Riding in the wet. Please advise!

**scoodlescooterist** · 14th May 2008, 18:28

WTF is up with cars overtaking so rashly, especially when it rains and the roads are really wet and small 50cc scooters have to slow down due to the damn paint, even cars need to slow down on wet roads!
i've skid off those white paint arrows on the road in the rain even while going slow and have painfully been on crutches for a few weeks!!

Inspite of riding on an acceptable speed of 50-52kms on normal road conditions and 40-45 on wet roads if cars have to overtake i give way but they come so close and raise their accelerators so fast like in a threatening way!!! its so freakin annoying and can make u lose balance!

I'm startin to lose my patience now!!
do they have to do that at the cost of someone's life? anything could happen!

**paturoa** · 14th May 2008, 18:59

80 something % of drivers in a recent survey thought that they were above average drivers. Well the average must be VERY low!

EDIT: Welcome

**Dave Lobster** · 14th May 2008, 20:00

Acceptable to whom?

If you go a bit faster (the speed of the flowing traffic), the cars aren't as likely to be overtaking you to start with. 50 is too slow, and you'll be pushed into the gutter.

**riffer** · 14th May 2008, 20:12

The problem is twofold.

1. You are small, and therefore insignificant to a cage driver.
2. You have little power, and small tyres, reducing your manouevrability.

I'm afraid there's not really much place in this country for scooters; they work great in places like Paris or Rome, where there's heaps of them (safety in numbers) but here you'll lose out every time.

Time to consider something bigger perhaps?

**tgb_novice** · 14th May 2008, 20:38

Yes, I know the feeling

, being a scooterist from Mt.Albert as well

, I get ur problems, but if u need to be safe

, I reckon having a minimum speed of 55+ is just essential to not piss off Cagers

.
You have to remember that 50 on the scooter's speedo will most probably be 40 on the cagers speedo

. Try riding behind a cage who does 40

.

Alas as I hate 2 say it, if u dont have a scoot which is hard 2 do 65+ on the scoots speedo, then get another scoot

or just to make u happy c if you can do the same speed with another cage in parallel in a quite road and check what error level your speedo has got so u know exactly what u r doing in respect 2 a cars speedo.

**scoodlescooterist** · 14th May 2008, 22:41

its fine on a sunny day but on when the roads are wet isnt every supposed to be careful and drive slow? especially those tiny wheels on a 50cc can skid off anything!! but its so convenient to uni...man...i thought people in nz were all kind and lovely..they are..cept for the ones on the roads. lol.

meh..i duno wat im talkin abt..but its made me lose confidence on the roads..i've avoided taking the scooter on rainy days but when its sunny in the morning and rains midway or on my way back home it sucks and i've nearly been run over thrice in the past week.

last year this guy on symonds street just took a U-turn on a busy road, i was on my way and stopped when i saw him indicate cos i thought he wouldn't see me..no cars behind me so i slowed down he went a lil further stopped midway on my left lane so i kept going according to my right way, and then he suddenly swerves and hits me?

He said he didnt see me....i dont know wat he was talkin abt..cos there were no cars infront of me to hide me...

people just drive so carelessly on these roads...

**motorbyclist** · 15th May 2008, 01:29

Originally Posted by scoodlescooterist

last year this guy on symonds street just took a U-turn on a busy road, i was on my way and stopped when i saw him indicate cos i thought he wouldn't see me..no cars behind me so i slowed down he went a lil further stopped midway on my left lane so i kept going according to my right way, and then he suddenly swerves and hits me?

He said he didnt see me....i dont know wat he was talkin abt..cos there were no cars infront of me to hide me...

people just drive so carelessly on these roads...

same here, 'cept he did see me; once i was about a metre from his driver side door and still moving.... lucky for me he continued to floor it. lucky for you the guy actually stopped.

that road is a great example of people doing u turns without indicating nor looking, and pedestrians walking out from behind parked vehicles while txting and not looking (and they tend to do it directly above the underpass too)

just remember when a cager says "sorry i didn't see you" they really mean "oops i didn't look". cagers very rarely realise how dangerous (for themselves and others) it is to be hauling over a tonne of steel around at high speeds with exposed bodies within a few metres of them (us, cyclists and pedestrians alike) and other lumps of metal flying past in the oncoming direction barely a metre away.

all you can do is keep left and hope that they don't clip you on their way past - and take the stuff about your speedo seriously. all it takes is a sprocket change and they go way out, and many bikes/scoots are out to begin with (makes a learner think they're faster than they really are, so not mind the lack of power, methinks)

maybe it's time for a "real" bike? better manueverability, more stable, goes faster, stops faster, can take on the motorway...

oh, and welcome to KB

(PS: are you a uni student? joined the uni scooter/bike club?)

**CookMySock** · 15th May 2008, 05:25

I ride a much bigger bike than a scooter, and I find people hear me coming, but seriously, if someone pulls out in front of me and causes me to off, I am gunna fucking bash them real bad. If cagers think they are bigger than me, they better make sure they run over me real good, coz if I can get up it aint gunna be pretty.

DB

**Dave Lobster** · 15th May 2008, 18:05

Originally Posted by scoodlescooterist

its fine on a sunny day but on when the roads are wet isnt every supposed to be careful and drive slow?

The two don't necessarily go together.

**Del Fuego** · 15th May 2008, 18:14

The same old rules apply, wet or dry. Assume any and every car is going to try and kill you. You need to drive for everyone else on the road... that is the only way to stay safe. I am a huge fan of scooters however a 50cc machine that wont keep up with the flow of traffic is downright dangerous... It sounds like your problems in the dry are due to not following the rules on line 1 and 2. Yes cars should look out and should be careful and should do lots of things... fact is... they don't so look out for yourself. as for the wet... yes you have to be a bit careful especially on white lines etc but even a 50cc scoot, assuming a reasonable tyre shouldn't need to be toodling around at 30 or 40ks Could I very politely suggest you practice riding in the wet a bit more....

**scootnz** · 15th May 2008, 18:20

Might it be worth checking the condition of the tires? Whats the tread depth like? Are they inflated correctly?

Also, it is possible to maintain a reasonable speed while looking out for white lines. Especially if you ride the same way every time - you should know where the danger spots are and position yourself to avoid them, without slowing down too much. The road is not covered in white paint - it is in specific places and usually doesn't pop up unexpectedly overnight.

Also in my experience it is braking on white paint that is particularly dangerous, rather than just riding over it. This of course depends on how many times it has been painted over by contractors - some 'paint' is actually 1-2 centimetres high.

Hope this helps.

Originally Posted by scoodlescooterist

WTF is up with cars overtaking so rashly, especially when it rains and the roads are really wet and small 50cc scooters have to slow down due to the damn paint, even cars need to slow down on wet roads!
i've skid off those white paint arrows on the road in the rain even while going slow and have painfully been on crutches for a few weeks!!

Inspite of riding on an acceptable speed of 50-52kms on normal road conditions and 40-45 on wet roads if cars have to overtake i give way but they come so close and raise their accelerators so fast like in a threatening way!!! its so freakin annoying and can make u lose balance!

I'm startin to lose my patience now!!
do they have to do that at the cost of someone's life? anything could happen!

**Badjelly** · 15th May 2008, 18:21

You could reduce your risk by riding a "real bike" with a bit more presence, a bit more power, better tyres & brakes. Ride like you belong on the road and don't be intimidated too much by the impatient people behind you (because the ones in front of you are the really dangerous ones). More experience will give you a better ability to assess risks.

But the fact is that the combination of wetness and darkness makes the roads more dangerous. The lower grip is an issue, but the big problem is that people just can't see where they're going, and they don't adjust their behaviour accordingly. Only you can decide if you want to expose yourself to that danger.

**tgb_novice** · 15th May 2008, 21:26

Originally Posted by scoodlescooterist

its fine on a sunny day but on when the roads are wet isnt every supposed to be careful and drive slow? especially those tiny wheels on a 50cc can skid off anything!! but its so convenient to uni...man...i thought people in nz were all kind and lovely..they are..cept for the ones on the roads. lol.

people just drive so carelessly on these roads...

Yes! Sunny days are just great but if you are not careful someone's still gunning

for you. Always be aware of your surrounding vehicles as everyone else has said before " They are out to kill you

" .

Riding in the wet, you have to be careful but being over cautious is another ticket to die sooner !!
Just think about those really slow drivers in cage who always have an accident and the other group who are always driving fast and have a accident. The remaining category are the people who could get hit by the other two.
And on 2 wheels we cant afford to be either of the three

.

Anyway from what I see traveling that route in the wet , the risk areas are the following, any one else feel free to comment / negate my views

Mt Albert Junction (No one cares)
The turn after Mt. Albert connecting to the Asquith ave (Lots of white lines).
Kingsland Approach and Junction (Do even the people working on the road there know the road ?)
Symonds Street onwards (Wet ,Windy and Stupid people group together)

**scoodlescooterist** · 15th May 2008, 21:34

lol i can't disagree with that at all. anyway i'm avoiding using the bike in wet road conditions as people just do not have the patience to be careful themselves, just because theyre in a car doesnt mean they're safe on the roads, a car could easily lose control especially when the road is wet. yet they do not bother slowing down.

I'm thinking..even if i get a slightly bigger bike..100cc? isnt it still the same? small wheels..etc..?

Just after entering symonds street, past grafton..its a nightmare..the road opp langham. those slopes..and wakefield street..all the way down to queen street. even shortland street in the city, bacons lane etc..they're worse if ur on a small scooter!

man..i thought a 50cc would be nice and economical..had it for nearly 2years..all this has been happening lately..maybe drivers are losing patience with scooters riding thru gaps in traffic and waiting right infront of the stop light. lol. its not like we hold them up...we're way far ahead by the time they get to us!

**Coyote** · 15th May 2008, 21:37

Maybe you could invest in tyres that don't slip so much in the wet? They'll cost a bit more but a scooter shouldn't chew through them so quick.

Really ought to listen to my own advice. Almost highsided one morning off to tech. The little strip of tarmac that joins a redone patch and the rest of the road gets very slippery in the wet, and my rear wheel decided to follow that strip whilst the front went in another direction