The joy of riding in the rain...

[mossy1200]

Got the Gusta wet on Sunday. It has quick release fairings so only took 2 hrs to clean after a 10min ride so im happy.
Not going to be able to sell it as never ridden in the wet now though.

[george formby]

I had a fantastic involved & fast ride down the Buller gorge last year, two up & loaded to the roof on a R1200gs in torrential rain.
It remains the most memorable ride I've had on the bike to date.
I doubt the half a dozen Harley's I passed like they were stopped have forgotten that day yet either.
Some bikes love the rain, some really don't, I felt that the GS has never been more in its element. My old RSVR would probably have killed me ten times in the same ride.

My two pot, upright seated cycle, loves the rain. Somehow it manages to travel at the same speed as it does in the dry despite my best efforts at riding to the conditions.
Time & again I get stuck behind vehicles creeping along. Keep thinking to meself, fuck sake, it's rain not snow. No ice is hiding and your vehicle won't spontaneously throw itself into a ditch.

I like proper rain, not that drizzly, fairy piss aspiring to be rain. Proper rain cleans the road.

[Motu]

Time & again I get stuck behind vehicles creeping along. Keep thinking to meself, fuck sake, it's rain not snow. No ice is hiding and your vehicle won't spontaneously throw itself into a ditch.

2 or 3 weeks ago I was following a Ducati SS of some unknown size on a wet road, he was doing 90kph and had 2 cars behind him. When he slowed to 70 on a 85kph posted corner I take at 100 in the rain, I just had to get past the fucker. Maybe he was on slicks - but so was I, my centre groove had gone weeks ago.

[DamianW]

Yesterday arvo between Tirau and Cambridge was epic - couldn't see for shite lol.

[caspernz]

Riding in the rain isn't for everyone of course. The comment about one of you catching up to and overtaking a rider who was obviously lacking in confidence/ability to cope with the wet conditions, quite common for anyone who's ridden for a good spell to encounter this.

An amusing story relating to weather, back a few years when I lived in Welly still. Been to Gisborne for the weekend, coming home over the Rimutaka Hill in the rain on a Monday afternoon. Caught up to what was quite obviously a mufti cop car at the base of the Hill. He kept getting faster and faster, not sure whether this was play racing or trying to teach me a lesson... Kinda funny really since I'd traverse the Hill many times during my working week anyway, and often enough on the bike. So with a car setting the pace, and me well within Mr Michelins' comfort zone, just found it amusing.

Went thru the Dome Valley today in the rain in the truck, hadn't been up that way for a month or three, and by crikey the amount of shiny tar was staggering. Just trying to pick a safe and sensible line thru there on the bike would be quite a task

[mossy1200]

I used to like racing in the rain.
Wellington road surfaces and blacked over white lines and metal grids leave me traveling carefully though.
The first near miss I had was on ice grit that hadn't been removed from the hills outside Dunedin. It had mounded up but in the rain you could not see that it was there. Got the bike so sideways it must have looked like speedway. The guy I passed must have thought he was going to run me over when I came off. Very lucky I didn't.

[BMWST?]

i reckonn tyres do waer faster in the wet.My only explanation is that at he interface of tyre and road the water pressure is very high as the water is squeezed out through the sipes and grooves...water blaster effect

[mossy1200]

i reckonn tyres do waer faster in the wet.My only explanation is that at he interface of tyre and road the water pressure is very high as the water is squeezed out through the sipes and grooves...water blaster effect

Also noticeable is the small grit that wet surface seems to throw around. There must be an increased amount of slippage against the road when there is less traction even if you don't feel it also. I find I button off earlier and use engine braking more which will promote some surface sliding on the back tire. Maybe a colder tire slip factor also as its operating below its normal temperatures.
I couldn't get any real heat into supercorsa at road legal speeds last ride in the wet. Poor wet weather tire compound.

[Berries]

My two pot, upright seated cycle, loves the rain. Somehow it manages to travel at the same speed as it does in the dry despite my best efforts at riding to the conditions.
Time & again I get stuck behind vehicles creeping along. Keep thinking to meself, fuck sake, it's rain not snow.

Classic. I do my standard speed on a wet commute and overtake a lot more than in the dry. Just waiting to get pulled and to be asked about driving to the conditions. Good tyres, good brakes, good wet weather gear, they are the conditions. I haven't slowed down that much, it is just that my dry 'riding to the conditions' speed is tempered by the instant 28 day suspension I would get if I did it all the time.

Rain is great if you have confidence in your tyres.

[caspernz]

i reckonn tyres do waer faster in the wet.My only explanation is that at he interface of tyre and road the water pressure is very high as the water is squeezed out through the sipes and grooves...water blaster effect

The crap that ends up sloshed around has a bit of a grinding paste effect I'd say. Sure can see this on my 9 axle truck n trailer unit after a run in the wet, seems to smooth the tyres' surface quite noticeably.

Also noticeable is the small grit that wet surface seems to throw around. There must be an increased amount of slippage against the road when there is less traction even if you don't feel it also. I find I button off earlier and use engine braking more which will promote some surface sliding on the back tire. Maybe a colder tire slip factor also as its operating below its normal temperatures.
I couldn't get any real heat into supercorsa at road legal speeds last ride in the wet. Poor wet weather tire compound.

Absolutely agree. And again like in the truck, on the bike that slip factor shows up in the long run. We won't mention the Slipperelli tendency to be a fair weather tyre

Classic. I do my standard speed on a wet commute and overtake a lot more than in the dry. Just waiting to get pulled and to be asked about driving to the conditions. Good tyres, good brakes, good wet weather gear, they are the conditions. I haven't slowed down that much, it is just that my dry 'riding to the conditions' speed is tempered by the instant 28 day suspension I would get if I did it all the time.

Rain is great if you have confidence in your tyres.

No comment needed really. But officer, I was only cruising...at 150 clicks in the rain Been there but didn't get the ticket, many moons ago mind you.

[98tls]

I had a fantastic involved & fast ride down the Buller gorge last year, two up & loaded to the roof on a R1200gs in torrential rain.
It remains the most memorable ride I've had on the bike to date.
I doubt the half a dozen Harley's I passed like they were stopped have forgotten that day yet either.
Some bikes love the rain, some really don't, I felt that the GS has never been more in its element. My old RSVR would probably have killed me ten times in the same ride.

Hear you on the Buller gorge..when everything comes together a fantastic ride.Fwiw my old TLS is a fucking handful on a really wet day,coming back from a rally in Hokitika a few years ago its was absolutley pissing down and the TLs antics provided many moments much to my mates mirth who was riding behind me,hate it when you start a big sweeping bend on the rough suface then 1/2 way through it it changes to that shiny shit with a lake on topPucker up and hope....

[tri boy]

I take the car

[BMWST?]

The best bike I had for wet weather riding was a k100rs,I am sure the shaft drive gave better grip when accelerating,

[george formby]

The best bike I had for wet weather riding was a k100rs,I am sure the shaft drive gave better grip when accelerating,

Hmmm. I had a shaft drive Kawasaki that was fantastic in the rain. Even standing water on a motorway did not faze it. I discovered that at 120mph, indicated, my visor would stay perfectly clear. I also discovered that approaching 130mph, indicated, it would go into a thumb crushing tank slapper.

[Tazz]

Bit more involved on knobblies than it was on Sports Demons, but I still enjoy riding in the rain on the open road. Around town not so much.
The tahs I have at the moment slide so much in the dry on the outer knobs (if even that far) she becomes a fucking speedway bike in the wet if you're not careful.
That carry on is a bit above my skill grade so I watch my lean angles closely

Like someone said about a memorable ride, one of mine was also in the rain. Just over the Whangamoas to Nelson 2 years back around New Years getting pelted with the usual rain as well as the stuff bouncing off the road and over the top fairing. Wasn't exactly pushing as it was bloody hard to see, but not one hairy moment. Think it was a Bridgestone BA on the front. Like a knife through butter with surface water.