Wet roads + wind = OMG

[Ragingrob]

Hey just a quick question. Lol this is my 2nd week of riding and I must say the weather's not the best! Is it normal to feel really dodgy going around some corners in these conditions? Like sometimes I swear the back wheel starts to slip slightly even when I'm taking it so slow! Also sometimes my front end seems rather wobbly with the wind and even with little grooves on the road it seems to take my wheel and wobble it a little...

Is this normal? Or am I special?

[Grub]

Hiya RR,

Yup the wind is crap and moves you around a lot but doesn't (usually) knock you off. The wet is crap because white lines and tar snakes will get ya. Stop with your foot on a wet white line and see how slick it is. Be careful though, if you loose your footing completely, you'll look a right nanna as you fall sideways onto your butt.

The other thing is that you're riding a Ginny which may have the original chinese nylon tyres. These are just plain dangerous and should be removedd without a second's delay. If you've felt the rear move, you've been lucky. With those tyres, you should have been on yer arse before you felt anything. Same thing with the tyres tracking in road cuts and gouges. sometimes that's not the specific tyres, just a factor of their size but all bikes will feel them to some extent

[Macstar]

Yeah mate, this weather is about as bad as it gets (apart from ice). A little 'ol GN is likely to be pushed around a bit in the wind - not much you can do about that and unless you're crossing the Harbour bridge you probably don't need to worry too much about that around town.

As for cornering in the wet... try and do all your braking before the corner while the bike is not on a lean and use the rear brake a bit more in the wet. Ease on the throttle as you go around a wet corner (no sudden jerking). And no dumping down a gear too half way through a corner as that could lock up your rear wheel - especially in the wet.

Check your PSI is within the recommended range specified on the tyre and make sure you have a fair bit of tread i.e. if you stick a coin into the tread of your tyre does it go in at least 2-3mm?

Ruts in the road (even around town) are a bit of a bastard and can take you by surprise but are usually harmless i.e. the bike will ride through them (but it may wobble a bit as you do so).

I recommend you give Squiggles a PM cause he has a GN and is around uni most days. He could maybe have a quick squizz at your GN and make sure there's nothing too dodgie.

[ehab2weelr]

Ease on the throttle as you go around a wet corner (no sudden jerking). And no dumping down a gear too half way through a corner as that could lock up your rear wheel - especially in the wet.

.

sudden jerk on a gn??? hahahah
this isnt no gsxr750!!!! hahah

[Ragingrob]

Yeah Steve's seen my bike and I'm pretty sure it's all sweet, the tires aren't the originals and do have a fair bit of tread I believe. So yeah it's prob me just not being used to it. Not a nice feeling riding in this weather! Especially when other drivers seem to drive more eratically at the same time haha!

[HungusMaximist]

^ Good point about the checking our tire pressure Mac boy. Make it a routine!

I haven't checked it probably for about 3 weeks and it was down 10 PSI on the front.

Shit I thought......

EDIT: You got me all excited, I thought that was you in your avatar, all naked infront of the Ducati.... Then it turns out you're a dude.... hahaha....

[Ragingrob]

^ Ha gutted!

So checking my PSI just involves going to the gas station and putting the air nozzle on the tyre and see what the pressure is?

[ehab2weelr]

^ Ha gutted!

So checking my PSI just involves going to the gas station and putting the air nozzle on the tyre and see what the pressure is?

thats all it is! easy anf fast and could save ur life>>>

[motorbyclist]

i've got a keychain pressure tester in my box of goodies in the shed


but yeah, wind can send you from one side of the road to the other in sudden gusts, cause speed wobbles on the motorway, ruts in the road will affect most bikes to varying degrees, and paint/tar is to be avoided while wet (paint is bad enough in the dry!).

just remember your braking is now on par with a car's, and corners should be done smoothly. it also helps to keep the bike as upright as possible and move your body instead.

oh, and if it's hailing like it did today, slow down and/or stop. you're riding on ball bearings and it's bloody cold too!

[Ragingrob]

it also helps to keep the bike as upright as possible and move your body instead.

Bike upright but move body...as in turn handlebars? Or lean with body and not bike?

Oh and I just checked, I think I have about 1.5mm tread front and 2mm tread back, although it's kinda hard to measure! What's this amount of tread like?

[motorbyclist]

lean body and not bike, like hang off the side of it. obviously you can't do that for every corner but it makes it harder for the wheels to slip out from under you.

you'll find that's the easiest way to do a tight U turn aswell (well on a sportbike where slow corners are a problem you'll find it)


handlebars are a whole topic on their own......

[fireliv]

I use to freak when it was windy in welly...but then I realised if I didnt learn to cope I would never get to ride!

Weather is normally better in chch-except today. Wind doesnt worry me as much now but still can be freaky! Grip with the knees I was told

Good luck!

[rphenix]

Dont forget knees out both of em as far as you can comfortably, you will give yourself better balance, which allows you to deal with wind gusts, it also means your going to move around in the saddle more when leaning which helps with the whole move your body not your bike in the wet trick mentioned previously.

If you do harbour bridge crossings, big vehicles can help buses are great for pushing the water away on the road and as they have the double wheel base, it keeps you away from the centre line as you try and follow their tracks!

They can also smack the wind a bit ahead of you (if its not coming completely in from the side) making it slightly more turbulent but not as powerful... just remember if your sitting in a vehicles slipstream especially the larger ones they probably cant see you so be careful.

Speaking of slipstreams its great if you can get a riding budy that you trust absolutely one can be the buffer of the wind and protect the lighter/smaller bike it also helps keep the cagers off your arse though to be honest if im not in the fast lane and im dealing with wind cagers can go f*** themselves when its windy I've got my hands full keeping myself safe so just forget they are there (other than the obvious break allowing for them to stop thing).

One last thing your gear makes a big difference, bigger than you think!! Alot of people love synthetic riding gear due to its quick drying and in some ways better ability to keep you dry. But nothing sticks to your body like leather honestly the minute I got my Quasimoto leather jacket wind was 1/2 as bad as it used to be + leather makes you feel your skin might just remain on your body if you drop your bike on the road!

[Ragingrob]

Wow thanks for all the advice guys!

[motorbyclist]

They can also smack the wind a bit ahead of you (if its not coming completely in from the side) making it slightly more turbulent but not as powerful... just remember if your sitting in a vehicles slipstream especially the larger ones they probably cant see you so be careful.

yeah, tailgating trucks/large vans is an effective, albeit dangerous, way to keep out of the wind. you'll find as you approach it'll get quite turbulent but once you're close enough there's a dead spot behind them. i've seen trucks doing this to other trucks a couple of times before - saving gas in a very dangerous manner


likewise i find alot of station wagons, especially ones with pointless spoilers, create very "dirty" (turbulent) air