Riding in the rain?

[nsx276]

I don't ride in the rain. Am I being safe or am I missing out on a opportunity to learn new skills.

 

[granda080]

Yes...to both. I ride in the rain. It's not my favorite thing to do but it's not unsafe per say. You ride to whatever the conditions are. I would recommend riding some in the rain because chances are at some point you will be stuck in the rain.

 

[Squiz]

Yes...to both. I ride in the rain. It's not my favorite thing to do but it's not unsafe per say. You ride to whatever the conditions are. I would recommend riding some in the rain because chances are at some point you will be stuck in the rain.

I would fully agree with the above. I would encourage you to get our there and practice accelerating, braking and cornering. Of course you’ll be timid at first, but your overall comfort level will greatly increase even when it’s dry out.

My first major ride in rain was 4 hours in the pouring rain on our Oregon Coastal Hwy 101 from Seaside to Bandon Dunes. I still remember the feeling I had leaning into tight corners and my tires hookin up nicely. :thumbup:

 

[iSteve]

And if that is't fun enough you get to clean a bunch of places on your bike that don't usually get dirty from dry riding.

 

[Norbert]

it will teach you to be smooooth.

what do i mean by smooth? hard to explain. keith code goes into it here:
http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/features/122_1011_the_harmonics_of_smooth_riding/index.html

"Create harmony with your controls. Smooth is all about catching the resonant wave from your last input. "

 

[rsw81]

it will teach you to be smooooth.

And that's the name of the game right there brother! Just like driving a car in the rain, you merely need to adjust your speed and following distances accordingly, but most importantly be smooth on your controls. What do I mean by this? Smooth throttle application with gentle roll on, no grabbing on the brakes, very gentle shifts and slowly clutch release, and smooth leans through the corners with as little mid-turn adjustments as possible.

Another important piece: get some weather proof gear! Nothing worse than being soaking wet when you get to your destination.

 

[MHS]

I feel like I'm missing out on skills-learning and experience by not riding in the rain -- but if the forecast looks bad I'll just take the cage.

I have ridden in the rain though - on my way home from Chicago one weekend I got stuck in what felt like a monsoon.

 

[nsx276]

Thanks guys. I rode in the rain once and I was timid. I live in Maryland and as soon as we get some rain people seem to forget how to drive their cars. I was thinking in terms of safety from people hitting me. But I will definitely try it on some side roads where I can avoid getting rear ended http://www.600riders.com/forum/images/smilies/thumbup.gif

 

[dxh24]

In my experience, theres a few things you gotta be extra careful for when riding in the rain, obviously visibility can be less :spank: but definitely try and stay off the lines as they are quite a bit more slippery in the rain, almost as bad as ice, i've seen 2 different friends go down 2 completely different times from road paint, also i hear some bridges can be extra slippery in the rain, haven't gone over a bridge in the rain yet so can't tell ya for fact Definitely something you want to have under your belt a couple times so when you HAVE to drive in the rain you aren't crappin' your pants :thumbup:

 

[Falcon1220]

I ride in the rain all the time. It is not the difficult. Make sure you have the proper riding gear and a good set of tires on the bike.
Parking for my car is just too expensive and I do not like public transport.
Even on wet cold days my FZ gives me the freedom to work to my own schedule and not the bus-company.

 

[novaks47]

I rode to work this morning, and it was 36 degrees F, the roads were wet(mountain roads), and I got caught in some light rain. I avoid rain whenever possible, but I got caught just the same. The kicker is, when I looked around, there where no clouds to be seen! It's really not that bad, just a little unnerving the first time. Like others have said, just ride as smooth as possible, and it'll turn out just fine. What can be a pain though, is lack of visibility! My glasses kept fogging up worse than normal, and the face shield kept getting condensation on the inside. Add to that all the water drops on the out side, and it made for a not so pleasant ride. Nothing like 36F air freezing your face off! lol Luckily, whenever I tuck, the turbulence created by my windscreen causes the water to be forced downward and off of the face shield! Works better than wipers! lol I say get out on a day just after it rains, so that you can get a feel for things, without having to deal with any possible visibility issues. If you ride like you would when your're taking it real easy, it'll be cake. It's good experience, because sometimes you just never know what the weather is going to do.

 

[DEATH4OF4]

get rain gear. waterproof boots will save yur but. not good when your pouring a cup of water out of each shoe. more you ride in the rain the more comfortable you will become. i like it.

 

[Kazza]

I don't ride in the rain. Am I being safe or am I missing out on a opportunity to learn new skills.

You need to experience ALL kinds of conditions to be a good rider.

What are you going to do when you get caught out suddenly in bad weather? It can happen to us all no matter what weather was forecast for the day.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Yamma~Tiger]

Yes...to both. I ride in the rain. It's not my favorite thing to do but it's not unsafe per say. You ride to whatever the conditions are. I would recommend riding some in the rain because chances are at some point you will be stuck in the rain.

+1. pretty much.

 

[DownrangeFuture]

get rain gear. waterproof boots will save yur but. not good when your pouring a cup of water out of each shoe. more you ride in the rain the more comfortable you will become. i like it.

+1 I love riding in the rain. The bike handles 90% the same, the limits of traction just come sooner than you're used to.

Really man, the only difference with riding in the rain is, you're just getting wet.

 

[Kanten]

Keep in mind that manhole covers and tram/railroad tracks is also REALLY slippery when wet.

 

[Norbert]

i'd like to also say that i do avoid riding in the rain when it rains for the first time in weeks (sometimes there are droughts in the summer). i give a day to wash off all the crap (oil, coolant, etc.) that's accumulated on the roads.

i also don't ride when it rains in the winter, near freezing temperatures.
i like the roads to be dry in the winter.

 

[greg]

i wouldn't get out very much if i only rode when it was dry, (is america a desert or is the uk just really wet?)

the main things to remember as mentioned above
1) painted lines become slippery but they are ok to drive in a straight line over
2) as above with manhole covers
3) braking distances double
4) is it's been dry for a while, then all the oils in the road may come to the surface when it rains, making it greasy
5) wear waterproof gear if you're out in it for any length of time, watch out for where your jacket goes oer your trousers or you may end up looking like you wet yourself...

 

[radexS1]

the main things to remember as mentioned above
1) painted lines become slippery but they are ok to drive in a straight line over
2) as above with manhole covers
3) braking distances double
4) is it's been dry for a while, then all the oils in the road may come to the surface when it rains, making it greasy
5) wear waterproof gear if you're out in it for any length of time, watch out for where your jacket goes oer your trousers or you may end up looking like you wet yourself...

This is a good summary. But I think its also important to remember that the visor will fog up a LOT more in the rain, and most of the cars on the road will forget how to drive, and give up on observation completely.
So do pedestrians who are trying to get out of the rain asap.

Oh and the bike gets filthy.

 

[DDS]

If you're going at speed you can turn your head and use the wind to get rid of the water on your visor

Also spraying some furniture polish on the front (which contains silicone) lets the water just trickle off.

Rain is something you have to deal with in the UK