New rider, a question concerning braking with my F4i..
 

Hey guys, just got my F4i 600 awhile back and I'm loving every minute of it. Finally getting the hang of a couple turning techniques I learned at MSF. One thing did come up that I wasn't able to learn at school was that my bike fish tails everytime I do sudden stops at high speed 30-40. It's been happening a lot lately, but it's not the "slam on your brake" kind of stops. I usually casually hit the rear brake, give it some front brake and I slow down. Lately it feels like the bike is sliding left to right everytime I want to brake. Sometimes it even feels like the bike is sliding when I'm riding which scares the **** out of me.

No mods have been done to the bike, no drops, tires are in good shape too. Is it normal for the bike to feel like it's sliding around?

Also, my bike recently started getting up to 220 range when I'm riding, I read that's normal operating temperatures. My fan also kicked in, but the bike felt a bit sluggish once it started operating around that temperature. Any ideas on that?

Another thing, I was out riding one day and I had the bike in 3rd gear coasting with the clutch depressed because I wasn't sure if the driver in front of me was going to stop. Long story short, bike just died out while the bike was in 3rd gear with the clutch depressed and I was in motion. I use to have battery issues but it was because of a bad battery.

You sure you haven't locked the rear up? Find an empty parking lot or deserted road and try to make it happen again. When it does, get off your bike and go back to give the road a looksie. If you find a black mark, you locked the rear. Just cause you don't hear it, it doesn't mean it didn't happen. When you hit the front brake, the weight is gonna transfer to the front. What sufficient rear braking can become too much as the front loads and the rear lightens.

Other possibles are your tire pressure is off. Though I'm assuming you checked the tire pressure when you said the tires were good. The other possibility is your suspension is off or needs to be set. Give this a look Sport Rider - Suspension Tuning Guide: Handling. What you're describing sounds like what they call Rear Swaping Richard

seems like you got a few issues, my personal opinion on the braking might just be that you're pressing the rear brake to hard, just like the msf course say, braking is 70% front and 30% rear, fishtailing on a bike without wanting to is rare, you gotta either be runnin a bald tire (like i was when i crashed my bike) or just pressing the rear brake to hard, i use my rear brake very lightly these days. Thats all i can think of on that issue, the more experienced guys on here might b able to come up with something else..

As for your other concerns, all i can say about the 220 temp. is thats its normal, just double check your coolant reservoir located on the right side of your bike by your seat and make sure its topped off.
...And for the bike dying at 3rd gear all by itselfs, its pretty random, just double check your battery cables to the battery and make sure there tight, although the alternator shoulda kept the bike running. Goodluck!

Braking should be something like 80-90% front, otherwise you'll get that fish-tailing. When stopping, all the weight wants to transfer forward regardless of how much of which brake you're using. This means a lot less pressure on the rear tire, so it will lock up a lot easier.

Also, how good are your tires (age and quality)? I had some crappy old tires on mine when I first got it and they felt pretty slippy. I upgraded to Michelin Pilot Road Twos and now things are peachy. :)

While driving, your temperature should be around 170-190 depending on how hard you're riding, ambient temperature, etc. While stopped, it's not unusual for it to get above 220. I'm not sure what's going on with your loss of power, though.

Don't have an answer for why your bike died, either. Maybe something related to the fuel system like a bad FPR or clogged filter. One of the other guys with more experience might be able to help with that.

About the braking, are you braking in a turn? NEVER use the rear brake in a turn or you'll lowside. It's probably fishtailing because your rearwheel and front wheel aren't in sync. Kinda hard to understand but if I'm correct, and there's a sudden change in speed by one or the other, you should get some wobble.

About the temperatures, how fast are you going when it's at 220? Normal riding temperatures are around 180 but normal riding speed should be 40-50, or faster haha.

Sorry, no idea about the clutch.

Thanks guys, I think it is because I'm using too much rear brake. It might be locking, as for it stalling I don't know why it just died on me lol. When I'm riding 40ish my temperature goes back down to 179-185 but when it's idling it jumps up to 220. My tire does look like it has a lot of time to age, I'm going to triple check my tire pressure tommarow before I go out riding.

Thanks on the advice about not using my rear brake while turning, my MSF coach did not really give me much advice because everyone in my class were experienced people just trying to get their license and a discount.

You can brake in a turn. It is a more advanced technique. New riders shouldn't be trying it until they have experience. And when they think they're ready to try it, they should practice it in a parking lot, not on the street in traffic

That's perfectly normal.

your fish tailin cause your given to much rear brakes and 30-40 isnt high speed when i can hit 163mph but goin that fast your speedo will be off some. lol

your temp is normal. it will be higher in city ridin than the highway. on the highway your forcing the air thru but just sitting at an idel the only air goin thru is what your fan is pullin. i put a relay on mine so when my brakes come on it will override the factory setup and my fans will come on at a stoplight that last forever to change on a hot sunny day. lol

Glad someone brought this up..When I need to stop quick I have the fishtail feeling as well...Ill try using less rear...I have been riding for about a year and have rarely had to stop hard so it has only been a rare occurance for me. Lack of experience or something wrong with the bike? Not trying to thread jack just seem to have a similar problem...maybe someone could elaborate a little more?