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Rain Riding

JasonW

New Member
I rode my bike for the first time in the rain. It seem to handle okay and the only bad thing was the build-up of water on my glasses. Any tips to riding in the rain? I am kind of new to this.
 
Any tips to riding in the rain? I am kind of new to this.


Yes. Leave plenty of stopping room around you. When you break traction it is Not like skidding while in a cage. You can wash out very easily.

Apply a little extra rear brake just to see how easy it really is to break traction. It will shock you. The contact patch on bike tires is not all that great.

Whatever you do, don't ride with the confidence you have when it is dry.
 
One of the few time when it helps to have a windscreen, it deflects most of the water away from your glasses. Also, though some say carrying rain gear is bad "karma" I carry light nylon/coated 2 piece rain suit. Always ride with plenty of following distance and two fingers on the brake lever...less of a tendancy to GRAB which is a big NO-NO...a steady squeeze and as Hoop said more rear brake. Remember with good tread, you can still ride in the rain...just remember that just because racers can speed in the rain and lean the bike way over, it is not the same thing on the street where traffic conditions change rapidly.
 
The first 30 minutes to an hour of a rain are the worse because all the oils and other contaminates float to the top of the road; causing the road surface to be exceptionally slick until they wash away. You will get more traction if you stay in the automobile vehicle tracks and out of the center of the lane.

Chip
 
I carry a pair of goggles that I use in the rain. The sealed sides keep most of the water out, and they can be worn over glasses if necessary.
 
I use to have a VW bug many moons ago. The speedo on those cars was driven by a mechanical cable off the left front tire. I remember driving along after it rained doing 45 MPH and hitting a standing puddle in the rode. Nothing crazy deep or anything like that,, just an everyday puddle. The speedo needle would go from 45 mph to ZERO FOR AN INSTANT then jump back to 45 MPH.

From that moment on I believed in hydro-planing.
 
As rain is a fairly common occurance here i just drop the visor on the full face helmet and take extra care on bends and when slowing and leave a good distance between me and the vehicle in front
staying out of the spray from the vehicle in front is a good idea and i generally twist head slightly to one side helps keep the visor clear

Brian
 
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