Give me some tips for riding in the rain!

**bogan** · 11th June 2014, 13:30

Originally Posted by pritch

Well, if Bogan offers, you had better get him to get a manicure.

Mate, since the stakes are this high, I've got a regular weekly booking

**SMOKEU** · 13th June 2014, 11:45

Originally Posted by bogan

Mate, you think that is bad for wicking, I gotta put that bodyglide shit on for running in my space shoes so I don't get chaffed thunderthighs; shit gets all waxy and wicks right up the buttcrack. Gotta be careful the next morning as a careless wipe with poorly manicured thumbnail could perforate ones scrotum...

...visualise it

**biketimus_prime** · 11th October 2014, 14:44

Just resurrecting this thread to get some advice. Not related to riding in the rain

So I've been practicing emergency braking since fitting new brake pads today. I know how far I can go with my front and my rear if I use only one or the other, loading the front gradually rather than suddenly etc etc

Anyways I find that when I use both front and back to brake, the rear loses grip. I can countersteer and can come to a stop even with it locking up round 30kph. However that means I'm losing valuable grip I can use for braking!
I understand this is because as I load the front more, the rear has less grip available.

What should I do to get every last bit of braking out of the bike? I found pulsing the front brake stops the lock up as I suppose more weight is put on the rear when I let off the front. Or should I instead ease off the rear and push more on the front?

I suppose easing off (But still braking with it lightly) the front and braking with the rear more is safer and more predictable, but less braking force available and vice versa means if I lock up the front I'll go down if I don't catch it quick enough...

What are your opinions?

My front tyre is excellent too. Can't believe how much braking I can apply to it and I haven't even locked up yet!

**haydes55** · 11th October 2014, 16:11

Originally Posted by biketimus_prime

Just resurrecting this thread to get some advice. Not related to riding in the rain

So I've been practicing emergency braking since fitting new brake pads today. I know how far I can go with my front and my rear if I use only one or the other, loading the front gradually rather than suddenly etc etc

Anyways I find that when I use both front and back to brake, the rear loses grip. I can countersteer and can come to a stop even with it locking up round 30kph. However that means I'm losing valuable grip I can use for braking!
I understand this is because as I load the front more, the rear has less grip available.

What should I do to get every last bit of braking out of the bike? I found pulsing the front brake stops the lock up as I suppose more weight is put on the rear when I let off the front. Or should I instead ease off the rear and push more on the front?

I suppose easing off (But still braking with it lightly) the front and braking with the rear more is safer and more predictable, but less braking force available and vice versa means if I lock up the front I'll go down if I don't catch it quick enough...

What are your opinions?

My front tyre is excellent too. Can't believe how much braking I can apply to it and I haven't even locked up yet!

I did a few practice emergency braking sessions on my old motard (so big suspension travel). I had the same problem, front brake was good and a long black line from the rear.

I learned that if I apply the rear brake, the bike squats lower. If I apply the front brake, the bike tips forward and the rear lifts.

The cure was simple, hit the rear brake hard first, the bike squats, then brake as normal on the front, the bike doesn't lift the rear so much.

On my new bike, I do the same, but its harder to tell if it helps as much without the massive suspension travel.

**russd7** · 11th October 2014, 20:36

just forget about ya rear break altogether, if ya doin it right ya back wheel will be off the ground anyway

**george formby** · 11th October 2014, 21:37

I'm not getting involved. Questions like that can start wars.

**george formby** · 11th October 2014, 22:36

Originally Posted by cassina

If I was that much unsure of my braking ability I think I would get a bike with ABS.

There goes Poland.

**bogan** · 11th October 2014, 22:50

Originally Posted by george formby

There goes Poland.

Why? did Fatty McSaggy tits lock up her front end again and wipe it out? I just hope canine casualties were kept to a minimum this time.

**george formby** · 11th October 2014, 23:02

Oy! Don't knock saggy tits. Best thing ever on a winters night. Like half full hot water bottles that never go cold & self adhesive, too.

My posts are merely alluding to the fact that braking is a black art & the discussion of such can become vigorous, slanderous and vitriolic.

Belgium is getting nervous.

Concur wid the canines, best stoppers going & still suffer.

**RDJ** · 12th October 2014, 02:35

At the risk of igniting a discussion that goes beyond where it should, I have lived for quite a few years in places where if you don't want to ride in the rain you can't ride more than one day in four or five; and having ridden across the continental United States in autumn and winter where once I exited Arizona and New Mexico rain was more frequent than not, I found the following habits to be my friends when in a position where braking was inevitable and traction was lacking, mostly due to rain but not always...

- Keep more than the average distance from the person upfront. When someone moves up and occupies the space, I back off further.
- Engine braking was my friend. Admittedly, it was easy because I was riding a two speed semiautomatic gearbox'd V8 motorcycle most of the time... So there was no clutch mechanism to modify and behaviourally recalibrate. But deceleration with engine braking I always found to be less stressful and more gradual.
- Stay in a lower gear because there is no way we are going to overheat the engine or for that matter, whatever clutch or clutch substitute is involved in the transmission.
- Keep a lookout three or four or five cars / trucks ahead. When brake lights start coming on, my brake light comes on... Even if I'm just taking up enough travel in the brake lever to make my brake light come on, if you see what I mean.
- If there is someone trying to crawl up my bike's exhaust I will pull over, and let him through. Doubly so in the wet.
- Trucks significantly reduce visibility for seconds, especially oncoming trucks. Sometimes I'll change lanes just to reduce the spray.

**biketimus_prime** · 12th October 2014, 10:03

Originally Posted by haydes55

I did a few practice emergency braking sessions on my old motard (so big suspension travel). I had the same problem, front brake was good and a long black line from the rear.

I learned that if I apply the rear brake, the bike squats lower. If I apply the front brake, the bike tips forward and the rear lifts.

The cure was simple, hit the rear brake hard first, the bike squats, then brake as normal on the front, the bike doesn't lift the rear so much.

On my new bike, I do the same, but its harder to tell if it helps as much without the massive suspension travel.

Yes I always get on the back brake first and then the front. Your findings match what Nick Ienatsch says in his book about first applying the rear brake to squat the bike and slow down the transfer to the front. Same reason I do it. However it's still possible to lock the rear as the front gets more loaded even with the back brake on and that's where I'm stuck as to let off the front or rear.

Originally Posted by RDJ

At the risk of igniting a discussion that goes beyond where it should, I have lived for quite a few years in places where if you don't want to ride in the rain you can't ride more than one day in four or five; and having ridden across the continental United States in autumn and winter where once I exited Arizona and New Mexico rain was more frequent than not, I found the following habits to be my friends when in a position where braking was inevitable and traction was lacking, mostly due to rain but not always...

- Keep more than the average distance from the person upfront. When someone moves up and occupies the space, I back off further.
- Engine braking was my friend. Admittedly, it was easy because I was riding a two speed semiautomatic gearbox'd V8 motorcycle most of the time... So there was no clutch mechanism to modify and behaviourally recalibrate. But deceleration with engine braking I always found to be less stressful and more gradual.
- Stay in a lower gear because there is no way we are going to overheat the engine or for that matter, whatever clutch or clutch substitute is involved in the transmission.
- Keep a lookout three or four or five cars / trucks ahead. When brake lights start coming on, my brake light comes on... Even if I'm just taking up enough travel in the brake lever to make my brake light come on, if you see what I mean.
- If there is someone trying to crawl up my bike's exhaust I will pull over, and let him through. Doubly so in the wet.
- Trucks significantly reduce visibility for seconds, especially oncoming trucks. Sometimes I'll change lanes just to reduce the spray.

Yeah I have ridden a lot in the rain on my commutes and those are awesome tips. What really annoys me is when you leave a decent 3-4 second gap and some idiot cuts in between.
Also nothing worse than having to go 50 over the bridge on a bloody windy day. Faster I go, the more stable I am in the wind but all the cars slow right down!

**haydes55** · 12th October 2014, 10:14

Originally Posted by biketimus_prime

Yes I always get on the back brake first and then the front. Your findings match what Nick Ienatsch says in his book about first applying the rear brake to squat the bike and slow down the transfer to the front. Same reason I do it. However it's still possible to lock the rear as the front gets more loaded even with the back brake on and that's where I'm stuck as to let off the front or rear.

Yeah I have ridden a lot in the rain on my commutes and those are awesome tips. What really annoys me is when you leave a decent 3-4 second gap and some idiot cuts in between.
Also nothing worse than having to go 50 over the bridge on a bloody windy day. Faster I go, the more stable I am in the wind but all the cars slow right down!

You can try either just letting the rear lock up, focus on the front brake as hard as you can, or use mainly engine braking and after the initial braking, ease up on the rear brake. In an emergency, it can be quite hard to think about what other traffic is doing, where escape routes are and on top of that 2 different wheels to try maintain traction. In the end, the best style for braking is keeping traction, but being alert to the situation and ensuring the front brake is working at it's best is more important. My current bike hasn't got a very strong rear brake anyway so I know I can sit a bit of weight on the pedal and chop through the gears, the old motard had an awesome rear brake.