m/c riders--o/t

watching programs/commericals on m/cycles custom ones being built, built with a fat rear tire with a brake, skinny tire on front, no brake,, i ride a goldwing, [model doesn't matter]now way i would ride without front and rear brakes, the way everyone drives, and road conditions,,no you would catch me on those fancy built jobs...if you are a bike rider, would you ride one or not?

I have had a couple bikes with no front brake but NEVER one with no back brake.

The front brake provides 60% of the stopping power, I think.
i don't think it should be legal to drive a MC without one, but I suppose someone will complain about a nanny state! But, if someone hits their head and becomes a vegetable in a nursing home we will all pay their care for the rest of their lives!

On cars and trucks 30 years ago the fronts did 60% of the braking because of the load transfer during braking. Not sure with new brake systems what it is now days. But on a bike I can't say that since you have two individual brake controllers to operate each brake independently of the other.

I've been riding since 1965. No WAY would I ride a bike with no front brake.

I don't know when hardtails gave way to rear suspension, but a scientific wildly approximate guess would be in the 40's.

So WHY would anybody build a bike in this day and age with no rear suspension and no front brake?

Oh. Right. Because it LOOKS cool.

Morons.

Been riding since Christ was a kid. "custom" built bikes are nothing but stolen parts, put together.
I have had a bunch of Harleys, first used and then a lot of new ones.
I would rather have any stock, new bike, or any used stock bike than any "custom" bike.
good luck
k

70%

Years back I bought a Harley....'58DuoGlide. I was told that was the first year of rear suspension. Traded it off in 1969 on a new 4 door sedan. My oldest daughter was born 1-17-69 and we needed a car with a good heater. From bikes to "Family Man" status and never looked back.

Hardtails replace with softtails?? For Harley that was 1958 when duo Glide came out- 1957 and earlier big twins had no rear suspension. Ks had rear suspension when they replaced the Ws in about 1953 or 1954.BMWs had rear suspension prior to WW2- 1937 give or take. BSA and Triumph got rear suspensions and telescopic fronts after WW2 when BMW patents became free to use for the war winners but I remember seeing early limeys at rallies with hard tails and sprung hubs similar to Indian patterns- gave a couple inches of bounce but not a swingarm suspension. Fat wheel and back brake, skinny tire no front brake?- that describes my old BSA chopper with springer front- prior owner got hit with about half dozen tickets for missing equipment and a unsafe vehicle note for his license plate- meaning don"t ride it away from ticket scene or it is confiscated and rider goes to jail. I was asked to pick him up by his cousin- a coworker. Swap was a 1962 VW bus with a Beetle engine transplant that also was no front brake(just one) so He and wife could get to Texas- little bus made it fine at 50mph. I took care of some of the equipment missing things- headlight high and low, horn, faked a speedometer- but took it to Iowa where it passed inspection based on age of engine didn"t require most of stuff like a front brake, speedometer, mufflers. Which brings up the point that the 1970s were about first time some equipment was required on cycles- and that includes VIN tags. A rear brake only rear weight bias with fat back tire can be ridden on street fairly safely by experienced rider watching traffic, choppers do it with no more accidents than the antilock brake 4 disc units on 600Rs from Japan, probably less crash"s-especially when rider is sober, straight, not distracted. Old Chopper is running around central Iowa yet I hear as of last year, I tend to ride the Goldwing- and one of it"s drops was due to front brake lockup, the reason some people frefer to NOT have a strong front brake like some of higher powered dirt bikes/desert racers that will have a small simplex drum on front for holding bike steady at stops- same reason some springer front choppers have a copy of old Honda trail 90 front brake installed. RN

would be interesting to watch a guy on one at some stoplights in the middle of a hill, on the up side.

Only 60% of braking from the front wheels on a car still sounds low, 2/3rds and 70% are more realistic. The weight distribution in most cars is already close to 60% on the front and that increases during hard braking. You don't want the rear wheels locking up, especially in a turn, who knows which direction you will be facing when you get stopped.

Can't ride anymore. But always rode Harleys. Liked the sound and torque. Wouldn't ride any other manuf.

I've got an older Harley.........hardtail...drum brake on the front..OUCH...it just does not want to stop....so used to disc brakes on the front of all modern bikes...maybe I am just over driving the older bike but I don't think so. I have driven bikes with no front brakes and that is not a good situation either. Give me dual disc on the front anyday!

I watched some of those custom cycle builder shows (California Custom Cycle?). I cringed at how they arbitrarily changed the suspension geometry to make things fit and look good with no consideration towards how handling would be affeacted. It didn't take long to realize they didn't know or care anything about handling. The cooler it looks the better they get paid. Then they would add some ornament that could easily slice or impale the rider in an accident.

I still like to look at custom bikes and custom cars, but driving one seems too risky for me. Someone else can play the daredevil.

I would personally ride a bike with no rear brake before I rode one with no front brake. I hardly use my rear brake on my bike. The thing that scares me is the manufacturers who are making the $1000 custom billet wheels for both cars and bikes. A lot of them have no engineering involved. They just machine them out until they look cool. They have no idea of the type of forces that act against a wheel. Can you imagine going around a corner and having the front wheel break off?

Old Popper you are correct. 1957 was the last year for a ridgid frame. Those bikes did have the big "bicycle type" seat with the center spring post though. I owned a 59 Panhead Duo-glide, which was a late 58 proto-type. The front end had a factory built adjustable rake, and was tagged as a hydra-glide. Rear brake was juice, front was cable, both were questionable! Sold it in 86 for 25 hundred. I have been told it would be worth alot today.

I have ridden for most of my life. Riding is dangerous enough by itself to take any chances. You need your equipment to be the best possible and in the best state of repair possible.
Riding a bike without the front brake is extremely dangerous because the rear wheel will inevitably lock up on emergency application, resulting in a skid leading to either a high or low-side crash.
Either way a very very bad day.
I ride a Triumph Bonneville and a Harley Electra-Glide (but not at the same time)

Something I never see anymore are those huge seats that the Electa-Glides had on them. I don't even remember seeing them for sale in the classified ads. I guess alot of them have been replaced with aftermarket touring seats. I have an ironhead Sportster and as small as I am I don't think my feet would touch the ground on an old Electra or Duo-Glide with the big saddle.

In the 43 years I have been riding on the road legal like I have had so many bikes I could not begin to list them all. % or so where stunt bikes but street legal but no where near stock

Yep 70% and sometimes more. Lots of weight transfer to the front. Look at the fastest sport bikes that do 180 MPH+ and the size of the dual front discs. Earlier sport bikes would have disc brakes up front and just a drum on the back. Same with dirt bikes. Once you change your thinking (that you're going to go over the bars) and start using the front brake, it becomes very clear that you have way more control and can stop way, way faster. Having a weak or no rear brake isn't too much a deal unless you have no front brake. Interestingly, for oval ice racing, you have to remove the front brake and for speedway bikes there are no brakes at all.

I think most of those radical custom bikes are trailer queens only some yuppie with more cash than brains has to have a $150,000 motorcycle to one up his neighbor and he has no idea what a good handleing motorcycle even is. the paint is shiny and it has a huge rear tire and chrome doodads all over it thats what matters most!