Rainy Weather - Got Any Good Safety Tips

[Rianna]

Pretty cool story there, klaviator!

[grantourismo]

So did you go ahead and try some rainy day scooting?

i did it all the time in new zealand
you need a reflective vest good tyres and do the corner carefully. last thing watch out for idiots who are driving

[Rianna]

Thanks, grantourismo, I appreciate all of these great tips in this thread. it's raining here again today.

And yes, the "idiots" are always out there on the roads. Honestly I tend to worry more about the other drivers on wet roads than my own abilities. After surviving a head-on collision at the age of 19 in Florida and a rear-end collision some 12 years later in another state under wet road conditions, I would have to say that rainy weather is my least favorite time to be on the roads with any vehicle. Hyper-vigilance may not be enough in some circumstances. You never know what the other driver will do. When driving a car or heavy vehicle I would prefer to drive after a snow storm or even through an ice storm over driving immediately after a fresh rain when the oil on the road's surface rises. You can take extra precautions, brake early, be aware of road conditions and stay alert, but even the safest driver shares the road with the new driver and the "idiots"...

[Agent Bob]

You will get to test your rainy weather riding skills today and tomorrow if you choose with this mess hitting the east. My advice, get a good book.

[blue]

had to get my rain gear out this morning. It was comeing down hard. Need to get that new front tire on order soon.

[Rianna]

It's a shame, Agent Bob. It was almost 60 degrees here today but there was constant rain.

Yes, blue. A new front tire would be great! I hope you find a deal on a nice one.

[oswaldters]

I guess the fun stuff is going to his us late tonight and tomorrow morning.

Nothing like scooting to work in driving rain, 40 mph winds and lightning. 

What's that?  Take the bus tomorrow?  No chance!

[Rianna]

That's the spirit, oswaldters! Spoken like a true scooterist.

You can ride for me tomorrow...I'm stayin' indoors.

[aokark]

I wasn't going to ride today cuz this morning the forecast said thunderstorms... Ended up being sunny with some clouds! So off I went
It can be so random here

[oswaldters]

Well it was a raining pretty good and windy, but no thunderstorms or tornados so that was a plus.

Now comes the cold front which has stopped the raining, but lowered temperatures over 20 degrees.

Winter riding, here I come!

[TechGuy]

Riding in the rain... like on my ride home tonight.

No riding over manhole covers, if at all possible
Hands off the brakes when riding over painted lines and marking
try to ride straight over lines and other markings if possible,
same with train and light rail tracks
lean your body more while turning as opposed to leaning the bike (I find it keeps the bike more upright)
get a good fog solution for your visor ( I had to stop and get a fog city visor insert tonight)
ease up on the accelerator when starting (easy to spin that rear wheel)
start braking sooner and ease into them and increase pressure slowly as the grip increases
wear lots of reflective material, your were hard to see before, you are harder to see now.

Here is my latest addition the "see me" battle on the roadways.  It's called an H-belt and they are impossible to find the in the US.  I had a friend from England bring it over on a trip to CA.  Thought my riding coat was pretty visible. You can see how much more visible I am with the addition of the belt.  The back has more. The yellow is that day-glo green/yellow during the day and this yellow at night.  my coat is white reflective. All of the reflective on me is 3M made.

[Rianna]

Wow, TechGuy! That is definitely a plus in the visibility department! That would be great to have here for any after dark riding.

In my neighborhood, once you get to the main road, we have 5 construction sites going within a few blocks. You have to drive through at the very least 2 of them to go anywhere even if you pull off of the main road and take side streets where you can. The work is very slow and will likely continue for a year or more as they replace underground sewers and such. (Don't ask about the smells from the sewer or the paving trucks...you don't want to know about them.)

One day I had to pull out on to this road on my way home and they had made a 'bump' in the road. But from the side street I pulled out of you could not see their BUMP sign as they had placed it before the side street. The bump was designed in such a way that when my front tire hit it and came off of the ground I felt like I should have been in one of those Evel Knevel videos with the ramps and high jumps that I watched as a kid. Ha! I do exaggerate, but it was fun, even if unexpected.

I doubt I will do much night riding my first year with the scoot. If I did I can see a benefit to this reflective material, especially when coming around some of the curves we have here on the more narrow roads where the speed limit is set low but everyone drives very fast anyway. Ur friend does have some items that we do not see here.

I do appreciate the wet weather riding tips from all. Leaning? Haven't really put much thought into that one yet...just seem to do whatever comes naturally in the given situation. I have ridden on the back of motorcycles so leaning may not have crossed my mind as a safety issue or a beginning rider's issue. Maybe someone will start a topic about that. And I do hope I remember to keep my hands off the brakes when riding over painted lines, arrows and other markings. I have seen that they are very slippery. Living near a hospital zone this tip will come in handy. Thanks.

[axy]

In the past two months we had two days without rain here.
So, it is two months of driving on slippery roads and through rain storms...
I started feeling COMFORTABLE on slippery road, almost forgot what it's like driving on dry road...

[Yager E]

Hey Rianna,

I'm baaaccckkkk.... Lots of good tips posted. Another one would be to wear conspicuous clothing like a yellow vest, since visibility in rain and bad weather is diminished. We may get some snow in NE Georgia this weekend. If that happens and I HAVE to go out, it will be in the CRV or Z-71.

[oswaldters]

And don't forget your led accent lights 

I've noticed a big difference in being visible riding with those on at night or during rainy periods.

If they're legal in your state, I would highly recommend them.