Riding in the rain...

[bladerunner]

I'm with the wet riders! I like riding in rain and find the smell of steaming exhausts strangely reassuring - I guess it comes from my dispatch riding days when that smell meant at least the bike was functioning! As an aside, I also like riding at night. Good kit, keep warm and enjoy all the new smells.

As above, smoooooth controls and forward planning to avoid sudden braking/cornering. There is a disadvantage that one's visibility decreases as the need for better vision goes up.

I once read ("Twist of the wrist" I think) that the secret is to maintain steady acceleration through the corner. Which means the old adage "slow in, fast out". As the rear wheel drives, it is trying to go faster than the front. Thus, it takes a slightly wider path than the front, so the bike is essentially pushing the front wheel to the centre and a low-side front skid should not happen.

Most biker deaths are rural, good visibility, fine weather days.

Riding frequently in the wet can definitely improve your skills.

 

[JayC]

I once read ("Twist of the wrist" I think) that the secret is to maintain steady acceleration through the corner. Which means the old adage "slow in, fast out". As the rear wheel drives, it is trying to go faster than the front. Thus, it takes a slightly wider path than the front, so the bike is essentially pushing the front wheel to the centre and a low-side front skid should not happen.
.

No it doesn't! Unless rear wheel traction is lost then the front wheel always takes the furthest route of an arc/circle. Therefore the rear wheel follows on a smaller arc.

 

[Timolgra]

Smooooth

 

[Giles]

I love riding in the rain, improves your skills no end and makes you smoother with the throttle and brakes

Plenty of grip available too

Had some wet riding this weekend and bike never moved, even cornering @ 80mph on full Enduro knobblies

If you're gonna fall off, you're gonna fall off and the weather plays little part in it

Modern tyres have stunning grip in the wet

I completely agree


I love riding in the wet, it's also really good for you - embrace it, don't run away from it ..

I also agre with JB that if yer gonna fall off (in the wet), it's more likely to be you than actually loosing grip.

First off, examine all the (as keith code was mentioned we'll use his buzz word..) survival reactions that kick in when we're stressed ..

Tense arms = fecked steering, bike going straight on 'cos it won't lean 'cos you've turned into an ironing board ..

Target fixation = staring at that manhole cover or that shiny road surface will see you heading straight for it, and the hedge behind it ..

Chopping the throttle = your brain says Aaaaagggghhhh wet floor, shiny surface, slippery ... and it makes you close the throttle just as you're tipping into a bend ..

Grab the brake = worst case scenario - your survival reactions completely take over and short circuit everything you know you shouldn't do. Crash !!!!


So the first battle to mastering riding in the rain is knowing, that under stress (and there's nothing like riding in the wet to sort the men from the boys.. ) you will do some if not all of those things.

Even after 25 years of riding bikes, I still think technique in the wet. If i'm tramping on a bit (which raises the survival reaction stresses..) I consciously think about keeping my body and my arms relaxed, and not tightening up the second I see a load of wet overbanding right on my line.

I consciously monitor in a sort of subconscious way, what I'm looking at. I know that under stress my eyes will be drawn to the very places that I don't want them to go, so (in that sort of subconscious way) I hone in on that and concentrate even more than normal on looking ahead ..

I consciously work even harder on my bike balance. (So by that, really, I mean a balanced throttle on corner entry..). In the wet it's even more important to drive through a corner. In the dry if i'm in a bit hot and stuck off the gas a tad, well, I should know better. but in the wet ... I don't want to push the front, so I really hone in on the old slow in fast out, in like a lamb, out like a lion ... what ever you want to call it.

So learn to love your survival reactions. Learn to know them, understand them, and understand how they (adversely) affect your riding.

That, is the biggest improvement you can make to your wet weather riding, if you understand why you commit these sins, you can combat them and, as Tim says, become Mr Smooth, and super quick in the wet.

 

[CuzGS]

Allow more time for everything,

Getting ready

Route time

Accelerating distance

Braking style

Smoothness is way ahead, allowing plenty of time for the trip will allow this to happen

 

[Wapping]

One simple rule....

You have as much (or more) grip in the rain, as you think you have in the dry..... and you have a lot more grip in the dry than you think...


Here's a song, whilst you think about it.....

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/TS9_ipu9GKw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

I completely agree


I love riding in the wet, it's also really good for you - embrace it, don't run away from it ..

I also agre with JB that if yer gonna fall off (in the wet), it's more likely to be you than actually loosing grip.

First off, examine all the (as keith code was mentioned we'll use his buzz word..) survival reactions that kick in when we're stressed ..

Tense arms = fecked steering, bike going straight on 'cos it won't lean 'cos you've turned into an ironing board ..

Target fixation = staring at that manhole cover or that shiny road surface will see you heading straight for it ..

Chopping the throttle = your brain says Aaaaagggghhhh wet floor, shiny surface, slippery ... and it makes you close the throttle just as your tipping into a bend ..

Grab the brake = worst case scenario - your survival reactions completely take over and short circuit everything you know you shouldn't do. Crash !!!!


So the first battle to mastering riding in the rain is knowing, that under stress (and there's nothing like riding in the wet to sort the men from the boys.. ) you will do some if not all of those things.

Even after 25 years of riding bikes, I still think technique in the wet. If i'm tramping on a bit (which raises the survival reaction stresses..) I consciously think about keeping my body and my arms relaxed, and not tightening up the second I see a load of wet overbanding right on my line.

I consciously monitor in a sort of subconscious way, what I'm looking at. I know that under stress my eyes will be drawn to the very places that I don't want them to go, so (in that sort of subconscious way) I hone in on that and concentrate even more than normal on looking ahead ..

I consciously work even harder on my bike balance. (So by that, really, I mean a balanced throttle on corner entry..). In the wet it's even more important to drive through a corner. In the dry if i'm in a bit hot and stuck off the gas a tad, well, I should know better. but in the wet ... I don't want to push the front, so I really hone in on the old slow in fast out, in like a lamb, out like a lion ... what ever you want to call it.

So learn to love your survival reactions. Learn to know them, understand them, and understand how they (adversely) affect your riding.

That, is the biggest improvement you can make to your wet weather riding, if you understand why you commit these sins, you can combat them and, as Tim says, become Mr Smooth, and super quick in the wet.

Some bloody great advice there and much more eloquently put the my post

Plus, don't forget .....................you can still recover when it goes a bit 'Pete Tong'................even in the wet

Running wide? - Push the inside bar a bit and the tyre will still still adhere

Slide under braking? Let the brakes off and re-apply

Slide under acceleration? Roll gently off the throttle and re-apply.............feel for the grip, there is some there

Target fixation? Look somewhere else and you will head there

When entering a bend, move your head and look at the exit and you & the bike will surely follow

 

[High-Tower]

Riding in the wet? Ugh. Can't agree with you guys who love it, although I wish I could find the love.

I'll do it. I do it, just as I ride in the dark, snow, ice, etc. No car and shift work means no choice. But I can't get away from the mental block that it's slippy out there and there's not enough grip. Having said that, I've yet to fall off due to wet tarmac, but I reckon my time will come.

Loads of good advice given already, smoooth and steady will win the day. And slow, if you're anything like me.

 

[Giles]

I can't get away from the mental block that it's slippy out there and there's not enough grip. Having said that, I've yet to fall off due to wet tarmac,

Exactly!!! It's not that slippy at all. In fact after a day of rain the road is often washed clean and is, just, wet. Grippy, but just wet, that's all !!

 

[cookie]

One thing I've often found very useful in the rain is a pair of yellow tinted glasses........I use the safety glasses from my local hardware shop.

They seem to lessen eye-strain and because they filter out certain frequencies of light, they also help with clarity and seeing through misty type conditions.

They're also very handy for when you get the occasional splash of shit/muddy oily water across your visor, or it steams up for some reason........you can flip the visor up without getting stinging gritty rain straight in your eyes immediately, then you can deal with the visor situation in a less urgent and safer way than having to pull up fast in a bad place

a tip i nicked off you some years back, although i'd forgotten about the yellow bit lately.
a pair of safety glasses still work, when they're covered in rain water and your visor is totally bolloxed. i always carry a pair

 

[st1cks]

Really good advice being given.

You asked about visibility - I've always ridden in all weathers and find the most dangerous (and irritating) is a steaming up visor. A real pain and very distracting. If lifted too much to vent, it'll soon get wet inside and be impossible to manage.
Would recommend a breath guard or thick neck tube (depending on helmet) to pull up over your nose to keep your breath off the visor. Some sprays and wipes claim to help but they only work to a point so open vents and take care to keep it dry and clear inside and use dispersant (polish) as already said on the outside.

I have a ridiculously cheap plastic one piece suit which I can pull on if it gets serious and will keep me and my gear completely dry all day.

 

[Kamikaze]

Really good advice being given.

You asked about visibility - find the most dangerous (and irritating) is a steaming up visor. A real pain and very distracting.

I agree. Invest in a pin lock for your visor.
I got one for my Schuberth C2 eventually and the difference is amazing.

 

[Smug]

Wheels starting to slide in the wet are usually caused by rider input. Relax and the bike will sort itself out.

Try to relax. If you feel your shoulders getting tight, bend the elbows a bit more and loosen up. Riding when tensed up and tight is very tiring.

A tip we were given to help relax was to poke your tongue out between your teeth. This helps to relax your jaw, which helps to relax your neck, which helps relax your shoulders. Force yourself to smile if you start to feel tense. This has the same effect as the tongue between the teeth.

 

[Mifune]

I was thinking about this last week while caught in a relentless downpour heading back to Cambridge from Brecon, weighing the motorway options against the B roads, and feeling grateful that at least it was no longer snowing at lower elevations.

It seems to me there are three fundamental challenges that make many people dread the rain. One is traction, the second is keeping your body warm and dry, and the third is visibility. As others have pointed out, as long as you stay off the painted lines and keep a gentle touch on your inputs, traction is really not a major issue. But when you get cold and wet or can't see well, it's hard to stay relaxed. I can't bring myself to wear a rainsuit, but have found the modern textile suits with Gore-Tex linings to be really quite good at keeping most of the body comfortable. Never seems to work with the hands, though, so I carry a couple of extra pairs of gloves. Stop often (every hour or so) for something warm to drink, don't take your helmet off until you're under shelter.

But the visibility problem still plagues me. Every helmet I've ever had, with every kind of anti-fog product on the market, still steams up. Droplets on the outside of the visor are too small to catch the wind and fly away when - turn my head. Rain-X just makes it worse. The only things that work for me are: crack the visor open enough to get good interior airflow, wear a balaclava, beacuse that wet wind is cold, make a tube from chamois and slip it over your left index finger.

Backroads or motorway? Less filthy water thrown up by other vehicles on the backroads; but, unless the single carriageways are really quiet, or you know them well, I find them much more tiring in the rain. On the motorway, you have a lot of visual clues, even as visibility diminishes and the curves are never sharp. But on unfamiliar backroads, you'll always have some local in a hurry up your backside and it's hard to judge a diminishing radius curve.

So, I'd say, dress well, keep tabs on your body stiffness and stress levels, stop often, and have some means to wipe your visor.

 

[Paul Wakefield]

Masses of good advice here. I quite enjoy riding in the rain (as long as I am dry and warm). Enjoy the i2i course - it's excellent and if it doesn't give you confidence on wet roads, I'm not sure what will!

 

[Jane Bentley]

In a car tyres play a big part in how it performs. IMO without them it's a bloody rough ride

Brilliant, I am now ready for my IAM

Justinguitar

You will be bowled over the amount of confidence the course will give you with dry and wet riding. (Mind, by the time you've read this you would have completed the course and know that by now)

And, put air in the tyres, that helps too.

 

[bladerunner]

a cheap fix for rain on visor is "pledge" furniture polish spray - rain slips off a treat. (I've had no issues with damage to plastic therefrom).

 

[Micky]

Just as Giles says

My two penneth ...

Ride relaxed and never put your bike somewhere your brain wasn't five seconds earlier ....

Never ride at a pace that you just might have to jump on the brakes, come off your 'normal pace' and bring it down to 65% - 75% of what it normally might be

Ride relaxed ... totally relaxed, but with 110% concentration

As said, you can have some stunning grip in the wet, my experience tells me the shinier it is the slippier it is ...

Never let anyone tell you that you do have as much grip in the wet as in the dry.... are Rossie's lap times as quick in the wet as in the dry

Race tracks and airfields are one thing ... the roads are full of white paint, manhole covers, tar banding and patches of diesel ... any one of which can break traction

I've personally dealt with a double fatal where the wet road had the co-efficient of friction of virtually zero ... and attended a triple fatal where the co-efficient of friction on the wet road was as good as when dry

We don't have expensive testing equipment to hand so I rely on my above comment ... the shinier it is then the slippier it probably is!

Your best friend is your state of mind ... never ever ride in the wet just wishing you was at home, thinking how long a journey you have in front of you, how cold you are. Get the best clothing you can afford, take time to fasten it up snugly and properly. Stop for coffee/pee/warm when you want.

Tell yourself just how lucky you are to be out on your motorcycle and that you are going to enjoy this journey ... and believe it

 

[JayC]

Ride relaxed ... totally relaxed, but with 110% concentration

That would be very difficult to achieve , 100% would be nearer the mark.

 

[Micky]

That would be very difficult to achieve , 100% would be nearer the mark.

Just my slant on it JayC

100% concentration is difficult for an extended period, most of us fail to achieve it

110% concentration is where I keep tellin' misen to concentrate 100%