Rain - riding in

[Neil955i]

Hi all, here in the UK well, in my bit of it anyway, we've just had our first real rainfall in about 3 weeks or so and this morning whilst negotiating the greasy, slippery wet roads riding home made me wonder how many of you cope with rain in your country?  I may have mentioned on here before, but we lived in Malta briefly (the wife is half Maltese) and it always amused me the number of fender benders and worse which happen there every time it rains!  (Not often) 

I recall riding in a Kentucky downpour with an American friend (from NJ) years ago and he was in awe of my wet weather speeds and I had to explain that we get way more practice at it over here    These days I'd just as soon avoid wet weather riding, but it certainly does hone your smoothness; so vital to keeping everything shiny side up.

[CROSSBOLT]

Dear Neil,

Let me introduce you to a driving phenomenon called "The Deep South" and another called "Memphis."

The Deep South when I first arrived in '78 had a habit when entering a freeway, or "innerstate" as southerners call them, to come to a complete stop at the merge, then look back to see traffic! Coming from California freeways where the technique was to pour coal and match traffic speed this came as a complete shock and surprize! Don't see much of it anymore, thankfully.

The Memphis area from 1980 when I first arrived has a seemingly iron-clad rule on clear weather days the city surface streets and freeways produce 4 to 7 crashes in the morning "rush" and 4 to 7 in the evening push to get home. Rainy days have 10 to 20 wrecks morning and night. This has been the rule for 40 years. The only change has been a slight increase sinec cell phones.

Buying into a body shop is a secure investment....

[Iahawk]

I have personally never ridden 2 wheels in real rain. I've ridden in some light sprinkles for a brief time but never real rain. I see very few bikes out, ever, in the rain. I do recall one time I was in Atlanta in a massive downpour in rush hour and next to us was a Yamaha R6 riding in the downpour...I recall thinking how crazy that rider was!

[Neil955i]

Thanks Karl, never got any further south than Tennessee / North Carolina on any of my rides in the East, though I did get down to New Mexico when riding out West.  It's always interesting to compare driving and techniques though I have to enlighten you that the "Deep South" phenomenon is not exclusive to the US of A as we have countless hesitant drivers over here who will slow down to look for gaps when joining a motorway rather than matching speeds and merging.  Another one of my "betes noir" is the related malaise afflicting some drivers approaching empty traffic roundabouts who stop and only then look rather than observing on the run up and negotiating smoothy.  Keeps us on our toes I suppose.

[Neil955i]

I have personally never ridden 2 wheels in real rain. I've ridden in some light sprinkles for a brief time but never real rain. I see very few bikes out, ever, in the rain. I do recall one time I was in Atlanta in a massive downpour in rush hour and next to us was a Yamaha R6 riding in the downpour...I recall thinking how crazy that rider was!

Understandable if you enjoy good weather Hawk.  If you didn't ride in the rain here you'd hardly ride at all!

[NomadCF]

Northern Ohioan here and I'd be lieing it I said that raiding in the rain didn't put me on edge alittle more than rush hour traffic on 480 (it's more like the thunderdome). But still try to ride regardless of the weather.

The part of bad weather riding it hate is the visibility issues. Water repellent or not some times the rain or snow just gets to the point where I wished I had windshield wipers! Although the worse the weather the likely I am to want to wear a helmet.

My tips for bad weather riding are the same as everyone else's. Remember your front tire is there to make a path for your rear tire. So don't try to do anything that would reduce the back tire tracking the the front. Easy on the throttle don't let that back tire break contact with the road/medium because of your throttle control. Also stay on the throttle pushing your way through something is better then letting the medium (water,. Snow, sand) control where your going to go. Traction is everything (I know, no sh**)  so even something as simple as zip ties on your tires will make all the difference in something like sand or snow. But contrary to the belief you don't have to have a little plastic nubs on the outside out to make it be effective. And as soon as you get on any normal pavement they will snap and break it off.

I also never pull off under a bridge or covering. These places are generally sloped to move the water away from the road to where your now stopped. Plus getting going again can be more of a pain in the ass than just continuing. And that's for you and the scooter and bike!
Weight can mean everything. The lighter the bike the more issues you'll have, but easier it will be to pick it back up. Heavier bikes help sink into the snow or water better where your lighter bikes will try to "float" on it. Lastly make sure your breaks/clutch/levers are not silky smooth. A slippery lever is a useless lever!

[CROSSBOLT]

Thanks Karl, never got any further south than Tennessee / North Carolina on any of my rides in the East, though I did get down to New Mexico when riding out West.  It's always interesting to compare driving and techniques though I have to enlighten you that the "Deep South" phenomenon is not exclusive to the US of A as we have countless hesitant drivers over here who will slow down to look for gaps when joining a motorway rather than matching speeds and merging.  Another one of my "betes noir" is the related malaise afflicting some drivers approaching empty traffic roundabouts who stop and only then look rather than observing on the run up and negotiating smoothy.  Keeps us on our toes I suppose.

Ah! Round-abouts! I love them! So European and very practical! Absolutely a riot over here in US of A! Recently (5 years ago) put one in Corinth, MS. The locals adapted rather quickly but there were some times one driver would either slow or stop and you coulspd swear to see a huge question mark above the car! Love 'em on two wheels!

[Ruffus]

Well well, iron rule here for me in Italy.
Weather forecast says more than 30% likelyhood of rainshowers during next day, scoot stays in its garage and my car is the choice of transport if somehow neccessary. Postponing is not that hard here, we've around 300 sunny days annually.

[Stig / Major Tom]

There's the technique of riding in the rain...
And then there is the feeling, sensation of, riding at night in the rain😊



Yeah, OK - getting soaked when going somewhere is one thing - but IF you're dressed for it*, and it's pitch dark, and you're on quiet country roads, and you've got at least 35W's lighting the way....and no extra plastic (wind screen) to look through.....I find it is kinda Zen-like to ride in the rain.


The rain drops clicking on the helmet, water streams flowing off the face shield...big drops falling before your headlight. Feeling just a little crazy to be doing this while you're smiling in that helmet

You're pretty certain it rains in the Asian country wherever this thing was made.....so, good times to be had on a scooter!

Stig
*h_llsbells - even if you're NOT dressed for it --- One thing i learned in Vietnam: "after you get wet - you'll dry."

[klaviator]

Many years ago i was leading a group of sport bikes on a curvy road in the north Georgia Mountains.  It was a light rain and had been raining for a while so the oil on the roads should have been washed away.  The tires on my bike had great grip in the wet so I ran a pretty good pace.  After we stopped one of the riders told me we were going faster than he would have done that road if it was dry!

Now I'm older and ride more conservatively but in the right circumstances I will still ride fairly fast in the rain.  The secret is to ride very smooth and choose the best lines around the curves. 

A month or so I was following a rider on a Ducati Multistrada on some wet curvy roads.  I stayed with him but the pucker factor was pretty high. 



More recently I got caught in some heavy rain so i did what most sensible riders would do.  I found a dry place to sit it out.



We had lunch and by the time we were done eating the rain stopped.


And then there are times when we make our own "rain"!

[mousejunks]

You need:

1) proper waterproof gear that you can wear every ride. I mean branded jackets, pants and gloves with a waterproof rating (in mm). Not the cheap stuff with no rating or waterproof liners.
2) good tyres front and rear
3) a pinlock visor or anti fog spray
4) Hi Vis on your gear or your bike


My personal favourite gear is the Dainese D-Dry series. It had always kept me dry and warm, even in heavy storms.

[john grinsel]

tires---condition of bike--professional quality riding gear and rubber or waterproof boots.  Water proof gloves or over gloves/mitts.  Something that is hard to do with modern maxiscooter....windshield at proper look over height and angle....or  be like Harley riders...hide under bridges.    All day in rain, snow/sleet/cold heated vest might be nice, too.

[Neil955i]

Thanks one and all, some great advice/pointers for anyone new(ish) to our hobby - passion?  My own two penn’orth? Don’t let riding in the rain put you off, with the right gear and smooth riding technique, it can be enjoyable- even Zen-like as Stig says.

[john grinsel]

Added----ride a lot, you will ride in rain---be prepared.

[Like50]

Bought new suit today for rain and colder times, Goes also (designed) for fishing also wintertime. Have no idea about the quality of the suit, but if normal or good, will do next five years easily when scootering around.
 https://www.ebay.com/itm/392274206160?hash=item5b555d5dd0:g:D8EAAOSwDQ1crFAd