Rain rides [Archive] - Kiwi Biker forums

Sensei

27th March 2005, 22:35

erik

27th March 2005, 22:49

Generally if it's raining, I won't go for a ride unless I have to (ie. if I'm commuting to uni I don't have a choice). That said, I do still enjoy riding in the rain sometimes. I guess it depends on my mood and how badly my gear is leaking...

TygerTung

27th March 2005, 22:50

Wolf

27th March 2005, 22:51

Not a great fan of riding in the rain but if you're out and about when it starts and have to get home (or wherever you were going then such is life. If you're commuting you have to ride in the rain on wet days any way.

What I dislike about the rain is the reduced visibilty - not just the water running down both sides of the visor - it's trying to look through all the water between me and the car in front during a decent downpour - made worse by the drop in available light. It can be worse than fog. The larger droplets mean that at night it's like trying to see through a mirror into which your headlight is aimed.

I won't let rain put me off going somewhere I have to go but I would not actively seek to go out in it and I would cancel plans for a joy-ride if it were raining come departure time - unless I was so desperate to get out of the house that staying behind would be more of a chore than straining to see through a wall of water.

Krusti

27th March 2005, 22:55

Rode home from Wellington to Tirau the other day...pissing down the whole way...got to Tuarangi, rang my daughter and told her to meet us at Taupo and bring my gumboots, farm leggings and dry jacket. She met us and I offloaded meon3 and all the packs etc and road home with dry as feet, warm technics jacket and a bike that felt like a 250! I hate riding in the rain at night tho...really sux!

John

27th March 2005, 23:01

Night and Rain is something I always try work around.

Otherwise I ride in it if I must, If I'm on route then I will often stop and put water damageables into a plastic bag in my backpack, last time my cellphone suffered the infamous wrath of the dreeded rain.

N4CR

27th March 2005, 23:13

When i first got my bike, while picking it up from newmarket i had my first proper ride on the road - 3 days ago... it was A: raining B: dark C: sillicon all over new tyres.

= Not fun :/
I got fabric specifically for commuting (rain)... but im keen to get some leathers for weekend rides / track days in the future.

Krusti

27th March 2005, 23:18

.

What I dislike about the rain is the reduced visibilty - not just the water running down both sides of the visor - it's trying to look through all the water between me and the car in front during a decent downpour - made worse by the drop in available light. It can be worse than fog. .

Got stuck behing a bloody McCarthy logging truck Levin way, the bugger knew I was there. I couldn't see any thing past him. Took about 20 + km before I felt it was safe enough to go for it. The bastard!

XP@

28th March 2005, 00:19

babyB

28th March 2005, 00:21

XP@

28th March 2005, 01:10

a bit of rain, storm, shine,snow(um .....ok not snow!), will not stop me from getting the bike out ....!(day or night!!)
any of you 'dry riders' want to volunteer to come around and baby sit on a wet day while i go for a ride???????? :ride:
I forgot... snow can be fun... but need the heated dry suit for that
... and windscreen wipers useful too :-)

could maybee set up a register of dry riders and bikeless riders who would like to give the family bikers a chance to ride :ride:

Ixion

28th March 2005, 01:19

a bit of rain, storm, shine,snow(um .....ok not snow!), will not stop me from getting the bike out ....!(day or night!!)
any of you 'dry riders' want to volunteer to come around and baby sit on a wet day while i go for a ride???????? :ride:

Snow on a bike is fantastic fun - though not on roads with other traffic, maybe.

But if you ever get a chance to do snowriding off road grab it. :niceone:

Ixion

28th March 2005, 01:22

Just as long as I have my dry suit, I ok :cold:

And the puddles, don't forget the puddles :whistle: If the water dosent splash up to the visor, try again... if it still dosent then go find a deeper puddle!

Yeah, puddles is fun, throwing up a great plume of water. But not on a BMW. And watch out for the exit wall.

RiderInBlack

28th March 2005, 06:35

Are yes there is nothing more romantic than riding my girl in the rain:love: Funny I don't seem to be able to convince prospective pillion to join me on those days:confused: :p

Holy Roller

28th March 2005, 07:30

Brought a new pair of gloves that stated they were waterproof, the sales girl said that in reality only showerproof not hurricane proof. First ride in the rain before the tornado came through proved that they weren't in a tropical downpour :angry2: Just as well I could dry them out at work. If I'm going somewhere and it happens to be raining plans are not changed to suit the weather, guess I'm not "old" yet.

bear

28th March 2005, 07:38

If I avoid it, enough hazards around the place already. But if you have to, then such is life. I got some cheapish waterproof overs (jacket and pants) for $80 (RJays) and they are supreme at keeping me dry.

Sniper

28th March 2005, 07:39

I dont mind a bit of rain if I have a planned ride or am in the middel of one. I wouldnt go out of my way to go out riding if I can help it in the rain. Except when the lady of the house orders me.

XP@

28th March 2005, 09:16

First ride in snow, the story:

Arrived at Turangi service station
Trying to decide if putting on jumper was the right thing to do.
Service station attendant arrives with snowball.
Put ALL warm stuff on, Wife did the same.
up to the desert road.
found the snow
visor clogged up
slowly does it, no problems (2 up and luggage = lots of downforce)
arrived in waioru a tad chilly
Wife says "was it that deep last time"
Me says "what last time?"
Wife says "oh, thought you had done that before..."
found woodburner, ate food & dried off.
Just before we were leaving another biker arrives
Other biker was wearing leathers - no over clothes!
He was really wet and thought he was in early stages of hypothermia

**R1**

28th March 2005, 09:36

Yeah like ya said, i find i ride nice and smooth in the rain

Hate getting stuck behind stock trucks tho:angry2:

but rain is good fun:niceone:

inlinefour

28th March 2005, 10:01

Went for a ride to Hawera last Friday with Scooterboy. Both ways we hit torrential rain and it took a fair bit of concentration and luck to keep on the bike. We both lost traction each once. The main problem whas the arsehole in the hatchback cage that thought it would be cool to tail gate me. A line of four slower cages however resolved that problem. My bike and riding gear is nice and clean now, might as well clean everything when satched.

Motu

28th March 2005, 10:03

I don't ride for necesity these days,if I want to go for a ride I do...all dependent on the weather,so sometimes I like to go for a ride in the rain.Gravel roads give far more traction when wet,so I will often ride after rain,sometimes during - I got the gear,but sometimes get it wrong and wear the stuff that gets me wet.

I don't mind being wet if I'm going home,hate it if it means spending the day wet.Given the choice - I'd rather ride in rain than wind.

Biff

28th March 2005, 11:05

"IS THAT THE BEST YOU CAN DO, YOU PUSSY!", and similar kinds of things can be heard from underneath my lid when I'm riding in the rain. I love it, providing it's the kind of rain that's heavy enough the roll off the visor.

I get a kind of perverse (me? perverse?) kick out of being all geared up in my wet weather riding gear, warm and the pitter patter of rain on my helmet. The sound reminds me of camping in the rain. Kind of soothing.

I have had a scary experience once though; I was travelling home along the A14 in the UK ( a dual carriageway with a 70MPH speed limit) in a very heavy storm. All was well and I must have been travelling at no more than 40 mph when I saw a huge puddle formed in a dip in the road. No problem, I'll just knock it down a cog thought I. There was a car some distance in front of me at the time. As I hit the puddle a prick in a cage went tear arsing past in the outside lane and kicked spray up in my face. For about a second or two I was blinded by the water (although it felt like a lot longer). When the water had cleared I noticed red lights in front of me, the freakin cage in front of my had braked heavily for some reason, so I had to take evasive action and quickly turned onto the hard shoulder in order to miss the dick, crossing a slippery solid white line - both the bike and my arse momentarily twitched before I flew past the possibly stalled cage on the left. Not good.

New underpants please.

Pixie

28th March 2005, 11:15

The only thing I don't like about riding in the rain is cleaning the bike afterwards.Though Rain does a good job of removing bugs

Big Dave

28th March 2005, 11:20

:cold: Well I don't have wet weather gear, only jeans and a leather jacket cos I just started riding a few weeks ago, so I don't really like the getting wet aspect, but I don't mind it too much as long as it isn't raining HARDOUT....

This is going out in the mail this week:
http://www.davidcohen.co.nz/motomail_april.pdf
the wet weather kit is good stuff and the Arlen Ness jacket i highly reccommend.

bd

MSTRS

28th March 2005, 11:35

I have to say that riding in rain is something that I don't particularly enjoy. If I'm out already, then tough. But otherwise I'll just put off the ride. The thing is, I ride for pleasure these days, not from necessity.

soundbeltfarm

28th March 2005, 11:52

somtimes i like it and somtimes are cant be arsed going out in it.
if im onholiday it pisses me off if i get wet then im wet and have to put the wet gear back on .

loosebruce

28th March 2005, 16:43

I quite enjoy riding in the rain, infact some of my most memorable rides were in the rain, one being riding the Coromandel, going up from Kopu watching small trees washing down the road (now river) past you thinking wtf am i doing out here, and the making the slightest throttle movement to send the supercorsa on the rear spinning alot faster than the front. It never really dried out that day and some crazy fool on a XR600 binned it chasing me on the way to waihi, a rather fast crazy fool.

I think what helped me the most in (faster) wet riding was doing a few track days in the wet, one at manfeild when i was still wet behind the ears to biking, a day at puke last year opened my eyes a bit more, and then at manfeild late last year with DM, i was amazed at just how much grip can be on offer in the wet and how hard you can brake, for sure lots of variables are chucked in on the road as opposed to the track but it's all relative in the end.

But a bit of rain would never put me off a ride, how will you get good/better at riding in the wet if you never ride in the wet?

Zed

28th March 2005, 17:27

Just posting to see who do or don't like riding in the rain .
If you want to ride & it's raining will you still go or would you just leave it till some other time . I know we all get wet on some rides but that's part of it when all ready going /coming back on a ride . But do you like rain riding ,myself I enjoy the challenge . You ride smoother , pick better lines , learn excellent braking skills , get to read the road alot better & apart from getting abit wet Is good fun when done right :Punk:
SENSEII never used to like riding in the wet and would avoid it whenever possible. The idea of the road surface being more slippery, my gear getting all damp and uncomfortable, and my vision being restricted through my visor were the main disadvantages in my mind. But over the last few years I've purposely ridden in the wet and built up my confidence to a level where I actually don't mind it now. I always carry my wet weather gear in my pack and an extra pair of winter gloves, I also have a rubber swipe that slips over the index finger of my glove so I can wipe my visor regularly when it starts raining.

For the first time in my licenced life a motorcycle is the only form of transportation I have for work (my wife uses our cage), so rain or shine I am on the bike 'weather' I like it or not. I will always prefer the dry though! :cool:

Sensei

28th March 2005, 17:56

Well weather looked like shit so out I went . Wet jacket & Jean's,
Road boot's / Winter gloves . Told the sky bring it on , so what's it do got scared & stayed fine enough for a 1hr blast round the back road's . Great little ride . Put bike back to bed & down in poured Haaaahhhha missed me .
Sensei :shifty:

Zed

28th March 2005, 18:00

...Told the sky bring it on , so what's it do got scared & stayed fine enough for a 1hr blast round the back road's . Great little ride . Put bike back to bed & down in poured Haaaahhhha missed me .
Sensei :shifty:Missed you this time for sure but may get you another time when you're not prepared for it and really ruin your day?? I wouldn't mock the 'weather God' if I was you Mr S! :whistle:

Jantar

28th March 2005, 18:14

It just started raining here about 30 minutes ago, and in about 30 minutes time I'll be putting on my leathers and :ride:

dhunt

28th March 2005, 19:13

Don't mind riding in the rain much, it can make a boring bit of road slightly more interesting at times. Also good at removing those bugs off your visor and leathers.

Just got to pay a bit more attention to the road and those on it though especially round town.

Two Smoker

28th March 2005, 19:17

As Bruce said, most of my memorable rides have been in the wet... When i was still road riding most of my rides were in the wet lol... There is still a dispute on who is the wet king though... I say its Motoracer, but he says its me... But yes, great to learn how to be smooth and controlling slides... Also a wicked feeling getting your knee down in the wet...

zooter

28th March 2005, 19:55

Hit a big rock doing what I thought was a pretty conservative 80Kph in a "hurricane". Doing a superman on the 1100 features as one of my more scary moments in life. Must take bettter note of "rockfall area" signs, especially in the wet!

Waylander

28th March 2005, 20:22

Rain, snow, hail, sleet, shine, whatever it may be if I can ride then I will.:niceone:

madboy

28th March 2005, 21:06

I commute on my bike for two reasons - stress relief and time saving. On a seriously wet day the cage queue would be a good 20 to 40 min longer - so the slight chance that I might just possibly get a tiny droplet of water in my face as I flick the visor up at the lights is worth the time saved :)

But I wouldn't willingly go for a joy-ride in the rain. It's the whole "risk" thing. I don't consider myself good enough to "play" in the wet, and the slightest rain turns cage drivers into even worse farkwits. I kinda like living.

Pwalo

28th March 2005, 21:21

I live in Wellington and commute by bike. Don't mind riding in the rain as long as I've got my wet weather gear (and as I live in Wellington and commute by bike that's pretty well all the time), and I'm not getting wet or cold.

Just remember, ride smoooooth.

pritch

28th March 2005, 22:03

I would normally say that I wouldn't let the weather influence me too much. On the other hand I was thinking about a trip to Napier this weekend but canned it largely on the basis of the bad forecast. The trip was supposed to be fun, not an endurance test.

At this stage I'm planning a South Island trip somewhere between Queens Birthday and Labour weekend and will take whatever comes weather wise.
If I get too wet on the outside, I'll stop at a pub somewhere and get wet on the inside :-)

scumdog

29th March 2005, 08:43

Don't mind the rain TOO much, prefer starting off when it's already raining 'cos that way I already have my wet-weather gear on, otherwise I end up doing that thing that I'm sure a lot of you do:

Riding along quite happily and "Aw shit, it's starting to rain, ah, probably only last one ot two minutes, no need for the wet-weather gear...(fast forwards twenty minutes)...shit, now I'm all wet, should have stopped and put on the wet-weather gear when the rain started"....DOH!!!

pyrocam

29th March 2005, 09:21

I hate it with a passion.

but of course its my only transport.
Unfortuantly on friday morning when it was kinda heavy. I was on that nice sealed road, the ashphalt'y stuff with no rocks. anyways. someone in front of me kindly stopped to allow the 'give way' traffic from the side streets to go. of course I wasnt expecting that and my rain clogged visor wasnt helping. I fishtailed heavily and nearly went into the back of her.
It was my fault I suppose, should have been following further away but FRACK its the CYLONS!

heys anyway. does anyone know how to make a visor good again, rain wise. Its terrible and I end up lifiting it up and putting it back down every 30 secs. I was going to put some 'Rainex" on it but when I got it home it said not to use it on plastic or painted surfaces. (ie tinted visor)

does anyone know of any product that would work?
:cold:

vifferman

29th March 2005, 09:29

does anyone know how to make a visor good again, rain wise. Its terrible and I end up lifiting it up and putting it back down every 30 secs. I was going to put some 'Rainex" on it but when I got it home it said not to use it on plastic or painted surfaces. (ie tinted visor)

does anyone know of any product that would work?
:cold:
Try polishing it with Pledge or Plexus. If it's fogging up, you can try wiping the inside of it with dishwashing liquid.
Whatever you use, be sure to use a soft cloth, not paper towels.

pyrocam

29th March 2005, 10:01

Try polishing it with Pledge or Plexus. If it's fogging up, you can try wiping the inside of it with dishwashing liquid.
Whatever you use, be sure to use a soft cloth, not paper towels.

ah score. cheers

XP@

29th March 2005, 11:03

Hitcher

29th March 2005, 13:09

I'd rather ride in the rain then the wind.

I'll hear her voice and the words
That he brings from Helenimou
Sweet as a kiss are the songs of Aghapimou
Soft as the dew is the touch of Manoulamou
Oh oh oh

What's that all about?

vifferman

29th March 2005, 13:27

Lou Girardin

29th March 2005, 16:21

I dont mind a bit of rain if I have a planned ride or am in the middel of one. I wouldnt go out of my way to go out riding if I can help it in the rain. Except when the lady of the house orders me.

You'd have to go over to the Buller to find rain anyway. :sunny:

pyrocam

29th March 2005, 16:27

I never ride in the rain, as my helmet's made of papier mache, my suit of the finest spun candy floss, and my boots and glubs are cardboard.

Plus my bike is only painted with water-based paints.

Can't ride if it's too hot either, due to the fire risk and my tyres melting into goo.

:killingme:
awesome

hey you could waterproof (and mind control ray - proof) your helpmet with some tin foil. you would look hella cool.