Topic: How good should I expect my front brake to be.

[Quail "Owner of the comfortable k8"]

Should my CB750k8 be able to slide the front tire in a panic stop?

 I weigh in at trim 220 LB.






 (large heavy testicles, and size 14 shoes)

[Uncle Ernie]

Get your "manhood" is that big, you're probably sitting on them. If you can get them and your gun boats farther forward, weighting the front wheel will help prevent the sliding.
Or just get a new tire.

[Lumbee]

...mine will tie up the front...I'm 165, but either way it should lock it up...

[SteveD CB500F]

I can howl the front tyres on both my 500 and 550.

I live down a gravel track - efficient front brakes are not necessarily a good thing!

[bryanj]

You should be able to make the tyre howl but rarely are they good enough (or the tyre crap enough) to lock they wheel

[Gordon]

I had occasion to mash on my brakes just yesterday.  Back one locked up just fine (of course), the front did not.  But it did stop me very quickly.  I just consider it primitive ABS. 

[Lumbee]

...I guess I should revise my earlier statement.  I've never actually locked up my front wheel (at least not while moving), but my sense is if I were to just crank down on the brake and squeeze as hard as I could, it would def send me flying over the bars   

[Geeto67]

...I guess I should revise my earlier statement.  I've never actually locked up my front wheel (at least not while moving), but my sense is if I were to just crank down on the brake and squeeze as hard as I could, it would def send me flying over the bars   

Not likely. The only time I have ever gone over the bars on a cb750 is when I hit something. The cb750 front brake is 1970's brake technology and it is bad 1970's brake technology at that. Most cars made after 1985 can outstop you. The brakes are prone to fade big time if you ride anywhere they requires quick stops. If you crank hard on it you should be able to lock up the brake but you ain't going anywhere unless you are jumping forward (or weigh under 100 lbs). You are also going to get only about 2 or three hard cranks out of it before the fade keeps you from locking it up (depending on tire condition). I rode a new R1 last week and that bike has brakes, and those brakes will toss you off the bike and flip the whole bike forward, but then again the bike only weighs 360+ lbs.

If you want to improve your brakes try a caliper conversion. The kawasaki triple guys have used the zx6/ex500 caliper for a while now and it makes a night and day difference (all they fab is a bracket to bolt the caliper to the fork legs). With dual calipers they can pull stoppies on a 70's bike (which is impressive). 

[Lumbee]

..well Geeto...since I'm not willing to squeeze the brake with all my might while moving...I'll take u'r word for it.  Hmm...stoppies with a CB750...thats alot of bike to be verticle on the front wheel...

[Einyodeler]

I totally agree that these brakes might have been considered good in their day but in todays traffic when over 1/2 of the cars on the road have 4 wheel discs and ABS they are just plain scary.Believe me , you don`t want the car in front of you to be able to stop in half the distance.
I have an R1 and find that because of riding the 500 to work into the city each day that I`m riding safer on the R1 because of the distances I keep myself from a bumper sandwich while riding the older bike.
I can howl the tire on the 500 and could do stoppies`s all day on the newer bike.

[Flood]

I can't lock up the front on my 550.

Generally, I'm happy when it doesn't get faster when I hit the brakes

[Geeto67]

..well Geeto...since I'm not willing to squeeze the brake with all my might while moving...I'll take u'r word for it.  Hmm...stoppies with a CB750...thats alot of bike to be verticle on the front wheel...

Radigga
Your cb750F3 has the better brakes than the k8 singe disc. If I recally correctly the K8 brakes are only marginally better than my 75 750k5 brakes. My 78 supersport stops way better than any other stock cb750 I have ever owned (excluding my 1979 supersport). Now that I think about it (and realize you weigh 165lbs and not 220lbs like Quail) if you werent holding on tight to the bars and pulled that brake as hard as you can I could see it being possible for the bike to toss you forward, but most likely your hand would back off the brake lever before your left your seat and I doubt very much you would make it past the bars.   

In comparison to brakes of modern vehicles however, any foreign car made after 1985, or any car after 1989 should be able to out stop you in a panic situation. With the f3, since it is similar to the 79 DOHC you might want to check over at the cb1100F forum since some of those guys have figured out how to use cbr brakes with their stock front end (I think you need the rotors also).

[VMAX1970]

id check the travel on the front end if your forks full compress the wheel will lock real easy. you might need new springs.

[Quail "Owner of the comfortable k8"]

It feels like I have  80 % of ful power to lock the wheel. it stopps well but but just wont lock

[bryanj]

It will lock under panic braking when the old biddy dont look and steps off the kerb in the rain if the wheel is in a puddle! DONT ASK it cost new bars; headlamp ears; headlamp shell and cos i found the lower tree bent when i took it out to fit the tapers as the forks were out one of them too. That was a 500 four back in the 80's

[dusterdude]

be that as it may,you dont want front wheel lock up anyway.