The joy of riding in the rain...

[BMWST?]

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.

We wont talk about overtaking cars on the desert road with snow on the road

[george formby]

We wont talk about overtaking cars on the desert road with snow on the road

We should. If you lose to much momentum in snow the bike starts fish tailing horribly. Much more betterer to keep up some pace and drift around obstacles. Stopping for people who think there cars are going to fall over is disastrous. Pulling away on God's teflon is a PITA.

[BMWST?]

We should. If you lose to much momentum in snow the bike starts fish tailing horribly. Much more betterer to keep up some pace and drift around obstacles. Stopping for people who think there cars are going to fall over is disastrous. Pulling away on God's teflon is a PITA.

again ze k 100 rs,heading to tauraunga from wellies one day i bacame aware around hunterville ways that the rain had solid bits in it,at about the same time the honda rider i was sorta riding with suddenly didnt want to play anymore.so i got to the desert road the snow has started to collect on the road,but i soon found that narrowish motorcycle tyres seemed to bite through quite well.So i went through at quite a good clip passing al and sundry.When i go to turangi the front of my jacket and fairing had a good coating of snow.Wide mirrors and heated grips were appreciated that day(bout 86)

[T.W.R]

Have had some of my most memorable rides in rain, from tackling the 2004 Manawatu floods having to make it back to Wellington from the back blocks of Okoia outside Wanganui which would be the most extreme weather I've endured on 2 wheels; just phenomenal conditions the roads were like shallow flowing rivers and the rain was torrential & relentless.An experience that I'll never forget, the highs & lows were opposite ends of the scale but made for a epic trip.

Got caught at the 91 Punakaiki rally and rode back to Runanga in the early hrs of the Sunday morning head-on into a classic full-on west coast storm.....spent 2 days at a mates place drying out, the rally got nick-named the Punakaiki mud run due to the damage it did (washed the rally out) but an awesome experience all the same.

Spent many kms tackling southerly storms commuting to & from ChCh at all hours night & day dealing with all the extremes a good southerly can throw.
Years commuting in ChCh were never a nice experience in the wet, especially after a spell of dry weather the crud build-up made for dicing on a skating rink once the rain got on it...have seen some spectacular bins & saves from greasy roads and have seen the extremes of rider confidence caused by the conditions from the overly cautious dry rider becoming a bench mark to follow; to a so-called rider trainer becoming a dangerous unpredictable liability.

[Grubber]

Have had some of my most memorable rides in rain, from tackling the 2004 Manawatu floods having to make it back to Wellington from the back blocks of Okoia outside Wanganui which would be the most extreme weather I've endured on 2 wheels; just phenomenal conditions the roads were like shallow flowing rivers and the rain was torrential & relentless.An experience that I'll never forget, the highs & lows were opposite ends of the scale but made for a epic trip.

Got caught at the 91 Punakaiki rally and rode back to Runanga in the early hrs of the Sunday morning head-on into a classic full-on west coast storm.....spent 2 days at a mates place drying out, the rally got nick-named the Punakaiki mud run due to the damage it did (washed the rally out) but an awesome experience all the same.

Spent many kms tackling southerly storms commuting to & from ChCh at all hours night & day dealing with all the extremes a good southerly can throw.
Years commuting in ChCh were never a nice experience in the wet, especially after a spell of dry weather the crud build-up made for dicing on a skating rink once the rain got on it...have seen some spectacular bins & saves from greasy roads and have seen the extremes of rider confidence caused by the conditions from the overly cautious dry rider becoming a bench mark to follow; to a so-called rider trainer becoming a dangerous unpredictable liability.

I always maintain that the tough rides (wind,rain, snow etc) are the ones you always remember.
I did a trip to the southern land about 5 years ago and my ride around the bottom of the island from Te Anau to Invercargil was in 80kph winds with rain horizontal. Riding at 70 kph was even a struggle. Will never forget that one in a hurry. Won't forget the 2 old ladies in the cafe with the cold range going letting me hang all my wet stuff around it to dry and feeding me cups of hot tea with scones for 3 hours for free either.Good times.

[TheDemonLord]

I washed my Bike on Sunday

And then it rained today

and now it is all Grubby again

I hate the fucking Rain!

[swbarnett]

I washed my Bike on Sunday

And then it rained today

and now it is all Grubby again

I hate the fucking Rain!

I washed mine yesterday. No plans to ride today and tomorrow is supposed to be sunny.

The only thing grubby here is me - been water blasting the driveway.

[Maha]

I washed mine yesterday. No plans to ride today and tomorrow is supposed to be sunny.

The only thing grubby here is me - been water blasting the driveway.

Wash? I had to dust mine at the weekend.

[Tazz]

I washed my Bike on Sunday

And then it rained today

and now it is all Grubby again

I hate the fucking Rain!

I thought riding it in the rain was counted as washing it?

[Gremlin]

I thought riding it in the rain was counted as washing it?

Perhaps it's those road riders eh? (tis in their forum I s'pose). My bike gets cleaner in the rain

[DamianW]

Riding in the rain is always preferable to four wheels; like this arvo when lane splitting slow/stationary traffic from Manukau to the Shore. Do I wanna be in a cage? Bugger that.

[Crapple]

Yep, if you gotta go, you gotta go..

I'll ride forever in a one piece rainsuit... but if my gear isnt gonna keep me dry.. I aint gonna do it. I've done my time riding in storms getting saturated and frozen to all hell. Got nothing to prove anymore.

I'm with you on this one, I ride everyday to work (rain, hail or shine) the rainsuit keeps the heat in on cooler days and keeps me dry unless it's pissing down for the length of my trip. The leaky boots aren't too fun though, just lined them with plastic bags so feet stay dry- ish. I may look like a bright yellow flying pineapple but it's better than looking and feeling like a drowned rat when I get to my destination.
Decent gear is a must!

[george formby]

Skinny tires? I very much like them.

I've noticed that it always rains when I get new tires fitted. I do not recall riding away from the tire shop in the dry. Not once, in 25 years down here in NZ.

[TheDemonLord]

I'm with you on this one, I ride everyday to work (rain, hail or shine) the rainsuit keeps the heat in on cooler days and keeps me dry unless it's pissing down for the length of my trip. The leaky boots aren't too fun though, just lined them with plastic bags so feet stay dry- ish. I may look like a bright yellow flying pineapple but it's better than looking and feeling like a drowned rat when I get to my destination.
Decent gear is a must!

Yeah - the Plastic bag trick has been a life saver - it sucks working with wet socks.

[Tazz]

Yeah - the Plastic bag trick has been a life saver - it sucks working with wet socks.