 6's rear braking performance. The amount of braking force sent to the fronts comes on too strong and sudden. It may be the delay built into the system is just a touch too long.

I ride fairly aggressively and have had to change my braking technique on the 6 because I don't like the way the 6 feels when trail braking into a corner on the rear brakes. That initial jolt to the front makes it feel a little wonky to me.
All that said, when you need to get stopped in a hurry on the 6 the brakes are like throwing out an anchor!

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Thus the reason for the front antilock. But the antilock on my 13 b does not work with the rear brake pedal. only the front. I took it apart and checked.
So I disabled it.
Also, I don't notice any sudden front braking when panic stoping with the rear pedal. They seem to come in at the same time.
I do notice a little front end dive right away.
Panic stop with the front does through the front end down but the stoping power in the front is really good and I really had to grab as hard as I could to lock the front tire. Ive done a few hard stops with the front on other bikes and the B has them beat. My first reaction is to grab the front. Thats the quickest one to get to.

There is no antilock on the 13 in the states, don't know about other countries versions. As far as I know Honda didn't put antilock brakes on any of the F 6 B's.

I thought/think the Canadian models came with abs

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Originally Posted by Vondawg

I thought/think the Canadian models came with abs

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Yes, they do.

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Originally Posted by sabre85

There is no antilock on the 13 in the states, don't know about other countries versions. As far as I know Honda didn't put antilock brakes on any of the F 6 B's.

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I stand corrected. My bad. I meant to say anti-dive.

I took an advanced course with my Canuck 2016. (ABS). Experimenting with front lever only/rear pedal only and both, I managed to get her stopped within the same 1-2 feet from 50 kph (30mph). That was using maximum force and letting ABS do the rest. The linked brakes using the combo of front/rear callipers depending on the lever/pedal usage do almost as good a job as mashing both and getting all callipers. I still trail brake when riding twisties. The ABS on the F6B, unlike the BMW 1600B does not care about lean angle.

The Canadian F6Bs have ABS?

not sure if everyone comes with it but you can definitely get ABS on the Canadian model.