Let me just pull over...

[FuriousD]

and swallow my heart back down. seriously yesterday was bloody scary.

On friday I enjoyed an amazing trip to Hahei, just beside hot water beach on the coramandel, with a some nice long straights and two sets of really nice twisties.

had a bit of rain but some good sun too and really enjoyed my first long trip. (stopped for lunch in themes so wasn't too sore :niceone: )

Then on saturday i spent about four hours in the morning enjoy a really nice sunny day and pottering around the area, checking out the other beaches and back roads :scooter: .

had to be in work at midday on sunday so woke up to leave at nine to find it pouring rain with no chance of letting up so off i go, praying to every god I have ever heard of that I would arrive alive.

(On a side note back in Ireland I learnt to ride in winter so I have riden in heavy rains but i've only just gotten back into riding after two years)

So off I go, going at a good steady pace. I reach the first set of twisties and, well, the best way to describe it is that I have never been so scared in my life. :eek5: . Every corner my heart was hammering faster and faster. When I got to the next town I had to pull over and have a smoke to relax myself.
The rest of the trip was much easier and uneventful and I arrived safe and sound in Auckland and 12:30pm, only half an hour late, which in my books (though I hate being late) is good. Thankfully the manager was cool with it and it was all good.

After that trip I feel a lot more confident and trust in my bike so much more. I learnt some very valuable things on this trip (like three hours in the saddle on a zzr isn't that comfortable).
I'm also chuffed at my kit which stood up real well to the rain.

If anyone cares my helmets a Nitro F347 VN, which i wouldn't recommend because, as its a flip face, its bloody windy and heavy.
Jacket is a rst razor, though I haven't really tested that because I had a berghaus water proof hiking jacket over it, large enough to stretch over my backpack too.
On my lower half i have a pair of textile dririder pants with with the usual armour and what not, which did a great job of keeping the rain out and the warmth in with not other trousers on, just the removable padding.
On the old feet I have a pair of alpine star svx I think, which I bought in a charity shop in Ireland for 10 euro.
And finally on the hands I have a pair of Strado street race gloves, summer weight, which, understandable, didn't hold the rain out.
Now all of this kit hasn't been crash tested so i'm not saying its good on that front, but it kept me warm and dry and I beleive that is still and important factor because it kept me in a good mental state for riding.

Finally I would like to say I have fallen fully in love with my little 250 zzr :love: and she shall be getting some very nice xmas presents after performing so well.

[BMWST?]

nice little story mate....

[cheshirecat]

Good stuff

[oneofsix]

:rockon:
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[MSTRS]

You were scared shitless through corners on wet roads?
Sounds to me like you should be investing in some 'better' tyres.

[munster]

You were scared shitless through corners on wet roads?
Sounds to me like you should be investing in some 'better' tyres.

Sounds to me like he rode within his capabilities. Better tyres can give some riders a false sense of security and they may end up riding faster than they should.

Well done FuriousD :niceone: (any relation to Tenacious D?)

[MSTRS]

Sounds to me like he rode within his capabilities. Better tyres can give some riders a false sense of security and they may end up riding faster than they should.



Whilst that is undoubtedly true, to ride scared shitless - quote "I have never been so scared in my life" - sounds more than simply needing (and doing) to ride within one's capabilities. After all, the man did say he'd done most of his riding on wet roads in Ireland.

[Jay GTI]

After all, the man did say he'd done most of his riding on wet roads in Ireland.

Sorry to be a pedant (sorry, bored at work, I get like this) but no he didn't.

[FuriousD]

You were scared shitless through corners on wet roads?
Sounds to me like you should be investing in some 'better' tyres.

no mate my tires are grand and I was scared shitless because of the corners themselves along with the road conditions. Noticed alot of road kill along the road and and constantly changing road surface. Hadn't a clue what was around the next corner.
I should have added in that in Ireland I never left Dublin on my bike.

[MSTRS]

Was just about to post something like "The OP will along to correct both of us"
And waddaya know?
Oh well...
You didn't have any slippy, slidey, :shit: moments? If you were riding to the conditions, why were you so scared?

[sgtp]

Its a simple thing to follow....ride to your comfort level. I can carve up the twisties pretty well for a noob, but have found that some days on my return commute, my head it not up to the challenge after a long days work, so I'll take it easy and get home at a comfortable pace thru the twisty parts. Theres nothing wrong with that, eh?

I took my first long ride on my 250 a few wkends ago. Left wellington friday night, slept in Palmy, continued on to taupo and back down to napier for another sleep, then got home in the wairapa the last day. Good times:Punk:

[Mrs Shrek]

no mate my tires are grand and I was scared shitless because of the corners themselves along with the road conditions. Noticed alot of road kill along the road and and constantly changing road surface. Hadn't a clue what was around the next corner.
I should have added in that in Ireland I never left Dublin on my bike.

Sounds to me like some rider training wouldn't go amiss :yes:
2 weeks ago I did the Buller Gorge and Takaka Hill. I was so slow coming down that i had to pull over and let trucks past :o
Talking to a rider trainer at the stop after going over Takaka she told me to ride at my own pace and not bother about anyone else, then when we went back the other way she stayed behind me until we reached the top then overtook and i followed her down the other side at a quicker pace than before watching her lines, only had to break slightly on 2 corners and it was a really smooth ride :woohoo: learning to look way ahead on longer corners etc. It increased my confidence heaps.
I would recommend rider training to anyone who is having difficulties for whatever reason :2thumbsup

[curly]

+1 to rider training and/or you could try contacting one of the mentors. My mentor helped alot with cornering. :msn-wink:

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/forumdisplay.php/99-KB-Mentors-Programme

[FuriousD]

yeah have been meaning to go to that rider training thing, just after the late christmas hours are over.

I may have been slightly exaggerating how i felt. it was just that this was something I had never really done before and, well, could kill me if i fuck up the slightest.

[MSTRS]

*NEWS FLASH*
Doesn't need to be wet.
Any fuck up, any time, can kill you.

Fear is not necessary though, just a healthy respect.

[Trade_nancy]

I think you need to expect good days and bad days. Don't expect to ride the twists and feel good about it all the time - as someone else just mentioned = he's tired after work and goes slower.
Some days I just can't get my head right and don't ride confidently the entire ride and am just grateful to get home! Other days I am into it. You need to adjust your body physics to your brain state and ride according to your body to brain switching speed.
Cornering on the highway is scary until you learn the tricks like reading past the corner...always focusing well ahead instead of readign the road in front of your wheel...Hope you also are using counter-steering? In my ignorant earlier days I didn't and was fairly spooked by even gentle curves - particularly downhills with a curve...

[Splineman]

I can sympathize with the op.
A few weeks ago had a nice day ride from Palmy to Napier, up to Taupo and then back home over the desert rd.
A ride I do regularly.
Anyway half way up hwy #5 to Taupo it pissed it down and the road has changing surface and a bit of roadworks and a lot of logging truck dripping diesel :eek5:
Normally wet roads are not an issue for me, and yes I have decent rubber, but on this occasion i simply didn't enjoy the situation at all.
I slowed up and let faster traffic through. Stopped a couple of times to rest and stretch and eventually got out of the rain and into Taupo. Probably all was well with the situation and I was certainly cautious, but I reckon sometimes your imagination can get the better of you and you "tighten up" on the bike.
Sure, some will argue this and that technique, but we are all human and on the day you feel the way you do. My point is basically we need to recognise the much lower traction in the wet and so slow down. Stop and rest. Relax.

Most ride too fast in the wet.....just my personal opinion, experience.

Cheers

[george formby]

I like riding in the rain but fully get where the OP is at. Some days wet or dry everything feels crap. Not pleasant.

Otherwise I see only a slight difference between wet & dry on public roads, you still never know what is round the corner & have to ride accordingly. Rain lessens visibility so speed has to drop to compensate. Slippy is slippy regardless of what causes it so ride on the grippy bit & always be smooth on brakes & throttle, wet, dry or dark when can't tell $h!t about the road surface.