Practiced emergency braking in the rain today

[Norbert]

....and survived!

On the way to work this morning I decided to practice stopping on a wet, straight, empty road near my house. Doing a *real* emergency stop in the rain is definitely something I'd like to avoid, but I thought I'd practice just in case the worst happens.

Wow! I did a tank slap. The front wheel lost traction and started oscillating. It was the first time I experienced that. Fortunately I didn't go down. I recovered and did 3 more emergency stops from 50MPH. This time more gradually. The braking distance was a lot longer than I thought it would be.

I already knew I had to gradually apply the front brake, especially in low traction conditions like today. I've heard this from more experienced riders and I've read about it. But there's a difference between knowing and experiencing something first hand. I'm glad I didn't crash, and I'm also really glad I gained some more real world experience.

When I continued on my way to work, I saw another rider on black sportbike. I remember thinking that since he's riding so close to the car in front of him, if the car brakes hard, he is going to being screwed.

I know some of you folks from the UK and the Pacific Northwest ride in the ride a lot. Any advice in riding in the rain, and more importantly: stopping?

Ride safe!

 

[DefyInertia]

I'm guessing your tires were still cold when you were doing this?

 

[Norbert]

I'm guessing your tires were still cold when you were doing this?

Hmmm....
Yeah now that you mention it, cold tires probably played a part.
I had been riding for 10 minutes.
It's worth trying again when the tires are warm. As soon as I get the nerve.

 

[RJ2112]

....and survived!

On the way to work this morning I decided to practice stopping on a wet, straight, empty road near my house. Doing a *real* emergency stop in the rain is definitely something I'd like to avoid, but I thought I'd practice just in case the worst happens.

Wow! I did a tank slap. The front wheel lost traction and started oscillating. It was the first time I experienced that. Fortunately I didn't go down. I recovered and did 3 more emergency stops from 50MPH. This time more gradually. The braking distance was a lot longer than I thought it would be.

I already knew I had to gradually apply the front brake, especially in low traction conditions like today. I've heard this from more experienced riders and I've read about it. But there's a difference between knowing and experiencing something first hand. I'm glad I didn't crash, and I'm also really glad I gained some more real world experience.

When I continued on my way to work, I saw another rider on black sportbike. I remember thinking that since he's riding so close to the car in front of him, if the car brakes hard, he is going to being screwed.

I know some of you folks from the UK and the Pacific Northwest ride in the ride a lot. Any advice in riding in the rain, and more importantly: stopping?

Ride safe!

Treat rain on a bike, like you would a snow covered road in a car. Extra space is vital. Gentle inputs.

The one most people seem to miss, though, is paying attention to your visibility. Not only how far you can see, but how well you can be seen. Blind spots become much larger when cars start throwing roosts of mist...... stay out of them.

 

[cv_rider]

I seem to recall that traction on wet (clean) pavement is nearly as good as on dry. The wetness issues seemed more related to stuff on the pavement (pain, plastic strip, manhole covers, grime) getting slippery in rain. Surprised that you noticed such a difference. I've only done emergeny braking practice in the dry, and agree that emergency braking practice in general is a harrowing enough experience. Almost dropped it a couple of times.

 

[VEGASRIDER]

I wouldn't consider myself an expert riding in the rain just because we just don't get that much down here. But when it does rain, I actually look forward to riding in the rain so that I can gain more miles underneath my belt riding in wet conditions.

I do know that visibility as far as seeinanbeeinseen becomes critical, so bright and reflective gear will play a major factor.

Try to stay out of the wash created from other vehicles by staying ahead of the pack or drop back. We don't have windsheildwipers, at least the electrical ones.

Increase your safety margin, allow more time and space between other vehicles.

And in case you start hydroplaning, don't fight it by braking or throttling. Just ride it out and pray.

 

[Iethius]

Treat rain on a bike, like you would a snow covered road in a car. Extra space is vital. Gentle inputs.

The one most people seem to miss, though, is paying attention to your visibility. Not only how far you can see, but how well you can be seen. Blind spots become much larger when cars start throwing roosts of mist...... stay out of them.

Yes, definitely, and.....

I avoid the middle of the lane near intersections where cars leak oil.

Also I watch for depressions in the lane where car tires roll, or heavy trucks depress.Thin Puddles there will hydroplane you when braking or accelerating.
Some pavements/asphalts are slicker than others when wet, I adjust speed/reactions to the road texture. (Freshly paved roads have oily spots that appear outta nowhere.)

Avoid billboarding, ( not being able to see around big vehicles.) All the time too, not just rain.

When I ride I generally look for an exit from trouble, I would prefer to take the shoulder and slide rather than hit the rear of a vehicle.

I use my rear brake lightly in the rain to relieve some load on the font. Also when riding 2 up, and e stops, Still only lightly though.

Mostly I do everything I can to make other people notice ME, bright colors, flick the headlight to high if I see a car poised at a corner looking to turn out on me.

And I rarely ride right after it rains the first time when it has been really sunny for days, too much oil, If it rains while out and I have no choice I am especially careful at intersections, I make a wider stance with my feet to prepare for slippage. And keep my feet of the pegs a little longer in case the rear tire slips while accelerating.

I practice quick stops a lot, if you do them in the rain I would recommend starting gradually building skill and confidence, if you go down in the rain practicing it, it maybe could hurt your confidence.

Enough?

 

[Kriswithak]

Alot of good advice and some of mine will be pretty similar.

Warming up your tyres properly first is probably the main thing, until they are warm just like in the dry your grip will be garbage and if you push the bike past its much lesser limits (in this condition) you'll end up in trouble.
Once they are warmed up you still want a much greater buffering distance because you still want to be careful while braking due to crap on the road and other people not buffering and ending up in trouble themselves! (Should always be looking for the oil slicks or other problems on the road anyhow, but in the dark or in bad weather its harder)

In my experience being very careful when putting your feet down can be a life saver, the white lines can be absolutely slippery, as can anything painted on the road, such as passenger limitations, lane turning rules, speed limits etc etc.

Making sure your helmet has something to stop it misting up is also extremely important!

My closest call was on a damp morning on new cold tyres (they only had about 100k's on them). I came out of it with a VERY injured pride, and realising I had been stupid and put other people at risk by not being a smart rider. Since then I make sure my riding suits the conditions, including my own bike, and I've stayed out of trouble. Fingers crossed we all stay safe

 

[RJ2112]

OMG.... I don't understand why your bike started a tank slapper. Even losing traction for a second shouldn't have induced a 'slapper.

Have you modified the fork, or suspension in any way? What is the mileage on your current tires? What are they inflated to? When did you last check?

Has your bike ever been dropped, or crashed?

Has the fork ever been serviced?

 

[Norbert]

Have you modified the fork, or suspension in any way?

No

Has your bike ever been dropped, or crashed?

No (not yet!)

Has the fork ever been serviced?

No

What is the mileage on your current tires? What are they inflated to? When did you last check?

7k on stock tires. I just checked the PSI on my tires:
front: 28 :spank:
rear: 32

I inflated them to spec:
Front:
225 kPa (33 psi) (2.25 kgf/cm²)
Rear:
250 kPa (36 psi) (2.50 kgf/cm²)
(I weigh 140lbs/64kg)

Do you think my PSI was so screwed up that it contributed to the tank slapping? I will be more diligent with my tire pressure checking. No excuses: I have a friggin' air compressor in my garage that's 2 feet away from my bike.

 

[RJ2112]

I think it (tire pressure) could have contributed. The soft tire, and the soft fork springs would tend to compress the front so the rake would get shorter..... which is less stable due to the loss of trail as well.

Fall temps being a bit cooler than summer, the pressure in the tires will drop.

You're so light in comparison to me, I would not expect the fork springs to be as much of an issue as I had with them.

If you land on the brakes hard, the front doesn't compress in a linear fashion.... that dual rate protion of the springs will compress nearly completely at the drop of a hat.... makes for (in my opinion) excessive fork dive.

 

[jrevans]

Mostly I do everything I can to make other people notice ME, bright colors, flick the headlight to high if I see a car poised at a corner looking to turn out on me.

You know, I used to do this too, but read how some drivers may interpret this as if you're giving them permission to go.... Sort of makes sense, so I no longer flick my headlight at cars in those situations.

 

[Kriswithak]

No matter what I do in any situation I never assume a driver sees me. I always buffer, move across the lane to make myself the most visible, setup the brakes, and get ready for the cager to do the stupidest thing possible.
I'll occasionally flash if I think someone might not be paying attention but normally if its someone reversing out of a driveway or something similar.

 

[Fazed1]

I finally got some wet weather riding under my belt after a year of riding and decided to run some braking drills, myself. Fun stuff! Even got to employ the newly gained braking skills, once, after getting back on a busy street on the way back home. Some people do not know how to check their mirrors.:spank: But, that IS why we practice braking so often, afterall.

Anyway, what do you all mean by "tank slapper"? Since I haven't been riding for too long (just put 1000 mi. on it), and usually quite conservatively, I guess I've never experienced this. What exactly is it? What causes it? What does it mean?

 

[sempul]

a tank slapper is when you loose the the grip on the handlebars and the they start yanking back on forth wiht the ends "slapping" the tank. usually not recoverable and if it is you only have seconds to do something. i hit a large bump in the road about a month ago on my cbr900 that had another bump right behind hit. put me into a "tank slapper" while yanking the handlebar out of me left hand. the only way i was able to recover was to yank the throttle and pull the front tire of the ground to make it stay still to grab the left bar again and then set it down. then i had to replace the seat as it had a bad smell to it lol.

 

[steveindenmark]

This is a really good way to learn that when it is wet, snowy, icy. That your stopping distance is massively increased and therefore you need to leave much more space between you and the vehicle in front.

Autumn is coming quick so this is now a very good lesson for us all.

As for a tankslapper. This is one of the best/worst I have ever seen.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZ1srcQMa_0[/ame]

Steve

 

[promega]

....and survived!



I know some of you folks from the UK and the Pacific Northwest ride in the ride a lot. Any advice in riding in the rain, and more importantly: stopping?

Ride safe!

For me when I ride in the rain or wet (in oregon). I only take routes that I know the corner doesnt have a weired grade in it, or youll loose the front tire for sure, I almost did it yesturday. I allways ride around 6 rpms and take wack corners extra extra extra slow. dont ride at night if you can. highbeams. dont horse around in the rain.