I refuse!

I refuse to drive in the rain when at all possible. I generally hate the rain period, but its just too dern slick when I drive my ford ranger work truck in the rain, I cant imagine the wreck I would be psycologically trying to do so.
I like to grin from pleasure, speed, wind, not grimmace at front wheel sliding in an intersection. =(
Call me a fair weather biker, but I have a fairly nice cage I drive myself, so no prob.

It dont bother me.

I saw this Cortech ad with a rider rolling thru a sweeper, wet road, with snow coming down. I wanna do that.

riding in it is not half as bad as thinking about cleaning it afterwards

I bought a new car right before I bougt a new bike in June of this year. I still prefer to ride the bike, rain or shine. I bought a rain suit a few days after the bike, and keep it in the saddle bags. Rain is not so bad, you just have to slow down a bit and be aware.

you should practice riding in the rain!!! I can't tell you how many times the ride started out as a short trip and ended up 200+miles away caught in rain. last christmas I rode to temecula it was sunny and warm at my house, half way there in the mountain pass I caught a rain storm and followed it the rest of the way, about 40 miles. on the way home that little rain storm turned into a hail storm and a little snow. no big deal been there before.
its not that bad, just takes a little longer to stop and slow down to decrease your lean angle.

According to Reg Pridmore you have 80% of the traction in the rain that you do in the dry.

I have done track day at Barber on an FJR and it did remarkably well for a 65olb bike. I'm sure the FZ6 would be even better.

Ive never rode in the rain, I will have to try it.

I actually passed my bike test in the worst rain i've seen in years !! Am shocked we still went ahead but glad when I passed !!

The emergency stop was emotional

Even with that experience though as a new rider i'm a little apprehensive at going out in the wet ... often rain is all we get here though in the UK

As I sit in the house this afternoon and it is raining outside.... I thought I would add to this thread....

I normally do not start a ride in the rain or venture too far from home when it is looming. That said I have been caught in the rain many times and as long as you take things a bit slower and allow more time to stop it is not bad.

Last year I was meeting some friends in Georgia to ride for a 5 day trip. It was to be a day riding there .....then 3 full days of riding ....then riding home.
It is about a 7-8 hour ride to the North Georgia Mountains from where I live in Florida. The morning I was to leave it was raining. So... out of the garage I pull with full rain suit on and rode 90% of the way there in a steady rain with periods of the HEAVY stuff. No big deal ....once we got there is was great weather and a very good trip.

In fact one I will be repeating beginning Oct 3rd this year

like a cat

I'm like a cat, I cant stand the water on me. Even walking outside is not fun for me when it rains. I work outside for a living, and when its raining I suit up and do the work, but I hate every living minute of it. I wear glasses too, and i'm a neat freak when it comes to them. Rain fouls my glasses and my mood.

I ride all year around and dont find any difference between rain and dry riding...only that I get wet and that sucks!! O and white lines on the road are like butter!!

I don't mind riding in the rain if I'm not around a lot of traffic. I won't take the bike though if it's already raining. Around here, the highly traveled roads have a lot of oil and grime caked into the surface so they're always slippery when they're wet.

Scorphonic said:

I ride all year around and dont find any difference between rain and dry riding...only that I get wet and that sucks!! O and white lines on the road are like butter!!

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Mate we dont have much choice due to our ever changing weather systems. I dont mind the rain as genrally the gear these days is actually waterproof.

A couple of nights ago, we had a major rain storm rip through Vegas. Probably the worst in ten years. I was at a casino along the strip and waited for the rain to let up. It stopped around 4am. and I hopped on my bike and headed home, which was about ten miles away. The route is all surface streets, heading directly west, which is slightly uphill. After 5 minutes, it started to rain again. It turned out to be a torrential downpour, with huge crosswinds. Felt like I was riding through a hurricane. The entire street turned into a river, garbage cans, debris floating away. Every intersection was flooded. My FZ6 turned into a jet ski. I rode all the way home in 1st gear. I had to make sure that I had enough torque to fight the water currents. That was the longest ten miles I have ever riden. The only part of my body that was dry was my head. Otherwise, it was like if I jumped into a swimming pool with my clothes on. That's how soaked I got.

Damnit man. That sound like it sucked.

the only time i stop riding is when there is snow on the road, if it rains i wear my contact lenses, its not enjoyable but there is more grip than most realise

My wife and I once set out on a 4 day trip to the Texas Hill country. It almost never rains down there during Labor day weekend. Well, It started raining on us about half way there and didn't stop until we got home. We still had a good time. Of all the trips we have been on there was only one that we didn't have to ride in at least some rain. That trip was the one where the temps got up to 115 F in the shade. We just assume we will get rained on some when we take a bike trip, so we have nice rain suits and drive cautiously. The threat of rain doesn't stop us from a trip. Now, if it is not a trip, I usually choose to not ride in the rain.

I do not have to ride in the rain, so I don't...but I did venture out once just to see what these new-fangled big fat tubeless bald-looking-'cept-for-a-few-squiggly-cuts tires would do in the rain, and I was impressed.
I have very vivid memories of riding my Triumph Bonneville home from Aldershot to Croydon in the mid-60's in January, and having to be literally lifted off my bike by my brothers because I was soaked to the skin and frozen almost stiff. The pain of the feeling coming back into my body was unbelievable.
But men were tougher back then.

Scorphonic said:

I ride all year around and dont find any difference between rain and dry riding...only that I get wet and that sucks!! O and white lines on the road are like butter!!

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Let me back ya up on the white lines.

"STAY OFF ANYTHING PAINTED ON THE ROAD WHEN WET!!!"

It will be slicker than snot when wet.Also and i'm sure most know that the first rain off the season all the oils will surface to the top and grap your attention in the curves.

Sam

watch for the rainbow on the road in the wet or after first rain as that sucker will be slicker than greased ice