Wet tar, shiny tar, sticky tar

[beyond]

I've had a few motorcyclists (new and experienced) ask me how you know when it's safe to corner on tar that is shiny when dry. Also have been asked about summer tar that has gone soft and the shiny tar that is wet from rain.

In all cases, shiny tar (wet, dry, tacky) is best avoided all together but there will be times when you have no choice but to deal with it such as on corners, intersections and roundabouts. Often, cars trucks and heat have brought it to the surface right in your best apex lines which means a rethink on your lines through a corner.

On many of our roads, the ideal line through the corner is not always the safest one and you must adapt in order to survive.

The following advice should help you deal with most issues regarding tar; bearing in mind we assume your bike is up to scratch, has good rubber, the right tyre pressures and is set up properly and you are experienced enough to know good lines through a corner.

1. WET TAR: At all costs, avoid wet tar. It's as bad as diesel on a wet road and will cause you to wash out in a corner like hitting ice. If for any reason you find yourself heading for a patch of wet tar, try to steer through that area where there is more chip than anywhere else and maybe you will have to stand the bike up momentarily, repick your line and drop into the corner again.
Often between the wheel tracks there is an area of more solid seal... you need to stay on that.
Slow down where there seems to be a lot of tar bleed with that give away shiny surface but if caught out hang off the inside of the bike to get your weight over and help keep the bike more "stood" up as you enter the corner.
Do not brake on shiny wet tar except in an emergency but be prepared to go down if you keep your brakes on too long.

2. DRY SHINY TAR: This is the best stuff to deal with from a safety viewpoint. There is a lot more grip when it's like this than the other forms it's found in but you still need to take care, a lot more care than a normal road surface.
Dust on dry shiny tar will have you sliding and excessive speed will also have you off. Dry shiny tar is a little more forgiving in that often you can feel your front or rear tyre starting to break away. Do not panic if in this situation, ease off the throttle slightly, stay smooth and ride it out using similar techniques to point 1.

3. MELTED TAR: As for wet tar.... stay well away from it and the added pain with melted tar is the cleanup job on your bike and gear later.
Obviously melted tar occurs mostly in summer. You can't tell if it's melted by just looking at it as it appears to be like point 2...... dry and shiny.
BUT, if you can smell tar, it's been hot or is hot, the suns still up and it's not early morning or late evening, there is a high chance that the tar patches will be soft.
Some area are more prone to melted tar, geographically as well as locally such as gorges, north facing sheltered bends and areas that get a lot of sun and heat.


Points to note:
In summer, you can still get dew which settles on these tar patches and the road itself may be dry but these patches are lethal.

At times, the suns heat can cause the surface of the road to look okay with lots of chip but the tar goes off underneath and when cornering hard in these areas, you can peel the top layer with the obvious result..... like being on melted tar again. If the day is very hot and surfaces have been exposed to lots of heat, be careful of this.

Hope this helps... feel free to add other points to this thread as I've only touched some of the main pointers.

Cheers: Ride safe.

[YellowDog]

Good advice. You can't avoid it all of the time, but so long as you are not using the shiney tar lines as a line guide, the slip is momentary and you can just carrry on without worrying.

[SixPackBack]

Talking shit again you dangerous bastard.............

Right we got the standard minority response outa the way LOL!

My 2 cents for what it is worth: Mid winter cold wet days on cold tires can be incredibly dangerous. A section of East Coast bays road that I frequently ride will have a bike travelling sideways with virtually no lean whatsoever......Never underestimate wet cold tar!

[The Pastor]

I've had a few motorcyclists (new and experienced) ask me how you know when it's safe to corner on tar that is shiny when dry. Also have been asked about summer tar that has gone soft and the shiny tar that is wet from rain.

In all cases, shiny tar (wet, dry, tacky) is best avoided all together but there will be times when you have no choice but to deal with it such as on corners, intersections and roundabouts. Often, cars trucks and heat have brought it to the surface right in your best apex lines which means a rethink on your lines through a corner.

On many of our roads, the ideal line through the corner is not always the safest one and you must adapt in order to survive.

The following advice should help you deal with most issues regarding tar; bearing in mind we assume your bike is up to scratch, has good rubber, the right tyre pressures and is set up properly and you are experienced enough to know good lines through a corner.

1. WET TAR: At all costs, avoid wet tar. It's as bad as diesel on a wet road and will cause you to wash out in a corner like hitting ice. If for any reason you find yourself heading for a patch of wet tar, try to steer through that area where there is more chip than anywhere else and maybe you will have to stand the bike up momentarily, repick your line and drop into the corner again.
Often between the wheel tracks there is an area of more solid seal... you need to stay on that.
Slow down where there seems to be a lot of tar bleed with that give away shiny surface but if caught out hang off the inside of the bike to get your weight over and help keep the bike more "stood" up as you enter the corner.
Do not brake on shiny wet tar except in an emergency but be prepared to go down if you keep your brakes on too long.

2. DRY SHINY TAR: This is the best stuff to deal with from a safety viewpoint. There is a lot more grip when it's like this than the other forms it's found in but you still need to take care, a lot more care than a normal road surface.
Dust on dry shiny tar will have you sliding and excessive speed will also have you off. Dry shiny tar is a little more forgiving in that often you can feel your front or rear tyre starting to break away. Do not panic if in this situation, ease off the throttle slightly, stay smooth and ride it out using similar techniques to point 1.

3. MELTED TAR: As for wet tar.... stay well away from it and the added pain with melted tar is the cleanup job on your bike and gear later.
Obviously melted tar occurs mostly in summer. You can't tell if it's melted by just looking at it as it appears to be like point 2...... dry and shiny.
BUT, if you can smell tar, it's been hot or is hot, the suns still up and it's not early morning or late evening, there is a high chance that the tar patches will be soft.
Some area are more prone to melted tar, geographically as well as locally such as gorges, north facing sheltered bends and areas that get a lot of sun and heat.


Points to note:
In summer, you can still get dew which settles on these tar patches and the road itself may be dry but these patches are lethal.

At times, the suns heat can cause the surface of the road to look okay with lots of chip but the tar goes off underneath and when cornering hard in these areas, you can peel the top layer with the obvious result..... like being on melted tar again. If the day is very hot and surfaces have been exposed to lots of heat, be careful of this.

Hope this helps... feel free to add other points to this thread as I've only touched some of the main pointers.

Cheers: Ride safe.

I can sum up your post in 3 words "tar is bad"

[Bonez]

I can sum up your post in 3 words "tar is bad"

Can be quite fun on occasion. Like pea metal, moss and stock efluent. Beyonds post should be made a sticky in the survival section. Good post.

[BigOne]

This is a good post Beyond, shiny tar is one of the most significant hazards out there.
I wrecked my last bike due to melted tar. In fact, I hi-sided on a clean clear surface, but when I looked at my tyres on the trailer, they were coated with tar from rolling thru hot melted patches further back down the hill.
It's lethal, and I was lucky to walk away from it. I had one of those 'sky-ground-sky-ground-sky' kaleidoscope movies play in my visor and that was the last time I rode that bike.
Pay attention to what Beyond has to say.

[PirateJafa]

Tar is nowhere near as dangerous as spilt diesel.

The most important thing to do when you come around corner and find an unexpected patch of tar is NOT TO PANIC. I've watched a rider go off a corner solely because they panicked when they saw a melted tar patch and hit the brakes.

Essentially it comes down to don't ride like a dick. Don't race-apex corners, ride to your and the road's limits, make sure you can stop within the visible distance and you'll be right.

[Katman]

Essentially it comes down to don't ride like a dick. Don't race-apex corners, ride within your and the road's limits, make sure you can stop within the visible distance and you'll be right.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

(Except for the one edit that I've taken the liberty of making).

[Kiwi Graham:Me]

Bloody ek Paul, Have you taken some advise tablets or something?
All bloody good advise mate.

Stay away from the stuff if you can but stay relaxed if you have to cross it, maintain a slightly positive throttle, use body weight rather than lean angle and pick the centre line (read dull in colour) through the corner.
You can smell hot, meting tar so use youre nose too.

[CookMySock]

Thank you mate. I had been wondering about all of that.

My 15 y/o kid had a big long slide on wet tar on his brand new GT250R. We were doing about 80k/hr in teeming rain on a wide and open sweeper - not remotely going quick - in fact being very very careful indeed in the dangerous conditions. He was in the left-half lane. Slippery as diesel is right. In hindsight we shouldn't have been on the road with that much water around - not on shinko's anyway.

Steve

[YellowDog]

I can sum up your post in 3 words "tar is bad"

Yup, don't smoke.

It's not worth it.

[caseye]

Old heavy bikds don't like wet/hot tar either, they gain a mind of their own when introduced to it.
Butt as above no panicking and riding through it will keep you alive and having to do a clean up job on the front forks rims etc.
Nice post Beyond.

[nsrpaul]

its also a complete barstad to clean off your bike!

[MSTRS:Me]

Something I've noted...
Like riding on gravel, melted tar is not tooo much of a problem with narrowish tyres. But nothing likes the smooth, damp variety. There bee dragons!!

[MarkH]

In hindsight we shouldn't have been on the road with that much water around - not on shinko's anyway.

In hindsight surely the shinko tyres are WAY too expensive to use?
What does it cost to ride on shinko tyres and lowside a bike vs riding on quality tyres?

I don't think that the tyres are the best place to save money on a bike TBH.
Buy good rubber and consider it an investment in safety, but still ride with due care.