6th gear....speed vs rpm

[the Ferret]

The service manager rode mine and locked it up right in the parking lot. Skidded the tire and all. Said it was good and he was done. Said Honda doesn't pay him to look for problems. That was not real world braking.

I went straight to the part counter, bought some brake fluid and went home and bled out a bunch of air (does air come in bunches?). Just being able to lock up the brake doesn't mean its right, or good.

Maybe, but do you want any more brake than what is required to lock the wheel? If so, what are you going to do with it? . You are right though, a parking lot test is near to useless. The energy (kinetic) required to be dissipated in a stop is calculated as:

E = 1/2mv²

The mass of the bike is constant. Let's say the bike weighs in at 100kgs, then at 10mph the energy to be dissipated is 5000 units. At 60mph the kinetic energy of the bike is not six times as much, that is 35000units. It is, in fact, 180,000 units. The energy is best dissipated by friction produced by a rolling tyre, not a skidding one. Hence ABS.

If you practice an emergency stop on the CB, does the bike feel as though it lacks stopping power? In my opinion, and that of many professional test riders who are a damn sight more informed than me, the brakes are rated as very good. The bike is meant to be stopped by a well balanced (if interested read my post above) combination of front and rear brake force. The CB has that.

Cheers.

Maybe, but do you want any more brake than what is required to lock the wheel?
No, but having a consistant brake because it was bled properly it at the top of my list.

Maybe, but do you want any more brake than what is required to lock the wheel?
No, but having a consistant brake because it was bled properly it at the top of my list.
That's true Randy. However I get the feeling that if a bike has stopped well for a couple of thousand miles and then, after a rear brake only "test", due to brake hypochondria or whatever, the owner thinks the rear brake is not "effective", then it's probably the brain that needs bleeding, not the brake system.

Air does not suddenly "appear" in a well designed brake system. And I would suggest that includes the CB. I don't see a class action against Honda for delivering brakes complete with air being successful. Brakes may require bleeding after a pad change, but not if you're careful. Brakes will require bleeding after, or as part of, fluid change or component change. If a brake system has trapped air the brake performance will certainly be consistent. Consistently bloody terrible!

Cheers
By the way, I'm often wrong.

Yea, wow, not sure how to respond to that one. Good thing it's my bike and my problem. I'll deal with it. Thanks for the input.