bull7419 Posted June 29, 2009 Report Share Posted June 29, 2009 Brand new to the forum. I have been reading the cornering posts for a couple of years and it has helped me a great deal. I really appreciate all the info put out here it has saved my A@# on more then a few occasions. I have been riding (all Harley Road Kings) for almost 7 years now and for the past 4 years I have been a full time motorcycle officer in a fairly large southern city. I average around 2000 miles a month maybe more. Almost all of it in the excitement range. In my opinion we have one of the best training programs in the nation in place. 120 hours of intense training followed by several qualification runs for time and accuracy. Only about 2-3 out of every class ever see a motor. We learn all the standard stuff braking, curve negotiation, rear wheel lock ups, lots of slow stuff and track work (a very small off cambered track). However, the track can only handle speeds up to 50-55 mph in the straight away and about 20-25 mph in the curves. The problem with this is that most of the work we do is well above these speeds 70 and up. All of our experiences above 55 mph have been on the job in the real world and aside from this forum trial ny error. I have been in a wobble in a curve at 80 mph on the Road King and settled the bike down with a little throttle thanks to this forum. One of the motor officers and I were discussing this void in our training and the liability it presents. We are working on a proposal for some track time(hopefully with an instructor) at a race track with our department Harley Road Kings. I just finished Twist II after finding it by chance at the book store. What a wealth of knowledge. Most of the stuff is news to me, but some of it I have learned thru my experiences and by observation. Mostly slides and rear wheel lock ups. I say ALL of that to ask this: Is there anything that I have read in Twist II that should not be done on a Road King? anything that flat out wont work? I really enjoyed the book and will start practicing on the street as soon as my motor is out of the shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hubbard_28 Posted June 30, 2009 Report Share Posted June 30, 2009 Howdy Bull. You pose a good question. I'm sure someone will come along and have a good answer for you. I was wondering the same thing, but never really got around to ask. I am coaching my wife about track riding during the summer while the tracks are closed, and I have a friend at work who just bought a Harley. I told her I'd work with her on the basics, and that's how my curiosity came about. What can I help her with, and although she'll never get on the track, can I use basic information from the book to help her along. A few months ago we had a couple motorcycle cops on the track during our brake, and they were tooling around. One was probably as good as you can get on those bikes on a track, and he kept having to slow down for one that was frankly kinda scaring me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bull7419 Posted June 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2009 Howdy Bull. You pose a good question. I'm sure someone will come along and have a good answer for you. I was wondering the same thing, but never really got around to ask. I am coaching my wife about track riding during the summer while the tracks are closed, and I have a friend at work who just bought a Harley. I told her I'd work with her on the basics, and that's how my curiosity came about. What can I help her with, and although she'll never get on the track, can I use basic information from the book to help her along. A few months ago we had a couple motorcycle cops on the track during our brake, and they were tooling around. One was probably as good as you can get on those bikes on a track, and he kept having to slow down for one that was frankly kinda scaring me. The bikes above look like BMW's or Honda's. I qualified with both in Police motor instructor school a few months ago. Compared to the Road King these are superbikes. Lol. I absolutely loved riding them and will one day get an FJR for a personal motor. The best thing your friend can do with the harley is ride with the high beam on (visibility) and learn proper braking slow smooth squeeze on the front brake first then she can go to the rear brake once the weight has transfered. 70% (I think more like 75%) of the braking is done with the front brake on a big tour bike.The one thing I noticed about the sport touring bikes is that the rear brake really doesnt do much for you especially on the BMW, but thats the way they are designed I guess. I was told that some sport bikes get as much as 90% of there braking from the front brake? One thing I know works for sure on the Road King is the gentle roll on throttle when the bike starts to wobble in a curve. I have been in a lean at 80-85 and rolled on the gas to stop a wobble and it settled it right down. Now I read it here first, then I baby powdered my balls (it scared the hell out of me) and went out and tried on the police Road King. Slow at first then at speed (60-70); it works. If you happen to find out anything about tour bikes let me know. Thanks ride safe! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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