Hello all. I am so happy to have found this forum! I am a relatively new rider. I'm a 47 year old man with an average weight of about 170 and height of 5'11. I started out with my first bike just a few short months ago which until 2 days ago was a 2003 Kawasaki Ninja 250r. It only took a few hundred riding miles to realize it was not going to remain a viable riding solution for long. 2 days ago I sold it and used the money to purchase myself a 1996 CBR 1000F in very decent shape aside from a few cosmetics. Soo, I began my new experience with a 2 hour ride home on it from Baltimore on additionally wet my feet with my first experience on the interstate as well as travelling more than 50 mph for the first time. I have to say this bike feels so much safer, so much more stable and balanced not to mention none of the being blown around by mere wind gusts as i experienced on the 250R.

So my questions are this.. First off is what recommendations or skill suggestions can anyone give on how to handled and use the linked braking system as it's supposed to? What I am finding with mine, is the front brake is MUCH quicker and harsher to react than my 250 while but the rear is also much more responsive and I have been using it for the most part for normal slowing. I'm trying to figure out what a good ration of front / rear use is and when to use each / both.

I have noticed because of the weight.. when cornering the bike seems to want to push into the turns quite a bit which I'm not at all used to making feel as though I need to slow considerably. Part of this is due to not really having a feel for it's cornering ability and being afraid to lean this fat beast to much going through a turn. What are peoples experiences with cornering on the 1000F? I'm not a rider whose goal is to get my knee as close to the ground as possible so no need to give me skill tips there. But i would like to get any tips that might give me a little comfort towards riding the bike on those 40 - 45mph back roads that have a few bends and turns.

Thanks for any suggestions any of you may have who have experience on these particular models and I'm certainly open to any other ownership tips you all may have.

It's a pleasure to be here!

 

Tons of Cane members here, so I will let them chime in here. But I will say this, you want about a 70/30 ratio front to rear. The front brakes are your bread winners. They are the primary use because you dont want to lock the rear (or the front!) and it start fish tailing or sliding out to a low side or tailing and then locking and causing a high side. Its just bad news all around. Notice how there are 2 big rotors in front and a single small one in the rear. This is because the primary breaking power from the front.

Going around turns, you want to keep steady on the throttle. Avoid abrupt breaking and throttling in the turn. Save the throttle for post-apex and save the break for the pre-apex. So coming into turn, break, constant throttle throughout when throttling. Past apex and you can start your counter steer to lean the bike back up. Remember, you can use your feet on the pegs as well as a lean to steer the machine. A lean and counter (pulling the bar left when turning right and leaning to keep the machine in a nice lean and pulling yourself out of the lean. That is a cluster!!! Hope this helps you some.

-Poss

 

if you're new to riding I suggest taking the MSF Basic Rider Course. It's a great way to learn proper techniques. Plus, they teach you on their bikes so you don't have to be concerned with damaging yours in the parking lot.

Also, how old are those tires? The tread may look fine but if they have a lot of years on the rubber they're getting old and less grip. As tire rubber ages it turns into hockey pucks. Look at the DOT code on the sidewall for the date of manufacture.

Determining the Age of a Tire

 

Poss, thanks for the info! I have been practicing my counter steering and I do see it help quite a bit

 

RoadiJeff, I am actually signed up for an safety course which takes place in May. As for the tired they are almost brand new. Only about 200 miles on them. So unless the previous owner bought them from somewhere they were sitting for years they should be from last summer. But i will check out the link you shared to get a better idea! Thanks so much!