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djzoohelp

Member
A couple of times during the last couple of weeks I've ridden to work on my trusty '02 Wide Glide when the temp has been close to freezing (2 degrees Celcius - in Canada), and applied the rear brake for a slightly quicker than normal stop only to have the back wheel scoot out a couple of times.

Happened again this morning. Nothing panicky, but not confidence inspiring. It went a couple of degrees below freezing last night, and it's about 2C this morning. There's a reasonable amount of tread left on the tire (HD tires). Neither of these stops were anything close to emergency braking, but it took quite a while longer to stop than I was comfortable with.

So, here's the question - finally! Let's say I have half the tread still on the tire - would a new tire improve the situation or is it just a fact of cold rubber on a cold road?

By the way, I was applying front brake as well - it's just the rear that was breaking away.
 
More than likely temp related. Cold tires do not have the same grop as warm tires, thus the reason for the burnouts at the drag strips.
 
With that big brake pedal its comfortable to rely more on your rear brake and get out of practice on even braking,on cold roads with cold tires this could be causing your problem.
 
Also check your tire pressure if you haven't already. Tire pressure drops with the temperature.
 
Thanks All.
The bike is only 2002 and I'm pretty sure this is the second tire on the back, so I don't think it's age related. I'm also thinking the boots I'm using have a pretty thick sole so I may not be getting as much feedback from the brake pedal as I normally would.
I've adjusted my riding style to be sure, but you just can't predict what some cagers will do.
All that said, I'm on my third tank full of gas in April. Here in Eastern Canada, that's awesome!!
 
djzoohelp said:
Thanks All.
The bike is only 2002 and I'm pretty sure this is the second tire on the back, so I don't think it's age related.
Click to expand...

Tires are date stamped,I have seen people get a great deal on new car tires only to find out they are old and hard
 
I don't know if in Canad's its the same as in Scotland
here if the temp is going down to freezing the roads are gritted mixture of salt and sand this grit ends up being a thin film of goo on the road especially first thing in the morning if you are close behind another vehicle yo have to clean your screen every minute or so
have once or twice in the past touched the back brake and the wheel skips out almost as bad as being on ice

Brian
 
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