rain riding...!

[Yakima]

Here in Washington State cities seem to like using "rubberized" arrow and lines at intersections. They're thick and slick.
Very slick.
Slick in tires AND the soles of your boots. Pay attention to what's underfoot when you're stopping.

[MADurstewitz]

Originally Posted by Pantah

I wouldn't suggest using this technique aboard a 500lb street bike. You'll just drop it, break a few parts and need help picking it up. Plus nothing really translates to riding on tar. This fellow has apparently never ridden a street bike in the grass...maybe a mini cycle.

Many times. Wet grass gives you a great sense of when your wheels start to give. Very analogous to that freshly rained-on oil slick at many intersections. Or, "white-lining" getting onto the highway.

I've ridden across a few frozen lakes as well.

[apollomission19]

Took my bike license 6 months ago and got a 650 Transalp and been driving in then, in rain or sun. Done quite a few offroad on wet and mud and just love it.
It is not the same to ride in wet or dry weather, but you really learn how to drive when it is wet. You need extra attention to listen to the bike whispering it's limits.
The danger is on those white road marks and metal surfaces, cause they are very very slippery. So, in the rain, I just take my time and learn to enjoy even more the ride.
Keep it safe.

[randyo]

Originally Posted by anotherguy

Contrary to the above the most important thing for rain riding is to stay warm and dry.

this is the BEST advice I've seen in this thread

hypothermia is dangerous, worse than drunk driving, your stupid and don't know it cause there is no euphoria, if your shivering, your hypothermic, stop, get off the bike and warm up.

I don't ride any different in rain than I do in dry, but thats cause I don't go crazy when it dries, the street is not a racetrack, you can ride at legal speeds + with no special consideration assuming you got acceptable tread depth and your bike is in good repair

[doxiedog]

WATCH OUT FOR WET LEAVES!
Even in a parking lot,at a crawl,watch where put your feet down.
Rain is the equilizer of pot holes!,
1/8" deep,or 8'' deep,you won't know.

[Aussijussi]

Staying dry and therefore warm, as it was mentioned before, has the benfit of keeping you sharp and in focus, so you can fully concentrate on riding, instead of on, how wet and cold you are. The biggest factor in wet conditions is the grip or the lack of.
I join the posters that claimed the grip being nearly the same as in dry conditions, except on occasions like, oil in the intersections, painted white lines, muddy run off on country roads. Once you find out that the bike won't slide as soon as you lean it, you can relax your death grip on the controls, being really tense, makes riding a deadly affair. The only thing shitting me about riding in the rain is the visibility, i wear glasses and if they don't fog up, the bloody visor will!

[PeterW]

As far as rain riding goes, the best advice I can give is ride in the rain when you aren't forced to.

Do the "weekend loop" even if it is raining, sure, slow down, be more careful, but ride. Experience is everything, and riding when there aren't other pressure (like heavy commute traffic) makes it a lot easier to cope with.

I enjoy it, around here there's much less traffic and far fewer cops when it's raining.

It is easier if it's a dirt bike or dual sport bike, slides are easier to recover, but it's not life threatening on sports bike, you just have to be smooth.

Pete

[catweasel67]

Originally Posted by Yakima

Here in Washington State cities seem to like using "rubberized" arrow and lines at intersections. They're thick and slick.
Very slick.
Slick in tires AND the soles of your boots. Pay attention to what's underfoot when you're stopping.

+1 on that. Love the way the old ticker races when you put your foot down at traffic lights and it just keeps going :p

[Forde]

when its raining


ride like its not, but remember that it is

[TrashCan]

After riding in rain and fog...I"ll take the rain.
BRP, about 400 miles of the round trip was rain, fog or both.

Enjoyed every minute.

[ShardPhoenix]

Originally Posted by outlaws justice

Reduced Visability makes iding dangerous. Cars cannot see us, This is partially due to the rain itself and compounde by the spray off the rear tire of the bike.

Several years ago myself and my cousin were riding matching bikes back from Albany in the ouring rain. We were being followed by my wife in the car. She made sure to tell us at the first stop that she could not see my cousin as the spray masked the tail light and made it impossible to see him or his bike. On the other hand she could see me, to be specific my lights. I had removed the rear turn signals, and replaced them with a set of front signals so they acted not only as turn signals but also as marker lights. The marker lights set out to the sides of the bike where the spray was not as think could be seen.

Since this we have converted the rear lights on all the bike we ride to aid in being seen in adverse conditions.

I was thinking about this last week when I was on my way home one evening. I'd decided to drive my truck because it had been sitting for a bit. It was right around the time of day when the sun is going down, light is reduced and of course-- rush hour traffic. Initially I'd decided to take the freeway in order to try to shave a few minutes off of my commute home. The reduced light, the pouring rain and the spray from the cars/trucks made it hard as shit to even see other cars. Made me glad I'd decided to not ride the bike because fuck that, I'd of completely vanished in the high level of reduced visibility. Hell, even though I was in the truck I made the decision to get off of the freeway and take a back road home. Visibility was still shit but it wasn't the cluster fuck the freeway was. Had I been on the bike, I'm sure the whole trip home would have been about as white knuckle as it gets.


As for wet weather riding... It sure tells you when your 8 year old gore-tex boots are leaking around the soles. Got home yesterday and my feet were making the "squish squish" sound. Time for new boots!

[crofrog]

If you are ever relying on other people to see you for your safety it's just a matter of time until your on your ass.

[ShardPhoenix]

Speaking for myself, I don't rely on other people to see me when I ride. I don't rely on other people to see me when I'm driving the cage, and I didn't rely on other people to see me when I drove commercially.... Hell, on Monday TWO people almost hit my pickup in the span of about 45 minutes. One of them pulled out of a side street and almost T-boned me. Classic case of someone looking in your direction, not "seeing" you and pulling out. Since I always try to keep an "out" around me when I'm on the road, and I'd somewhat anticipated that dipshit's move, I got out of the way before the twit could dent my door. The other was on the wrong side of the road in a fairly blind curve in a residential area.

All the same I don't see the reason to up the ante any by going out on the road on the bike when it's wet and dark. Goes beyond my personal comfort level and the risk vs reward ratio goes waaaay down.

[VxZeroKnots]

I know this has very little to do with the subject at hand but holy shit. Reminds me of watching Senna drive right at the edge of catastrophe.

[High Country Herb]

Originally Posted by TrashCan

After riding in rain and fog...I"ll take the rain.
BRP, about 400 miles of the round trip was rain, fog or both.

Enjoyed every minute.

I love fog. I grew up in it, learned to drive and ride in it, and feel like it gives me privacy in public (as weird as that sounds ). A bit like the "Briar Rabbit", I suppose.

The amount that rain changes traction has a lot to do with the tires on the bike. My dual sport with Kenda K761 tires had about 50% traction in rain, and felt very slippery. My Aprilia has Pirelli Scorpion Trail tires, and rain traction is at about 75-80%. I don't try to corner too hard, but still ride a bit faster than auto traffic. For me, visibility is a bigger issue when the shield fogs over (this kind of fog I don't care for). I may try one of the new shield designs that prevent fog on my next helmet.