Do you consider riding in the rain and wind dangerous?

[haydes55]

Just a little thought I had today that seems relevant.

You can't blame road condition or weather for any crash. If the weather or road condition 'caused' you to crash, then every single rider going through that road in that weather will crash as well. Ride to the conditions, when they change increase your speed (unless they change to get worse).

I ride all weather. Sold my car in the summer because I never used it. Now it's winter I don't want to buy another car, I bought myself a dririder suit instead

[rocketman1]

Dark, rainy , windy , wet shiny roads, you are increasing the risk.
Not eliminating the risk , as Murphy quotes.
I almost took out a biker the other day in my car, in exactly these conditions, 6.30am in the conditions above, at an intersection, I looked twice and no vehicles there?
Pulled out only to see the poor bugger just miss my front guard.
I could not believe I did not see the bike, it appeared out of no where, gave me a hell of a fright, worse that I am a biker. I felt real bad.
I can only think the bike was behind the rather large windscreen posts that modern cars have as I approached the corner, blocking the bike the whole time I approached the give way sign.

Since then I am looking like an idiot at each intersection, like left & right about 4 time before i move off. Has worried me a bit, more as a biker myself than a car driver.

Yes definitely more dangerous in these conditions.

[leathel]

What I used to hate was heading out to Mangatawhiri valley to work at 6:30 am in white out fog.... with the visor open and a frost at the destination, Hated that! The only bonus was the first job was to burn the offcuts of wood on the building site ... defrost the hands :P

[cheshirecat]

At least you know you've actually ridden in the winter, like been on a real motorcycle ride. Learnt many years ago not to ride on my brakes - my front pads last 70,000k plus and oddly enough the VFR is rock steady in the wind. The only time had issues was caught in a southerly and my tank bag lifted from the tank - it contained 5kg of potatoes and a bottle of wine! Oh and Windwhistle bridge with a dog and camping gear on the rear.

[SMOKEU]

Don't ride on painted surfaces, and don't put your foot down on them either when you stop. If your foot slips, the rest of the bike could easily follow.

[Madness]

You can't blame road condition or weather for any crash. If the weather or road condition 'caused' you to crash, then every single rider going through that road in that weather will crash as well. Ride to the conditions, when they change increase your speed (unless they change to get worse).

You can give it a pretty good nudge though... http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...ght=helicopter

[haydes55]

Don't ride on painted surfaces, and don't put your foot down on them either when you stop. If your foot slips, the rest of the bike could easily follow.

Same goes for rainbow coloured patches of road, it may look pretty, but it is slippery

If it's too shiny then it's too slippery. If it's too dull it's probably gravel on the surface and also slippery.

A real man would lean forward and crack the throttle open when the back steps out. A sensible rider will hold throttle steady, stand the bike up, then roll the throttle off. Though other riders will have there own way of regaining grip.

[Tarded]

Do you find non riders happily telling you 'you are going to get wet' when it rains?

Well no, I have good gear to keep me dry and I had noticed the rain too by the by.

What is it with that?

Gusty wind is a pain, rain is rain and if constant then you can adapt.

Im not that interested in playing the ice game. I have a cage for that. It has a coffee holder. And all sorts of acronyms to keep my ass out of hospital.

Blah blah soft blah not a real rider blah. yeah well these days I can have a car and a bike. So I do.

[bosslady]

Used socks in plastic bags for gloves until I got my first pay,,,,$30,,chur.

what a hard bloke!

[Brett]

No...so long as your ride to the conditions and your ability.

[Oakie]

Do you find non riders happily telling you 'you are going to get wet' when it rains?

...

What is it with that?

It's called 'schadenfreude'. Pleasure at other people's misfortune.

[Berries]

I do.

And thanks for proving my point.

And you mine.

[insomnia01]

I use a Hi vis fleeced jacket over leathers in winter adds another layer of warmth & makes you stand out to cagers, Spidi H2O winter gloves are good, 1 piece rain suit also carryed along for the ride other than that watch out for shiney surfaces, keep a eye on following distances & everyone around you. Wind is the only bugger I worry about rain is nothing

[Swoop]

ps...congrats on the pic of week, one hell of a bike that is, its certainly not scared of winter either! (but I did fit some hotgrips...just to be flash!...it feels kinda wrong to be honest )

Ta! Seems all sullied and dirty now though...

Only Harley Diddlesons ..

Surely all the crome protects the metal. It has to serve some purpose.

Do you find non riders happily telling you 'you are going to get wet' when it rains?

Yes. I also mention that I arrive drier than they do when they use their car. Getting in and out, coupled with having to walk to wherever they are going into, normally provides a good soaking to those who "stay dry by using the car".

[swbarnett]

I've been riding since 1982 and I've only once aborted a ride because of the weather. The wind was so strong that I couldn't lean in to exposed corners. I could stay upright while parked just using the wind.

Like anything, riding in "bad" weather is as dangerous as you want to make it. Treat it with the appropriate respect and there's no real problem.

Ridden in rain thick enough that the motorway was flooded,

I used to live in Michael's Avenue, Ellerslie. The first bit of the road off the Ellerslie-Panmure highway is a big dip. It has a drain at the bottom so no problem most of the time. Came home one night to a lake that would've been over my knees. It certainly would've flooded the pipe if I hadn't kept the power on. Moses would've been proud - had a wall of water so thick I couldn't see through it in any direction except back where I'd come from. The funny thing was that my wife did the exact same thing about half an hour later.