Give me some tips for riding in the rain!

[biketimus_prime]

Report anything like that (also stuff like failed streetlights) to Auckland Transport. As their website says: "If your problem is urgent call us now on 09 355 355" They answer 24 hours, 7 days a week.

I have found them quite responsive in the past, especially if you tell them it's a safety issue.

Thank you, just reported it now

[Metastable]

First off, I don't advise doing this as a method of proper riding, but rather as an exercise.

One of the coolest drills I did at the track (school) was doing a lap as fast as possible, but only using the rear brake to slow down. I must confess on a couple of corners I had to nudge the front in the corner, so that I didn't go off the track.

So if you are out and about, and you have the chance to practice this skill on a safe section of road or business park etc... then give it a shot.... OK, minus the going as fast as possible bit.

It's just another type of practice..... that doesn't mean that you shouldn't use the front. Almost all of your braking should be done with your front and that is how you should typically ride. Similarly, I would practice emergency braking on almost every street ride (yes using the front).... the more you practice the better you get at it.

Another good one is practicing to stop in a corner while carrying some good speed. Again, make sure conditions are clear of other vehicles with good sight lines.

[The Pastor]

I've been riding for a month and a bit now. Done about 3000km in that time, but I've done less than 100 in the wet, where it has rained then started to dry and/or the roads are damp. Not on actual wet roads.
Today I had to go drop some videos off and it was raining, I thought what the hell might as well take the bike and go for a ride at the same time. I wasn't sure how much I could lean, where to position myself to allow for minimal lean but better cornering and what other things to watch out for.
I tiptoed around for the first 10km or so. Nervous as hell.
Finally after I started getting the hang of things and leaning a bit more etc I come up to a roundabout and as I'm braking my rear wheel locks up and I get a decent amount of sideways action. Thankfully I remained calm and eased off the back brake while holding the front so I didn't sail through the roundabout and actually came to a stop right at the line. I attribute that to lots of pushbike riding in the rain and doing little skids on them for fun. But it's just scary on a bike.
I then went to an empty road and actually practiced locking up my rear wheel and trying to control the slide while braking front and rear and seeing how much force I needed and how it felt when I was in control. But I imagine I'd be screwed if it happened in an emergency.

So a couple of questions for wet weather, before I learn bad habits.

Should I use my rear brake when coming to a stop?
Should I use my rear brake as I slow down entering a corner?
Should I use my rear brake if I need to rub off a bit of speed mid-corner? (Hopefully I never enter it too hot to do that though!)
Are motorbikes prone to locking up the rear wheel if you mess up a downshift? (letting out clutch too suddenly, over revving etc)
What else should I watch out for? What are some good practices such as lane positioning, when to open the throttle etc

Any other advice also appreciated. Thanks in advance!

My Advice, go to an empty carpark when its raining, and learn what it feels like to lock up your front or rear wheel. Just get up to about 20km/hr then apply the breaks normally and keep doing this with applying the brakes (front OR rear, not both) harder and harder until you lock it. Its scary but the bike wont fall over if you are going in a straight line. As soon as it locks let go and you'll regain traction.

Once you get used to this feeling of sliding, start working to stop as quick as you can with out locking the front.

You should practice this many many times so it feels normal - cos when it will apply in the real world you need to be sure of yourself and your bike and not panic.

[george formby]

Locking up the front wheel in the wet as a practise exercise is not very bright if you ask me. I was following behind a guy on a bike in a straight line in the wet and he came off braking in bumper to bumper traffic. If your theory was correct he would have stayed upright would he not? I have lost the front wheel myself on a wet road and come off.

Er, shirley practicing in a safe environment & gradually developing your skills would have helped both of you avoiding a bin?

[haydes55]

The guy I saw come off could have hit a patch of oil and when I came off it was on the downhill of a bridge which may have been a contributing factor but I should have still not come off according to the other poster as I was going straight. The message I am trying to get across is that you can practise and practise but it's still no guarantee that shit will never happen and lots of people can come off practising too.

So you've practices locking up the front wheel?

[bogan]

Locking up the front wheel in the wet as a practise exercise is not very bright if you ask me. I was following behind a guy on a bike in a straight line in the wet and he came off braking in bumper to bumper traffic. If your theory was correct he would have stayed upright would he not? I have lost the front wheel myself on a wet road and come off.

So, you've got two examples of people falling off on the road, not practice, and one of which certainly had no practice. Yet somehow this confirms practice is a bad idea? the idea of practicing is you have no obligation to stop, there is no panic reactions. Almost your whole attention can be focused on detecting that front wheel lock and then releasing it; all of which explains why far fewer people crash practicing than those who don't.

[george formby]

There are no guarantees riding period.

Re the practice, I think it is very important to learn the correct braking technique first before getting to carried away.

[The Pastor]

Locking up the front wheel in the wet as a practise exercise is not very bright if you ask me. I was following behind a guy on a bike in a straight line in the wet and he came off braking in bumper to bumper traffic. If your theory was correct he would have stayed upright would he not? I have lost the front wheel myself on a wet road and come off.

my theory is what has worked for me.

When you remain calm in an emergency situation you are less likely to die. One way to remain calm is to be experienced in all types of riding environments. Nothing will 100% save you all the time (we have all been to many, many funerals that prove this point). If you want that level of saftey go live in a bubble.

what your suggesting is don't practice, cos shit happens regardless. Sound advice, lets get this guy in charge. We are all doomed before we start with that defeatist attitude.

You lost the front wheel and came off? And you still think practicing emergency stops is bad?

What if I told you that losing traction doesn't always = coming off?

losing the front in a high speed corner might always = coming off but its rare to come off the bike when you lose traction when the bike is straight up. Unless of course you don't practice how to regain control of your bike.

[bogan]

But the other poster said you can lock the front wheel and providing you are going straight you will not fall off did he not? Whether you are practising or not should have nothing to do with it based on his argument and I have just proved him wrong based on my own experience and watching another rider come off on a straight road in the wet.

Yeh, but the realities of the situation like road camber mean you won't go straight all that long until the front starts to slide off line, which is the point you want to have released the front brake enough to allow the wheel to spin again.
You have a history of misreading what other people have wrote in order so you can 'seem' to be right. So I don't actually care what you think other people think, because what you think is fucking stupid, practicing your skills so you are better suited to an emergency situation is a good idea; if you had done it you wouldn't have fallen off.

[george formby]

This current exchange needs a sound track.

Grieg

[bogan]

This current exchange needs a sound track.

Grieg

Trol or not (I'm still undecided btw), giving out harmful advice (especially in survival skills section) crosses the line of what sort of trolling can be ignored.

[george formby]

Trol or not (I'm still undecided btw), giving out harmful advice (especially in survival skills section) crosses the line of what sort of trolling can be ignored.

Very pertinent.

[The Pastor]

It seems to me all your loss of control situations happen very slowly allowing you to regain control where in my case they have happened so fast I have not had time to even brake. I am not anti practise as such it just that the sort of practise you recommend can be very expensive learning to get right in terms of falls plus from over 30 years of riding experience I have never been in a emergency situation where I felt practise would have prevented this emergency situation from happening.

must be my younger sharper brain being able to process situations quicker, you oldie.

[BuzzardNZ]

You are the one who is doing the misreading as he said did he not "the bike will not fall over if you are going in a straight line" and in the wet too. Not all of us have big bank accounts like you and him who can afford to drop their bikes multiple times in the name of practise.

Your bank account would probably be fairly healthy if you'd somehow manage to keep your bike upright a little more

[bogan]

You are the one who is doing the misreading as he said did he not "the bike will not fall over if you are going in a straight line" and in the wet too. Not all of us have big bank accounts like you and him who can afford to drop their bikes multiple times in the name of practise.

Obviously you misread the bit of my post where I said I didn't care what you thought others were saying.
I've never dropped my bike once during practice, nor am I ever likely to. In fact nor can I afford to.

To newbies, and oldies who act like fucking noobs, practice within your limits of comfort, extend those limits under controlled circumstances until you become confident enough to handle an wet emergency stop situation efficiently.
Don't be like this fucking pillock who because she is too scared to practice proper technique, has a history of falling off and running over small animals, and no desire or ability to learn from those mistakes. What sort of rider do you want to be? self-absorbed or self-preserving?