That rear brake

[Cormanus]

That's great F7. It would be horrible if, after all this anticipation, you didn't bond with it.

It gets better too.

[OldF7Guy_imp]

That's great F7. It would be horrible if, after all this anticipation, you didn't bond with it.

It gets better too.

Naw, Mate I love this thing and its only getting better. Its a keeper.

[The Spaceman_imp]

That's great F7. It would be horrible if, after all this anticipation, you didn't bond with it.

It gets better too.

Naw, Mate I love this thing and its only getting better. Its a keeper.

It really is. Every time I start hankering for a new bike I take mine out for a short ride or long weekend, and I realize there's really nothing out there that's as versatile, fun to ride, and generally cool. I rode an FJR-ES at the Daytona track, and man, it was cool as hell. Handles like a sportbike, comfy as an Ultra Classic, every bell and whistle out there. By the end of the demo I was ready to buy one. Then I rode the CB home and I'm thinking...ok, the FJ would be great for the 3-hour superslab ride, but would I jump on it the way I do for a quick spin to the beach after work? Would I enjoy doing maintenance on it, like I do with the CB? Would hot women approach me in parking lots asking "is that your CB?" I think not...

[Insolentsquid_imp]

That's great F7. It would be horrible if, after all this anticipation, you didn't bond with it.

It gets better too.

Naw, Mate I love this thing and its only getting better. Its a keeper.

It really is. Every time I start hankering for a new bike I take mine out for a short ride or long weekend, and I realize there's really nothing out there that's as versatile, fun to ride, and generally cool. I rode an FJR-ES at the Daytona track, and man, it was cool as hell. Handles like a sportbike, comfy as an Ultra Classic, every bell and whistle out there. By the end of the demo I was ready to buy one. Then I rode the CB home and I'm thinking...ok, the FJ would be great for the 3-hour superslab ride, but would I jump on it the way I do for a quick spin to the beach after work? Would I enjoy doing maintenance on it, like I do with the CB? Would hot women approach me in parking lots asking "is that your CB?" I think not...

It really is. Every time I start hankering for a new bike I take mine out for a short ride or long weekend, and I realize there's really nothing out there that's as versatile, fun to ride, and generally cool. I rode an FJR-ES at the Daytona track, and man, it was cool as hell. Handles like a sportbike, comfy as an Ultra Classic, every bell and whistle out there. By the end of the demo I was ready to buy one. Then I rode the CB home and I'm thinking...ok, the FJ would be great for the 3-hour superslab ride, but would I jump on it the way I do for a quick spin to the beach after work? Would I enjoy doing maintenance on it, like I do with the CB? Would hot women approach me in parking lots asking "is that your CB?" I think not...
Just curious spaceman, but as a matter of interest, and just so I can prepare myself for it, just how long was it after you got your cbee that these hot women started approaching you?

No particular reason for asking.

Just hasn't happened to me yet.

I mean, I'm sure it's only a matter of time.

No reason to think it wouldn't happen.

But, i'm not getting any...

...younger.

[metallyguitarded_imp]

I have to say, spaceman is not alone in being approached by hot women in the parking lot when riding the CB. I had a drop dead gorgeous woman come up to me just the other day and ask the same exact thing - "Is that your CB?" I was thrown off for a second and before I could respond, she said, "You really should park in dedicated motorcycle parking. You're taking up a whole spot with just your motorcycle." She then smugly walked away. I was left thinking that was the cheesiest pick up line I had ever heard. Needless to say, I didn't fall for it and I let her keep walking. It must have been really hard for her not to turn around to see if I had taken the bait! These CB's are like chick magnets!

[offroadfx4_imp]

I didn't know what trail braking was either...even after watching this video...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5v1kRpUGdJM ,

even though he was describing it he didn't come out as say it, I finally had to go to wikipedia ....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trail_braking

I do like the guys bikes and his set up in the video....the coat rack in the garage is a different idea.

I rarely use the rear brake, but I did find myself using it when riding the dragon...it seemed to smooth out the rear end wanting to float around as I braked more heavily on the front.

My first experience that shied me away from the rear brake was back in 1972 when I got my first street bike a Honda CL350....coming into town from highway speed....hit a red light.....hit the rear brake only and I bet I slid 50 feet, all the way through the intersection....luckily no one was coming....been shy of the rear brake ever since ;-)

I wish I could afford to fly to CA and do some "track time." Are there any safety courses here in the mid-west on actual race tracks, Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, Ohio etc.

[Henrik_imp]

I know they do track schools at Mid-Ohio that you might want to check out.

https://www.midohio.com/School/Courses/Motorcycles

[Papa Weeley_imp]

It's funny this would come up again.
After about 3 decades on sportbikes, I've come to trust and almost only use the front brakes, unless in a real emergency/panic situation. Hopping on the CB ('13, non-ABS), I obviously adopted the same routine, and found the fronts to be incredibly confidence inspiring, and really, not much of a step away from sportbike-efficient. So when I first read about the wooden rear brakes here, I was a little taken aback, since I'd never really used them, or really even thought about them. So I tried them to see what they'd do, and was dismayed at how weak they truly are. I'm blown away that with all the other quality components on this bike, the rears are so lacking. Luckily, as I said, I'm not a big rear-brake user, but man, one would certainly like to know they're up to the task if needed!

[OldF7Guy_imp]

Sure enought, I crawled back on my Nighthawk today and rode some and the brakes are butt backwards. Front is a little weak and the back feels really good unlike the 1100. Feel and how it stops are two different things but the Nighthawk feels better period to me back brake wise. Conversely, as many of you know, the fronts are adequate but that is about it while the 1100 has killer stopping power from the front. Its hard adjusting going back and forth.

[Motogeezer1949_imp]

I used the brakes hard when a car pulled out in front of me and stopped. I was accelerating at the time and thought I was done for. It was a true panic stop. I was amazed, the bike stopped with room to spare, nothing locked up, just odd (but now much appreciated) sounds from the braking system while the anti-lock was working.
I was relieved, as I know Eric wouldn't have been very happy with me......