Riding in the wet?

[nodrog:Me]

If you fall off, go slower.

[MSTRS:Me]

(knee out is helpful to increase surface area of tyre in contact with road which makes a big difference in wet).

Actually, I'm not sure that there is any more/less contact patch at different lean angles. Will very much depend on what sort of tyres you have.
The more leaned-over you are in a corner, the more your suspension compresses, and that will likely have an effect on how well you stick to the road as well.

[george formby]

I found the best thing that helped me was go 50km/h in the dry (ON A STRAIGHT) on a certain type of road and see how much back brake by itself is required to make the back wheel lock and give you a slight fish tail. Do the same in the wet. Gives you a good feel of the difference, I used to putter in the wet, but then I realised the bike (with plenty of tread) doesn't mind the wet sooo much.

Lets say a corner in the dry I usually do fastish at 100km/h (marked 55 by those truck recommendations). In the moderate wet I'll do these at 80 with no problems, (knee out is helpful to increase surface area of tyre in contact with road which makes a big difference in wet). Though in heavy, heavy rain I still slow down to 60 for that corner.

I used to do that too. My boots would last longer if I got back into the habit of it me thinks.

[Milts]

Practice emergency breaking in the wet and dry, that'll give you some idea.

Also got me to back the fuck off in the wet. Scary the difference it can make.


If you really want to test it find a roundabout and give it a little gas coming out, see how much it takes to get the rear to slide a bit. Good fun, but could also end in tears...

[skinman]

Dont tense up in the wet. Stay relaxed then if the bike moves around you wont upset it and also you wont be so prone to making sudden jerky movements which will upset the bike. I tend to ride in the car wheel tracks as there is generally less oil there.
There are certain intersections which I will take very slowly when wet due to old shiny seal & oil slicks but generally I dont slow down much unless I cant see (fog etc)
For visor fogging I got one of those stick on internal things, it seems to work not bad, now if my glasses would just not fog up....

[ellipsis]

Dont tense up in the wet. Stay relaxed....

...best bit of advice yet..

...take your mind and fingers away from the brakes...be in the right gear...if your arse end moves out, just keep looking where you wanna be and keep riding ...if your front end goes, retrieve your bike as quick as possible, get back on and keep riding...if you are expecting to not ever lose it through either your own actions or the actions of a second party then you may as well take the bus...that option should be enough to make you shudder at the thought...there would be very few of us who haven't got themselves in the shit..

[Kornholio]

Less than in the dry

So many factors contribute, what tyres you are running, the condition of them etc. How you ride. Just concentrate of keeping your riding smooth. When cornering in the wet, I put a little more weight on the outside peg.



Watch out for the metal connectors thingies on the bridge, they are slippery little suckers, oh and the stupid drivers that come out in droves when it is wet

From someone that has blown their motor up

[unstuck]

...best bit of advice yet..

...take your mind and fingers away from the brakes...be in the right gear...if your arse end moves out, just keep looking where you wanna be and keep riding ...if your front end goes, retrieve your bike as quick as possible, get back on and keep riding...if you are expecting to not ever lose it through either your own actions or the actions of a second party then you may as well take the bus...that option should be enough to make you shudder at the thought...there would be very few of us who haven't got themselves in the shit..

31 yrs riding on the road,aint lost one yet.

[Stirts]

From someone that has blown their motor up

You cold hearted meaniehead. You hurt my feeling!

[Maha]

You cold hearted meaniehead. You hurt my feeling!

Dont worry, he doesn't ride in the wet, he sleeps in it....

[GrayWolf]

Hey guys, just wanting to get your opinion.
I've been riding around in the last week that I got my VTR, and last night I was out for a ride on the North Shore of Auckland, it had been raining heavily, and started raining halfway through the ride. I was slowing down to a snails pace for corners, and braking really early, but I want to know how much grip you realistically have in the wet?I plan to start riding across the bridge to work, and it's going to rain a fair bit, and dont want to be going round corners at a snails pace if I can help it.
thanks

Hi,
i will not claim to be an 'expert' on bike handling in the wet, but I can offer a little idea after riding for all my adult life.
Regarding rain and roads? Someone else here mentioned 20minutes to allow the road to 'wash off',personaly I would leave that even longer on some roads, especialy ones where you see a lot of diesel spills in and out of roundabouts. Secondly tyres? My STRONGEST advice here is (especilay in winter) dont use them to the 'wear limit'. the tread pattern is what 'pumps' out the water, so if almost 'bald' in really heavy rain possibly not enough water will be displaced. From memory I think the UK police replace the bike tyres at 3mm of tread. Also remember the centre of the lane can be slipperier than snot in light rain.
You may need to take a different line through corners in the wet, drain lids, tar snakes/patches and dont forget the big white painted arrows etc, they increase the slippery effect of muck and rain combination.
RULE for cornering, ride to YOUR comfort limit, not anyone else's.. if you feel 30kph is fast enough in the wet? then do 30kph round a corner. Leave greater distances for braking, yeh I know every time I do on the motorway an 'asshole' in a tin top fills the gap... BUT! Practice cadance braking, its a useful tool in slippery condidtions.
Also the other factor is the BIKE itself, handling characteristics. Some bikes are 'twitchier' than others.
I'll say this again, regardless of ANY advice here, ride at a pace that feels comfortable to YOU... once outside your comfort zone is when you tense up, and/or start to ride the bike less fluently... that itself is a dangerous as any road conditions

[george formby]

Dont worry, he doesn't ride in the wet, he sleeps in it....

Quick, stick that in the quote thread. Cruel, but funny

[DEATH_INC.]

The late Loosebruce taught me how fast you can ride in the wet. You'd be surprised just how fast you can go .....I was.

[Oblivion]

The late Loosebruce taught me how fast you can ride in the wet. You'd be surprised just how fast you can go .....I was.

Someone redneck American decided to do that exact same thing. On a ZX-10R. Max throttle top speed run in the wet. I wouldn't have the balls or the stupidity to do that......

[cheshirecat]

Don't ride on your brakes. (Good general tip as well) Grip the tank with your knees so taking the weight off your arms, keeping your upper body loose. This lets the front stuff like tyres, suspension and steering do what its designed to do. I've never bothered with peg weighting but it works for some. It's not the wet tarmac so much but the nature of it and whats on it, diesel being the big one. When I was doing a lot of busy traffic stuff used to make sure the front disc was kept slightly warm. During my first two weeks despatch riding it rained solid very day but the human body adapts amazingly and took it for granted after a while. Certainly learnt what to wear. Only had one wet weather spill (diesel) in three years, thats 5 days a week 10/12 hours a day riding.

Oh as above - ride within your comfort zone and never never get over confident and take your eyes off the ball.