Idiot Weatherman

[Dreama]

You'd think that after a lifetime of cynicism, sarcasm and opinionated umm ..opinions .. I'd have learnt by now not to trust or blindly believe anyone else's.
But, shamed as I am to admit it, that's exactly what I did when I believed the fucken weathermans highly informed prediction of widespread, heavy, unrelenting and violently stormy rain on Saturday. On at least 5 different weather sites that I visited daily for the preceding week the same dismal forecast was predicted, up to and including Friday evening.
So, my options were drive 150kms, ride around Hampton in the wet (or just make excuses and sit next to the bike in pit garage pretending) OR drive 150kms, stand in the rain and wind, and watch my son play 1st fifteen rugby in his final year of school.
TBH, neither appealed but the option was work.
So (obviously or I wouldn't be here) I ended up standing under a VERY warm, VERY dry and QUITE sunny sky watching my son play 1st Fifteen rugby in his final year of school.
They lost.
I lost $170 (trackday fee).
How the fuck could they get it so wrong ... rhetorical, I actually know.
So who's the idiot here ... rhetorical, I actually know.

[AllanB]

I'm just annoyed with the weather full stop. And work.

Fitted a new rear tyre on Monday - only decent weather since has been while at work. A hit of hopefulness today but I suspect god it playing with me as I appear to be in a pocket of sun surrounded by shit.

I want to scrub it in.

Side note - the need for a tyre was a good excuse to upgrade my 30 year old torque wrench (I needed a longer one to get the leverage required to tighten the nut). Plus a decent length breaker bar to undo said nut. Single sided swingarm is sexy - nut gets torqued shitloads to stay on!

Compared to a life of standard swingarms I see there is not a lot holding it on really ......

Stupid weather is now rolling in ominous clouds. I may end up making MK3 heat shield this afternoon as MK2 is not quite parallel with the pipes and now I've noticed it it bugs me.......

[jellywrestler]

I want to scrub it in.



they don't need scrubbing in, the shiny surface is a releasing agent so the rubber comes out of the mold, clean this off with brake cleaner or similar and you're rocking and rolling.

[Voltaire]

I've used this one for the last few years and usually right.
Can be raining in Auckland and dry at HD.
http://www.myweather2.com/Motor-Racing/New-Zealand/Hampton-Downs-Motorsport-Park.aspx

[Maha]

This website is updated regularly and is what we trust http://www.metservice.com/maps-radar/rain-radar/all-new-zealand

You can see exactly where it is raining and how long it will last etc.

[BMWST?]

There is no such thing as bad weather...just bad gear.So they say.Are they the same ones as forecast the weather...maybe.

[Blackbird]

You'd think that after a lifetime of cynicism, sarcasm and opinionated umm ..opinions .. I'd have learnt by now not to trust or blindly believe anyone else's.
But, shamed as I am to admit it, that's exactly what I did when I believed the fucken weathermans highly informed prediction of widespread, heavy, unrelenting and violently stormy rain on Saturday.

Even with rain radar and a forecast, weather patterns are sometimes hard to predict. In February, I left home in Coromandel in the dark in teeming rain to do my first ever trackday at Hampton with severe mental images of binning it bigtime. Halfway there, the sun came out, the track was bone dry and had an awesome day. Today, I was supposed to be in N-W Auckland on the bike but canned it on the basis of last night's dire forecast. As it happened, the morning would have worked out ok. :brick:

[AllanB]

they don't need scrubbing in, the shiny surface is a releasing agent so the rubber comes out of the mold, clean this off with brake cleaner or similar and you're rocking and rolling.

Brake Cleaner? Nah - if you check the label they say to mask or avoid getting it on rubber brake components - based on that I'd be keeping the stuff off expensive tyres.

A dry road and tyre heat will sort it.

[Bassmatt]

What I really like about the metservice website is at the top of the page it might say for example, Morning showers becoming more frequent and then on the 2 hour breakdown at the bottom of the page will predict 0.0 mm of rain for the whole day. And often vice versa. :scratch:

[Maha]

Even with rain radar and a forecast, weather patterns are sometimes hard to predict. In February, I left home in Coromandel in the dark in teeming rain to do my first ever trackday at Hampton with severe mental images of binning it bigtime. Halfway there, the sun came out, the track was bone dry and had an awesome day. Today, I was supposed to be in N-W Auckland on the bike but canned it on the basis of last night's dire forecast. As it happened, the morning would have worked out ok. :brick:

Some years ago we (and about 12 others) left home for a days ride Warkworth/Botany/Tauranga/Rotorua Hamilton/Auckland. We left home in decent rain, it got worse as we hit Auckland, so much so that I rung out my gloves at Botany Honda, Anne bought some wet gear and I luckily had another pair of gloves on board. They last the rest of the ride (Q Moto gloves) It cleared a bit in TGA but it was very cold.. June weather eh? extremely cold through the Mamaku's and pissing down in Hamilton. Needed sunglasses at Ngaruawahia but discarded them as we hit the Bombays. It was about 4:30-5pm and dark/windy with immense rain ...so glad to get of the bike at the end.. couldn't blame the weather man on that occasion. Was the only time we went riding knowing the weather was going to bad, but we went anyway. The rum tasted glorious that evening :yes:

[The End]

Brake Cleaner? Nah - if you check the label they say to mask or avoid getting it on rubber brake components - based on that I'd be keeping the stuff off expensive tyres.

A dry road and tyre heat will sort it.

You mean you don't get out a scrubbing brush and sandpaper and legitimately scrub in your tyres? :nya:

[Gremlin]

Side note - the need for a tyre was a good excuse to upgrade my 30 year old torque wrench (I needed a longer one to get the leverage required to tighten the nut). Plus a decent length breaker bar to undo said nut. Single sided swingarm is sexy - nut gets torqued shitloads to stay on!
That's just Ducati being blardy special. I remember boss's Multi in Europe causing a few headaches every time he needed another tyre... just looked it up, it's 230Nm. :crazy:

GSA is 60Nm for each bolt ;)

[Dreama]

Some years ago we (and about 12 others) left home for a days ride Warkworth/Botany/Tauranga/Rotorua Hamilton/Auckland. We left home in decent rain, it got worse as we hit Auckland, so much so that I rung out my gloves at Botany Honda, Anne bought some wet gear and I luckily had another pair of gloves on board. They last the rest of the ride (Q Moto gloves) It cleared a bit in TGA but it was very cold.. June weather eh? extremely cold through the Mamaku's and pissing down in Hamilton. Needed sunglasses at Ngaruawahia but discarded them as we hit the Bombays. It was about 4:30-5pm and dark/windy with immense rain ...so glad to get of the bike at the end.. couldn't blame the weather man on that occasion. Was the only time we went riding knowing the weather was going to bad, but we went anyway. The rum tasted glorious that evening :yes:

Yes I accept the valid point ... if you were in fact making one, ie ... it's going to be wet, accept it and get on with it.
When I was racing I abided by that philosophy, although I never enjoyed it much (wet weather racing) because binning the bike = $ but I always went. In a perverse way it can be fun.
Track days are a bit different, for me anyway. I do buggar all road riding so the whole point is simply a high speed adrenlin rush every month or so.
One of my points was that the weather forecast was pretty much the polar opposite of what was actually forecasted for the day .... that and the fact that I should have gone regardless cos they often do get it so wrong.

[AllanB]

That's just Ducati being blardy special. I remember boss's Multi in Europe causing a few headaches every time he needed another tyre... just looked it up, it's 230Nm. :crazy:

GSA is 60Nm for each bolt ;)

176NM for my Streetfighter (130 ftlb). Needs a decent length wrench! Hmmmmm maybe a excuse for a compressor and air tools ...........

Speed Triple is 150NM or something.

My mates BMW with single side arm has 4 or 5 (can't remember) hub bolts just like a car wheel. Easy. Does not look so cool though ......

[Drew]

Brake Cleaner? Nah - if you check the label they say to mask or avoid getting it on rubber brake components - based on that I'd be keeping the stuff off expensive tyres.

A dry road and tyre heat will sort it.
Loads of the top guys used to use brake clean to rub it off their slicks at the track. Then they all just decided to not worry about it, shit is gone by the end of a corner in each direction anyway.

[Grumph]

Loads of the top guys used to use brake clean to rub it off their slicks at the track. Then they all just decided to not worry about it, shit is gone by the end of a corner in each direction anyway.

Before tyre warmers it was the thing to do. I suspect it's volatile enough to be largely gone after some time under the warmers.
I've said it before here - Holden stopped us doing it, he reckoned it was more fun left on....

And as far as weather forecasts go, we always sent someone up to the top of the spectator bank at Puke to tell us what was coming - slicks or wets....
One National round, i think every race got fine and wet segments.

[pritch]

Speed Triple is 150NM or something.



Would you believe 55Nm?


Nah. That's the pinch bolt. The owners manual does not cover removal of a wheel.

[malcy25]

You'd think that after a lifetime of cynicism, sarcasm and opinionated umm ..opinions .. I'd have learnt by now not to trust or blindly believe anyone else's.
But, shamed as I am to admit it, that's exactly what I did when I believed the fucken weathermans highly informed prediction of widespread, heavy, unrelenting and violently stormy rain on Saturday. On at least 5 different weather sites that I visited daily for the preceding week the same dismal forecast was predicted, up to and including Friday evening.
So, my options were drive 150kms, ride around Hampton in the wet (or just make excuses and sit next to the bike in pit garage pretending) OR drive 150kms, stand in the rain and wind, and watch my son play 1st fifteen rugby in his final year of school.
TBH, neither appealed but the option was work.
So (obviously or I wouldn't be here) I ended up standing under a VERY warm, VERY dry and QUITE sunny sky watching my son play 1st Fifteen rugby in his final year of school.
They lost.
I lost $170 (trackday fee).
How the fuck could they get it so wrong ... rhetorical, I actually know.
So who's the idiot here ... rhetorical, I actually know.

Metaphorically was there with you yesterday. All sorted to go, but looked at the weather all week as well.

I do this for enjoyment. I don't enjoy wet weather, ergo I don't ride in the rain much these days as I don't "have" to, so didn't go.

A little miffed it was dry.....! Ah well, 2 July maybe.

[caspernz]

Even with rain radar and a forecast, weather patterns are sometimes hard to predict. In February, I left home in Coromandel in the dark in teeming rain to do my first ever trackday at Hampton with severe mental images of binning it bigtime. Halfway there, the sun came out, the track was bone dry and had an awesome day. Today, I was supposed to be in N-W Auckland on the bike but canned it on the basis of last night's dire forecast. As it happened, the morning would have worked out ok. :brick:

Might have been ok out in West Auckland, but on the southern side of the Bombay it's been varying degrees of torrential most of the day so far. It seems 50 clicks in either direction and it's a different micro climate almost...

No need for that brick wall Geoff, from where I sit you made the right call :clap:

[Blackbird]

Might have been ok out in West Auckland, but on the southern side of the Bombay it's been varying degrees of torrential most of the day so far. It seems 50 clicks in either direction and it's a different micro climate almost...

No need for that brick wall Geoff, from where I sit you made the right call :clap:

Rob, I actually woke up to rain this morning but then it fined up until about 1100. A few days more and we might get decent weather for a run together - better get our the goat entrails and work some black magic :yes:

[pritch]

I looked at the sky and thought it looked OK for a walk along the beach. Not long after I got home the (unforecast) rain came down. That could've been worse.

The forecast is for cloudy tomorrow, then showers, then a string of sunny days. Here's hoping. I might head up to Mokau on the bike for a whitebait fix next week if the forecasters have it right.

[Gremlin]

Well on the bright side (since I avoided mountain biking or motorcycling) the miserable weather encouraged me to sit down and establish a VPN between two branches for a client... Perhaps boss and client will be happy... (or not, when I tell them it's working and they find minor things that aren't) :weep:

[SVboy]

We had a nice ride in the rain to Akaroa this morning. No one dissolved.

[OddDuck]

176NM for my Streetfighter (130 ftlb). Needs a decent length wrench! Hmmmmm maybe a excuse for a compressor and air tools ...........

Speed Triple is 150NM or something.

My mates BMW with single side arm has 4 or 5 (can't remember) hub bolts just like a car wheel. Easy. Does not look so cool though ......

A mate had a 800 Monster, we had to get the rear wheel off for a chain and sprocket change - 230 Nm sounds familiar.

He works for an engineering company, they had the big 3/4" drive torque wrench and sockets which he could borrow. It was nearly five feet long. Absolute beast of a thing. Hate to think how much it was worth. Ducati's eh? Stylish but my god, the maintenance...

Rattlegun is not a good way to torque up, it's way too easy to overcook it.

[Maha]

Yes I accept the valid point ... if you were in fact making one, ie ... it's going to be wet, accept it and get on with it.
When I was racing I abided by that philosophy, although I never enjoyed it much (wet weather racing) because binning the bike = $ but I always went. In a perverse way it can be fun.
Track days are a bit different, for me anyway. I do buggar all road riding so the whole point is simply a high speed adrenlin rush every month or so.
One of my points was that the weather forecast was pretty much the polar opposite of what was actually forecasted for the day .... that and the fact that I should have gone regardless cos they often do get it so wrong.

No not making a point all just sharing a riding experience where adverse weather played a part.. We were riding for charity on that day and had to do it.

[James Deuce]

I went to band practice for a birthday gig coming up in a couple of weeks then worked on an original with the other band. Went for a ride in the rain and wind afterward and had a great time including the stand up single finger given to the BMW driver who decided I was a distant car, not a close motorcycle when he started his overtaking move. I enjoyed that one. The sliding about on cow poo was great fun too. I mean fun too, not sarcastically.

Stop whinging.

[mrchips]

Get some good gear & ride... fuck what the weather is doing

Sent from my GT-I9300T using Tapatalk

[Owl]

Brake Cleaner? Nah

Fair enough, but it does work and work well.

[Owl]

176NM for my Streetfighter (130 ftlb). Needs a decent length wrench! Hmmmmm maybe a excuse for a compressor and air tools ...........

Speed Triple is 150NM or something.

S3 is 146Nm. Sod all really compared to the SDR which is 250Nm for the rear wheel nut. I did have to go buy another torque wrench though.....and breaker bar.:pinch: