Give me some tips for riding in the rain!

[biketimus_prime]

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!

[jellywrestler]

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!

with question like this it sounds like you need some rider training, it's a bit hard to just say yes or no one really needs to ride under a watchful eye and develop their riding from there.

[biketimus_prime]

I've completed the ride forever bronze course and it was great. I learnt a lot of riding skills from it but it was only in the dry.
I'm just looking for advice/tips on what you guys look out for and do, that will save me time by not having to find them out myself, if you know what I mean. Like a situation happens and only after it am I like "ohh that's what I should do next time". But rather get the advice on here first!

[haydes55]

The shiniest part of the road is the slipperiest.

Use the rear brake the same as you use your front brake in the rain. Less pressure. If it's locked up, you've braked too hard.

Leaning the bike over is a personal thing, I have no idea what tires you have, what pressures, how worn they are etc. But basically, lean over less than you would in the dry. Focus more on making sure you are slow enough at corner entry, smoothly go around the corner.

No abrupt movements. No cracking open the throttle, no grabbing either brake, no hard counter steering. Just smooth controls, roll on the gas, squeeze the brakes so you get a feel of it etc.

I don't know if this is right or not, but I try ride in the center of the lane, the wheel tracks look shinier (for the most part) so I presume middle of the lane is grippier.

[Jantar]

......
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!

Yes, you should still use your rear brake, but only to control rear wheel speed, not to actually lock your wheel, or to stop. Your front brake is still the most important one. I tend to use the rear break only to supplement the front one.
If you need to rub off a bit of speed mid corner, then you have already messed up. Use both brakes in moderation if needed to reduce your speed prior to entering the corner. In wet conditions you should be reducing throttle a bit earlier than you normally would to give yourself more time to observe the road conditions and choose the best line through the corner.
Motorcycles are not prone to locking the rear wheel on a downshift. There maybe a momentary loss of traction if you shift down too many gears too rapidly, but a true rear wheel lock with the clutch engaged is almost impossible as that would mean the engine has stopped.
As haydes55 said, avoid the shiny parts of the road. That includes painted lines.

[skippa1]

Plan ahead
use your gearbox to control your speed rather than brakes( you still need the brakes but select your gear and shift down to scrub off speed)
if you are too tentative you will be too tense, you need to relax
after long periods of fine weather it can take a while for the oil etc to wash off
you still have more than acceptable levels of traction on a wet road
beware of wet manhole covers and painted lines they are slippery
Ride in the wheel tracks, they have less oil etc on them
dont forget to look ahead so you can see the hazards coming
if you look right in front of you at the road, you will run over the bits you are scared of and looking at( target fixation)
get out there and ride in the wet......often
enjoy it, it can be fun


ps.....avoid sudden movements, acceleration and or braking. Smooth is king

[pritch]

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...ht=reflections

[Milts]

Riding in the rain is the same as riding in the dry, but with less traction.

Less traction will just exacerbate any action or mistake, so just do everything gently and you'll be fine. Some key points (100% personal opinion, I am no expert):

• Don't brake hard unless you really have to - steady, early braking is the way to go.
• Avoid sudden throttle changes. Just be smooth and gentle on the gas.
• Don't go hooning into corners, and lean the bike however it feels comfortable. Just don't carry lots of corner speed and don't expect it to grip forever.
• Check your tyres. Some are great in the wet and some are average.
• Tyres will not warm up as much in the wet, so where grip might improve after 5 minutes riding in the dry, the same is not true in the wet.
• Hazards become more hazardous - manhole covers etc especially.
• Increase following distance & your safety margin when it comes to braking.

The other thing to remember is that weather impacts visibility and other road users. Watch out for people pulling out on you because their widows are wet/fogged.

Asking questions and consciously improving your riding is probably the most important thing; just be aware of what you are doing and why, and you should be fine.

[biketimus_prime]

Thanks for the advice so far everyone
That reflections thread was great. I do find my visor fogs up frequently if I ride slow so I have to crack it open a bit, but then the wind gets in my eyes. What is a good proven way to stop fogging? I am afraid to put any chemical stuff on my visor as I hear many things can ruin the plastic. Does the potato thing work?

I often get told not to ride on wet white lines or manhole covers. Problem is, some manhole covers are really hard to see until you're right up to them!

I definitely have to be smoother in my actions though. I still get the odd jerky gear change up and down, and throttle jerk. It could be my undoing on a rainy day

[strandedinnz]

Thanks for the advice so far everyone
That reflections thread was great. I do find my visor fogs up frequently if I ride slow so I have to crack it open a bit, but then the wind gets in my eyes. What is a good proven way to stop fogging? I am afraid to put any chemical stuff on my visor as I hear many things can ruin the plastic. Does the potato thing work?

I often get told not to ride on wet white lines or manhole covers. Problem is, some manhole covers are really hard to see until you're right up to them!

I definitely have to be smoother in my actions though. I still get the odd jerky gear change up and down, and throttle jerk. It could be my undoing on a rainy day

Ummm .. personally I'd not rub potato juice on my visor (or anywhere else for that matter) .. get a helmet with a pin lock system in it .. amazing invention that I hope whoever dreamt up is bathing in money as his/her reward!

Don't be over afraid of the wet white lines or man hole covers, if they are on the straight they are not a bother (unless you are doing epic scale acceleration), it's on the corners where they cause issues, especially adverse cambers, the road builders are usually not the smartest guys on earth "oh what a great idea let's stick a drain cover on this adverse camber, what could possible go wrong!"

One thing to check to ease the jerkiness of your riding .. make sure the bike is all lubed up (the clutch and throttle cables, brake levers etc) its way to do fine throttle/clutch work when the bike is all buttery smooth itself with nothing sticking inline on the cables :-)

[unstuck]

Dont let your balls get wet, very distracting.

[caspernz]

Keep it smooth. Get onto a proper rider training course. Watch a couple of Youtube clips from the UK Police training center.

But get onto a course, no amount of keyboard jockey advice is gonna give you the confidence and knowledge you gain on a training course

[nzspokes]

Buy good tyres

[Tigadee]

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. Nervous as hell. Any other advice also appreciated. Thanks in advance!

This guy is great:

-


I was really nervous when I first started riding in the rain. I sang to myself to take the edge off ("I'm riding in the rain, just riding in the the rain! What a glorious feeling, I'm braking again!"), then it became no big deal. In fact, avoiding getting soaked became more the issue than riding in the wet...

[James Deuce]

Stop over-thinking it. Take every opportunity to practice in lighter traffic.

Why are you locking your brakes up? Are you trying to have an avoidable accident? Brakes work best just before lock up.