Ridin' the Storm out...

Botch

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Woohoo!

It's been clouding up all day, supposed to be raining all day tomorrow, got date night tomorrow night, and had to drive the cage to work today because of drycleaning/groceries/book delivery, so tonight after work I REALLY wanted to go for a short ride, and I did.
Drove about twenty miles up to North Ogden, it kept gettin' darker, so I turned around, let out the clutch, and plink! The first drop hit my faceshield. It started spittin'; I know you're supposed to pull over at the start of a rainstorm but I guessed (correctly) that it would just spit on and off here and there, so I just slowed a bit and kept driving back.

Then the wind started. We've had a very nice, gentle Fall, and the leaves have pretty much stayed on the trees, but suddenly a very strong south wind blasted through, and leaves were flying everywhere. The rain started coming down more and more too; was shaking my head every so often to clear the faceshield. A discarded McDonald's sack flew up and plastered onto my shoulder. My mesh jacket's liner was keeping me dry (from the waist up anyway) but a mesh jacket gets wet on the outside, and with the flow-through design, becomes a high-speed, high-power swamp cooler and starts chilling you quick.

And you know what?? I was having a blast! The wind was pretty much head-on, so there were no swerving issues, and I was close enough to home that hypothermia was not an issue. I was shifting smooth and turning good lines. I was cold, wet, and grinning from ear to ear when I pulled into the carport; had a stack of dishes to do in the kitchen so I got warmed back up doing them.

Tonight was a great feeling. I'll have to winterize the bike pretty soon; thirteen weeks ago I had never been on a motorcycle before, and now I can pretty much ride anywhere at any time without fear; the bug has bitten deep, and hard! I pretty much self-taught myself to ride, with some great help from MSF, a few books and this cool FZ6 forum I happened to stumble upon :thumbup: I'm a happy guy! :Sport:
 

Maverick

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Glad you had a good time in the rain. Sounds like you found your groove. I think it will be a long winter once we put the bikes away.... going to be some bad withdrawal....
 

Troubl

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I know you're supposed to pull over at the start of a rainstorm
You are? For real? If I did that here in Florida, I'd never get to ride!

Oh, and what's this "putting it away for the winter" thing? Never heard of that either! :p

Glad you had such a fun ride! I love moments like that.
 
S

sportrider

that reminds me of a Palomar ride a few weeks back. poorwboy & me got caught in the worst storm I've ever riddin in. we rode for 12+ miles with next to zero visibility. even the cages were pulling over. when we finally emerged on the other side of the storm I was smiling ear to ear also. that was some of the stupidest fun I've had at 15MPH!!!
 
W

wrightme43

My favorite is riding past hard core bikers parked under a overpass in the rain. LOL
Thanks Botch, and Danny you guys reminded me of how much fun I had the last time I rode in the rain.
I also love telling people that motorcycles all flip upside down, and burst into flames if they get rained on, when they tell me I am crazy for riding in the rain.

Wooo!!!
 

mikebike

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Two weeks ago I was in North Georgia and rode in the rain 3 of the 4 days of the trip and one of them pretty hard rain ALL DAY.

We had a blast....tires worked fine. Ya just can't "get on it" quite as hot out of the corners

Botch ... glad you had a good ride...
I heard that there was Snow in the mountians (like 10-20 inches) recently-- hope you are ready to ski a bit in March when I am out.


I am with Troubl -- what is this winterizing the bike stuff? :D
 

trailblazer87

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Just what I was wondering, Winterize? Heck, the guys up in Michigan race dual sports on frozen lakes. It was 18 degrees here last winter and i was on mine, winterize, who'd a thunk it.:Flip:
 

craig007

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I got caught in the rain on my way home today. While a few drops started to fall, I still decided to take the long way home (28 instead of 13 miles). It's your fault Botch because I read your post at lunch time. I was wearing a mesh jacket with a waterproof liner, and mesh pants without the liner over my normal clothes. Strangly enough the jacket was soaked, but I was dry...even my pants were dry?

I thought that I felts the bike slipping a bit, so I just took it pretty slow. It was still a lot more fun then driving a car!
 

Nelly

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Woohoo!

It's been clouding up all day, supposed to be raining all day tomorrow, got date night tomorrow night, and had to drive the cage to work today because of drycleaning/groceries/book delivery, so tonight after work I REALLY wanted to go for a short ride, and I did.
Drove about twenty miles up to North Ogden, it kept gettin' darker, so I turned around, let out the clutch, and plink! The first drop hit my faceshield. It started spittin'; I know you're supposed to pull over at the start of a rainstorm but I guessed (correctly) that it would just spit on and off here and there, so I just slowed a bit and kept driving back.

Then the wind started. We've had a very nice, gentle Fall, and the leaves have pretty much stayed on the trees, but suddenly a very strong south wind blasted through, and leaves were flying everywhere. The rain started coming down more and more too; was shaking my head every so often to clear the faceshield. A discarded McDonald's sack flew up and plastered onto my shoulder. My mesh jacket's liner was keeping me dry (from the waist up anyway) but a mesh jacket gets wet on the outside, and with the flow-through design, becomes a high-speed, high-power swamp cooler and starts chilling you quick.

And you know what?? I was having a blast! The wind was pretty much head-on, so there were no swerving issues, and I was close enough to home that hypothermia was not an issue. I was shifting smooth and turning good lines. I was cold, wet, and grinning from ear to ear when I pulled into the carport; had a stack of dishes to do in the kitchen so I got warmed back up doing them.

Tonight was a great feeling. I'll have to winterize the bike pretty soon; thirteen weeks ago I had never been on a motorcycle before, and now I can pretty much ride anywhere at any time without fear; the bug has bitten deep, and hard! I pretty much self-taught myself to ride, with some great help from MSF, a few books and this cool FZ6 forum I happened to stumble upon :thumbup: I'm a happy guy! :Sport:
Thats a great tale Botch, I can tell you were exhilarated as it sounded like you even enjoyed washing your dishes. Nice one. Does winterise mean your gona coat all the alloy with anti rust agents. Good on ya...?
 
B

bluenova

Pull over when a storm comes?
Put it away for the winter?

If we did that in Europe we would never get to ride. Granted I don't think it's much fun getting cold, wet and having your visor fog up, so I won't go out for fun if it's raining hard, but always for work. The only time I stop and take the car is when I know the roads will be icy.
 
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