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Posted by pcarrell
- April 29, 2015, 08:27:43 AMRaiderbill is right. Wheel hop happens when you lock up the brakes and the friction between the tire and road gets very high. Your bike is light, and so when the rear shocks drop to the point where the spring unloads, like during hard braking as the mass of the bike moves froward, the resonant frequency of the unsprung mass drops down to the resonant frequency of the sprung mass. This is going to make the entire system much more sensitive to wheel hop starting. How far the shocks drop won't cause the wheel hop. If the spring comes unloaded, then there is no weight on the rear tires other than the unsprung weight of the axle, wheel, brakes, etc. This is what will lower the resonant frequency and help cause wheel hop. You'll notice this happening on a bike more then a car because the bike is lighter. Pick up trucks probably experience this more then most other 4 wheel vehicles, because they are lighter in the rear.
Posted by Jobi
- April 28, 2015, 15:28:37 PMA few days ago I had to do an emergency stop, but my back-end wagged about like a dog's tail and I slapped my right saddlebag against a guy's rear left bumper area. Didn't experience any hopping though.
It really is an eye opener. The rear end of a very heavy motorcycle waving about like a piece of paper...you only understand it after you've felt it first-hand.
Posted by Reveen
- April 28, 2015, 13:52:00 PMI hit both brakes about as hard as possible (with a strong but gradual pull on the front brake) . I felt it "hop" probably 5 or so times until I came to a complete stop. Felt like ABS only much more pronounced. I'm just making sure nothing actually went wrong! Rode on my lunch break today and everything seems fine, so I'm guessing it has to do with the suspension maybe being a little stiff.
Posted by CDNRatMan
- April 28, 2015, 13:32:15 PMNot being there and not seeing what happened and not knowing how hard you applied that brake, I would say you locked it up and released it and reapplied it not being conscious of the fact and that cause the wheel to hop.
Posted by RaiderBill
- April 28, 2015, 12:12:05 PMIt's just called wheel hop, can happen on acceleration or stopping as the suspension tries to handle what's going on.
Posted by mittico68
- April 28, 2015, 11:10:53 AMYeah, I've got one: BE REALLY CAREFULL WITH RIDIN' ON BIKES, BECAUSE CARS & TRUCK ECT. DRIVERS JUST DO NOT SEE BIKERS UNLESS THEY WON'T BE SHUT DOWN... 
Posted by Reveen
- April 28, 2015, 06:50:57 AMSo I'm on my way to work around 6:15 a.m. this morning enjoying the crisp 36°f air, when all of a sudden a pickup truck from a construction company came out of nowhere on a side street and turned right into my lane without looking. I hit the brakes hard and felt my back wheel hopping (almost felt like ABS) as I came to a stop. Looks like I stopped just a foot short of being hit. Whew...dont need any coffee this morning, as that incident has woken me up like a fire alarm from a deep slumber.
Anyway, why did my back wheel hop like that? I've never had to hit the brakes that hard before, and I'm assuming maybe I hit a little too much rear brake? Anyone have any insight? Any tips for next time?