Tips for a newbie in the rain......

[Fub@r]

Oh another note how much are those new tyres on the front that were reccomended, i Have no idea how much a bike tyre costs? $50? $200?

I would be interested as well, anyone have a friend that has a tyre shop especially

[rwh]

Example: Bearing mind that cornering traction limits are not a constant and change with bike, rider weight, suspension setup and tyres etc. But say a corner has a traction limit of 35 degrees in the wet while you are sitting on the bike. Thats your limit. If you go at the same speed at a 35 degree lean you have no safety margin at all. Hang off the bike and for the same corner and same speed your lean angle is now 25 degrees which means you are 10 degress off your margin of safety and thereby way safer. Hope that helps??

Um - that sounds odd. By extrapolation, if I hung off the side of my bike on a trapeze, I could keep the bike standing vertical and go insanely fast around corners - but the tyre is still going to run out of grip with a certain amount of sideways force, and I'm puzzled as to why that limit is higher with the bike more vertical.

My understanding of getting off the seat is that it lets you get more effective lean when you've run out of either peg clearance or usable tyre - and I'm not aiming to run out of either for a few months, especially in the wet ...

Bear in mind I'm basing my theories on physics courses, common sense and about 20 years of car driving (and some cycling); my motorcycle experience is about 200km over the last month. I'm certainly open to being educated ...

[beyond]

I know what you are syaing and centrifugal force will push you out in the end.
Those angles were an example only and exagerrated to make the point.

But all the books on riding will tell you that hanging off the bike means you can corner tighter for the same speed, or increase your speed for the same lean or have a much higher safety margin for traction in the wet.

I saw this in action a few weeks back watching Motoracer cornering on real wet roads on the Coro Loop, hanging right off the bike. Most people wouldn't corner like that in the dry let alone the wet and the lean angle was quite severe, but made a lot safer with weight movement.

[ZeroIndex]

I know what you are syaing and centrifugal force will push you out in the end.
Those angles were an example only and exagerrated to make the point.

But all the books on riding will tell you that hanging off the bike means you can corner tighter for the same speed, or increase your speed for the same lean or have a much higher safety margin for traction in the wet.

I saw this in action a few weeks back watching Motoracer cornering on real wet roads on the Coro Loop, hanging right off the bike. Most people wouldn't corner like that in the dry let alone the wet and the lean angle was quite severe, but made a lot safer with weight movement.

..but Motoracer isn't quite human.. he's the motorcycle equivalent of The Stig from Top Gear p/t

[raster]

Perfectly correct beyond!

One word of warning from a newbe, I was attempting to "hang off the bike" while cornering and found for someone who was just getting to get the feel of the bike it does alter the balance of the bike so you have to get the action smooth.
Also I was concentrating on getting bum in the right place that I was taking some concentration off the road.

I believe, only do that once you know what your bike can do normally.

But then I'm an old fart

R

[Fub@r]

Oh another note how much are those new tyres on the front that were reccomended, i Have no idea how much a bike tyre costs? $50? $200?

I got a price today they are $130, but none in stock in country at mo

[mdb]

Just stay out of the way of cagers .... but I always try to do that and have only failed once!

[sunhuntin]

manhole covers aint so bad, but do try and learn where they are on your main routes. train tracks the same [just lift the ass of the seat!]
on main corner i take to get home has a giveway bit in the middle of the road for right turning traffic [me] that is made of white paint. following the curve of the road for oncoming traffic, there are those dotted white lines. [2 rows] and then theres about 3 manhole covers...all close together, and all at the main part of the turn [where my max lean would be] to get through that in one piece, i have to take the corner totally upright.
as above, slow down a bit earlier for giveways and the like, and a bit smoother on take off. if its wet and at night, i always take an extra second to check for oncoming vehicles. if you have cars behind you, i always tap the brakes once to let the car behind know im going to be stopping/slowing soon. even more so if a larger vehicle.

[Fub@r]

Rode in to work today after heavy rains, didnt rain during my trip in but needed to get over my phobia about riding in the wet.

Had no problems, arms and back were getting a bit sore, think the nerves made me tense up. By the time I got to the office I was far more relaxed. Softly softly approach working for me

[ZeroIndex]

ok.. after the past two soaking Hamilton days (working for DXMail), here is a really good tip, for when it's raining (not talking about wet roads, just the 'act of rain').... here's my tip: stay at home, or out of the rain..

[sunhuntin]

but zero, wheres the fun in that? i got soaked going to work, got soaked at work, and coming home, and then the same again when shift 2 started. cept in shift 2 i gave up and changed my socks. lol.
coming home from second shift [finished at 7] the wind and rain made things interesting. if i couldve avoided it, i would have, but no option.

[ZeroIndex]

but zero, wheres the fun in that? i got soaked going to work, got soaked at work, and coming home, and then the same again when shift 2 started. cept in shift 2 i gave up and changed my socks. lol.
coming home from second shift [finished at 7] the wind and rain made things interesting. if i couldve avoided it, i would have, but no option.

yeah, well, i work at DXMail, and squelching around in muddy grass, and getting soaking wet while delivering mail, just doesn't seem fun to me.. hey, if it's "not pissing down", I'd go for a ride on the GPX (if I had to be somewhere), but yeah, just getting annoyed at the rain..

[sunhuntin]

yeah, well, i work at DXMail, and squelching around in muddy grass, and getting soaking wet while delivering mail, just doesn't seem fun to me.. hey, if it's "not pissing down", I'd go for a ride on the GPX (if I had to be somewhere), but yeah, just getting annoyed at the rain..

hmm yeh, fair enough. you win, lol.

[Brett]

I dont know if this has been mentioned yet...too lazy to look, but always check that your electrical circuts and plugs are protected from water. Nothing worse than a bike that misses or dies when they are wet.

[Grantasaurus]

Anyone ever hit those bits on the road where they've cut expansion joints into the tarmac and filled in with just tar?
Those are nasty, they're the same colour as the road surface and as slippery as white lines. Like hitting vinyl.