Triumph 675 Forums banner

Sliding front tire

5K views 39 replies 18 participants last post by  sallison30 
#1 ·
Say you are coming into the corner and you feel the front tire starting to slide or it starts sliding, would you be maintenance throttle and just allow the bike to "fix itself" or would a slight roll on of the throttle cause the front to slide more?

I only ask because if the front is sliding and in my mind I am thinking "if I apply throttle and transfer weight to the rear it will help the front tire regain grip" although at the same time increasing throttle also means increasing speed so it could just amplify the sliding of the tire because if you are already sliding the front that means you are already on the very last limit of what the tire can handle for that corner entry speed and lean angle or maximum braking if you are trailbraking into the corner.
 
#3 ·
I can't find the exact clip but here is something close, he isn't as deep into the corner as the example I am referring to but see this from 11:25



I know in the older GP days they used to purposely push the front tire but pushing and sliding is two different things.
 
#12 ·
So basically just try to pick up the bike and get to the throttle earlier then you normally would and even if it's just a slight roll on just get to the gas?

I understand your thought process - that rolling on the throttle would cause the front wheeler to be lighter and maybe not able to get as much traction. The fact is you are usually sliding the front for one of three reasons.

1. You hit something slippery, which isn't necessarily your fault.

2. The front end is being pushed TOO much, probably from you coming in too hot and/or trying to slow down too much mid-turn.

3. Your tire is toast and you shouldn't be so cheap - get a new tire! :biggrinjester:

In any case the front tire has broken traction with the ground and is beginning to slide out. Typically front end tire slides are very very quick and you can't really do a whole lot (even pushing the bike up with your knee is close to impossible unless your an absolute man-beast with the strength that begs you be involved in a different sport probably). But the reality is the bike wants to grab again and stabilize itself, so your best chance is to probably try and let the bike do what it's going to do - don't try and force the handlebars. If it has a chance to re-gain and stand up, it probably will. If not, at least you'll slide and not high-side! Better chance of a non-painful recovery for both you and the bike. :cool2:
Yea I knew grabbing onto the handlebars tighter would only make it worse, this isn't something I have encountered but just wanted to touch on the subject because like you said for the different ways it can happen it's still a likely possibility. You don't have to be an expert club racer, you could just simply be a novice and take a corner a little too hot then you thought you could.

Thanks for the info guys!
 
#5 ·
Am I thinking wrong? If you would roll on throttle to transfer more weight to the rear, wouldn't you be unloading the front more, thus decreasing its traction even more? In contrast, letting off the throttle would load it, regaining traction, and possibly doing so too fast?

I'm far from educated on this, just trying to learn more too.
 
#7 ·
Are you refering to the front tire actually pushing while your at full lean, or are you refering to the wiggle the guy in the video is getting at 11:30 as he is getting ready to turn into the right hander off that straight?

If your talking about that wiggle or squirm then thats not front end slide. Thats just downshifting and braking to the point where your front tire and back tire are spinning at different speeds and your back tire wants to come around. This is pretty common when people are running that fast but can happen to anyone if they downshift to many gears too quickly without revmatch.

If your actually sliding your front tire then you need some better tires...haha
 
#11 ·
Ah maybe the camera is misleading what I am seeing then....I figured if it was just the rear tire getting a little loose that it wouldn't move the camera that much unless it was the front sliding or starting to.

I know this is nowhere near our level but here is more or less what I am talking about start watching at 5:00 and at 5:02-5:03 you can see the front tire starting to slide.

 
#8 ·
Your foot / knee / elbow / ear might help prop it up, and frow what I understand, one of the purposes of trailbraking is to allow you to remove some braking to regain grip in case there's a problem.

I escaped gravel twice with the Daytona by ending the trailbraking on both wheels, while hanging out more to reduce the bike's lean angle, while letting the steering do more or less what it wanted, it straightened itself out for an instant then went back to countersteering.

Thing is, on asphalt, you don't really have time to react, and survival reflexes have every chance to get you screwed.
 
#13 ·
I once had a moment where the front pushed bigtime, luckily it was a slide and it kept on sliding, but my instinctive reaction was to push my knee down as hard as I could and try and pick the bike up.
Exact same thing happened to me, managed to push the bike back up and save it too.
 
#10 ·
I understand your thought process - that rolling on the throttle would cause the front wheeler to be lighter and maybe not able to get as much traction. The fact is you are usually sliding the front for one of three reasons.

1. You hit something slippery, which isn't necessarily your fault.

2. The front end is being pushed TOO much, probably from you coming in too hot and/or trying to slow down too much mid-turn.

3. Your tire is toast and you shouldn't be so cheap - get a new tire! :biggrinjester:

In any case the front tire has broken traction with the ground and is beginning to slide out. Typically front end tire slides are very very quick and you can't really do a whole lot (even pushing the bike up with your knee is close to impossible unless your an absolute man-beast with the strength that begs you be involved in a different sport probably). But the reality is the bike wants to grab again and stabilize itself, so your best chance is to probably try and let the bike do what it's going to do - don't try and force the handlebars. If it has a chance to re-gain and stand up, it probably will. If not, at least you'll slide and not high-side! Better chance of a non-painful recovery for both you and the bike. :cool2:
 
#15 ·
Was riding on the street one time and came to a 90 degree turn. The temp dropped nearly 30 degrees in a mater of 20 minutes while riding. The front tire completely slid at half lean. A quick stab of the boot to the ground propped the bike right back up. Yes my underwear was changed when I got home.
 
#21 ·
happened to me twice. once it gave me headshake at full lean, I felt i was going down but somehow pulled myself back on the bike and didnt.

Second time was turn 1 at NJMP. Felt the bike falling out from under me, my outside leg came off the peg and i thought I was going down, again bike seemed to correct itself and i was back on. No idea how i was still on the bike though, guessing my outside knee was still pressed in the tank. Either way majorly scary!

I actually got the first one on film. Hard to see because my camera mount was really shaky but if you look at my handlebars at 1:02 you can see them doing some oscillating.

 
#22 ·
Nice, thanks for the video! Everyone has different reaction times and it's funny when you react to something faster then you can even think about reacting to it.....I think that right there is what sets the natural riders apart from the ones who really have to work at going at a certain pace or how well they pick up riding.

When I first started riding about 3 months after I got my first bike I accidently locked up my front brake and the bike started chattering really badly. I made it out without downing the bike, natural reaction just took over and I corrected the mistake.....in my head afterwords I thought to myself "yea let's not do that anymore" lol....
 
#23 ·
for sure front end slides are much harder to catch than the rear. i had a bike that had front end issues all last season. i lost it once but was able to catch it at least half a dozen times. reducing radius (stop turning so hard) and standing the bike up a hair so it can regain grip, all very quickly, is what saved me when it worked. if it becomes a regular issue like it was with me, start working on your suspension and maybe playing with tire pressure. if your tire is soft it'll get too hot/greasy and start sliding around, conversely if it's too hard you lose grip too. so when you're riding hard you want to see your tire pressure increase 3-4 pounds from cold to hot. exactly what kind of tire compounds you're running can make a difference in grip and heat as well.
 
#25 ·
sliding the front

I started sliding the front end this summer. The first time was at heartland park in the heat of july.It scared the crap out of me,but I just did what Dylan Code at California Superbike School told me to do. Go nuetral throttle and relax on the bars it will catch it self.
I've since slid the front a half dozen time a several different tracks in varying weather conditions and it's worked every time. It works well enough that I trail brake waaaay later knowing I'll be able to save it if I get a little to aggressive on the brakes.
 
#26 ·
I started sliding the front end this summer. The first time was at heartland park in the heat of july.It scared the crap out of me,but I just did what Dylan Code at California Superbike School told me to do. Go nuetral throttle and relax on the bars it will catch it self.
I've since slid the front a half dozen time a several different tracks in varying weather conditions and it's worked every time. It works well enough that I trail brake waaaay later knowing I'll be able to save it if I get a little to aggressive on the brakes.
Ah nice! I was going to ask when I went there to the school.
 
#28 ·
Oh I know it's worth it, the crappy part is I have to pay for a plane ticket, hotel, car rental and bike deposit for the S1000 because there is nothing close to MN. I was supposed to go back in November but couldn't swing the added costs of everything so I just had them hold my deposit for another future class.

Hopefully I will be back in CA in March and not have to pay for all the other added costs and just rent a bike since I just sold my 675 race bike.
 
#29 ·
I used the Beemer for level 1&2 but will use my daytona this time. the beemer was a blast to ride. I think I will benefit more by using my own equipment as Its sprung and valved for me.Plus I want to improve on my weakest skill set; Braking. I don't think I will learn as much with ABS. Besides,I've found I like being able to lock a wheel to get the bike turned. In my opinion a rider will never get really fast unless they get comfortable sliding both ends of the bike.
 
#30 ·
Yea braking is mine too, not the act of braking but getting a reference point and getting the braking done properly without under shooting myself is my issue. I always find myself being able to brake later then I am actually doing because I approach the corner slower then I wanted to.

I have done the 3rd gear no brakes and I am decent (nobody is perfect lol) with judging speed and distance but once I throw braking in the mix it just messes me up.
 
#34 ·
Sliding the front can be a little scary the first few times. I do not do it on purpose, but every once in a while I will turn in sharper and harder and it will move a little. My worst one was in the decreasing radius right at NJMP Thunderbolt. I was coming back out after a red flag and completely forgot to brake :whistle: I tipped in anyway and the front slid. As it did that I pushed the bike back up onto the tire by turning the bars and pushing my body away. Here is the video...



You can see at about the :50 mark where it slides. That one could have easily taken me down if I didn't react.

Other front end slides will catch themselves without you doing anything. Every situation is different and all you can hope for it that you have enough of a warning to decide which way to go.
 
#38 ·
^^^ that's called chatter. lol. I would have been like "OHHH SH!!!TTT HERE WE GOOO!"
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top