Can spongy brakes lead to skidding?

Question

I recently flushed my non-ABS motorcycle rear brake line with new fluid using a little hand vacuum pump, but accidentally initially let the brake fluid drop below the "low" marker on the master cylinder/reservoir.

After bleeding and cycling in the new brake fluid a couple of times with a little vacuum pump, it seemed as if I had removed most if not all of the unwanted air.

But, while the rear brake pedal range-of-motion feels totally fine (just a little press locks up the rear wheel), I'm noticing the rear wheel happens to skid a bit more under hard braking now.

Could this somewhat easier tendency to "lock" & "skid" be a result of sponginess or unwanted air in the brake line?

Answer 1

Im not a mechanic but any brake that is having issues may cause skidding (due to terrible brake performance), less stopping power and may hurt your brakes, rotors, calipers. My SUV Avura MDX I failed to change my brakes because they were so bad that when it came to emergency braking my screw that held my caliper came lose and the caliper came loose and i lost stopping power to my left front tire. If your bike doesnt have ABS, then you may need to pump brakes you cant slam your brakes on emergency stops or you'll skid and still hit something, I never owned a bike so i could be wrong. Ive skid many times because my neon sxt '04 doesnt have ABS, ive got to pump the brakes, abs does it for you. But with ABS it is designed to reduce skidding and still stop your vehicle effectively. Non-abs your guarenteed to lock your wheels and lose control of vehicle.

Answer 2

Looks like this is not due to the air or sponginess of the brake line, but the opposite. Having bled the brakes of air and other impurities (floating around the old brake fluid), my brakes now bite harder/sooner than what I was previously used to. For the rear brake, this makes it easier to lock up and skid the rear tire.