Anyone got any wet weather tips? Seems its raining down here in Vic every #$%#ing second day even though its Spring and I nearly lost it the other day leaning into a corner when i hit one of those white painted arrows - felt the rear end start to go.
Take it extra slow round corners? <!-- s:???: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_confused.gif" alt=":???:" title="Confused" /><!-- s:???: --> And also be aware of painted white stripes like u mentioned..and any metal grills..those things have no friction in the wet. Any shiny surfaces on the generally mean bad..so steer clear of them also.
i heard seattle rans like 70% of the year is taht true?? i love the rain maybe i might have to move there one day!
wooo careful of running ver those reflectors they put in the road too. Plus im not sure if anyone else has noticed this but the rubbery **** they use to seal cracks in roads can be pretty slippery too. but yeah be extra vigilant coz of all the water n oil and car drivers who cant see that well in da dark. I was in seattle n i heard the same thing about it raining all the time. iwas there for 10 days and it didnt rain once, but it snowed like a mutha f$#@a
The summers here can't be beat most of the time, but they generally fall in the middle of the week. It was a long summer this year. I think it was on Tuesday and Wednesday, but they may have extended it to Thursday. It does rain from Nov to May. The first year I was up here (1998), it rained 114 days straight. From the very end of October till the middle of Feburary. Man did that suck.
Be very watchful of tram tracks! Goes with anything that is metal (as said above) but I thought it warranted it's own statement. Rain riding is great at bringing you back down to reality. It makes you think about all those things taken for granted during dry weather. I always find that I learn more and have more to reflect on from a wet-weather ride than dry. Never stop learning...
True that !!!, I must confess I don't ride when it rains always.. if its raining or looks like its going rain, i take the car.. but i do enjoy riding if i do get stuck in the rain.. nothin like the rain smell and water drops hittin ur face at 100 km an hour LOL!!!.. I guess im not confident enough to ride in the rain yet, i have a hard time seeing already.. just imagine the cars.. and all the limited manouvers i can do when its wet.. but i should really get riding in the rain more often.. it does help you with ur overall riding ability.! and puts lots of commen sense into you! <!-- s --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_cool.gif" alt="" title="Cool" /><!-- s -->
Apart from the surfaces mentioned above that are very slipperly with the rain...the bitchumen is very grippy. I mean u just have to look at the motogp when it rains...they are still riding at exceptional speeds through those corners. I know dave will prob agree that when we went through the reefton spur...the road was still quite damp...yet at the skill we were riding..we were still able to ride like we would on dry roads. Although some ppl complained when they hit leafs the back wheel would slide a lil...but I never had that problem.
well...apart from wearing extra waterproof gear, u would ride essentially the saem, keepin an eye out for anything etc.. i also stay further back from the car infront as cagers seem to b more unpredictable in the wet for some reason... <!-- s:???: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_confused.gif" alt=":???:" title="Confused" /><!-- s:???: --> also...caution wen lanesplittin! i was lane splittin once behind a zzr, the guy braked n was on the white line at the same time...n down he goes...i wouldve gone doen if i was goin any faster! <!-- s --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_sad.gif" alt="" title="Sad" /><!-- s --> as for more grip wen it rains...well sort of. if its been raing for days then yes..i do find its quite grippy...but if its been dry n its the first time its rainin then no since all the **** on the road is being washed off, this is wen u see all those pretty rainbow puddles of water n oil mixed up...avoid this or ull go down! as dean said, we went to reefton n was a bit wet...but still managed to hold quite some speed...apart form all that bark on the road which i slipped on a few corners then just backed off n played chase wen the road was a bit clearer. dave
yes grendal, snow is rain. but frozen. thats why its called snow, not rain. <!-- s:roll: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_roll.gif" alt=":roll:" title="Rolling LoL" /><!-- s:roll: -->
To be accurate there are various stages of the rain - snow 'curve'. Freezing rain - this is rain coming down when it is at or near zero degrees. As soon as it touches something it will tend to freeze. This is the worst stuff to find (and causes a tonne of black ice) Sleet - small ice pellets coming at you 'Wet snow' - this is snow that has partially melted already or not fully formed. Quite heavy, and you can get soaked in this. Snow - nice light fluffy stuff. But I think you have to lived in snow to appreciate these differences...
None of the above listed conditions (I've ridden in all 5) is very conductive to motorcycling. Unless its a dirt bike.
well i 'spose plain old melbourne rain ain't all that bad then is it??! Seattle must be a lovely place to learn how to ride, dude - but on the plus side i guess if you can ride in that stuff you can ride in anything, hey?
Talk about wet weather riding I got soaked today on the way to Uni. Lately the weather in Sydney has been as unpredictable as Melbourne. Oh and my suspension got real squeeky too. Greeny has heard it, it sounds like an old mattress! Does anyone know of a solution to this? I've literally soaked it with WD-40 but to no avail. <!-- s:-? --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_Eyecrazy.gif" alt=":-?" title="Eye Crazy" /><!-- s:-? --> <!-- s:???: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_confused.gif" alt=":???:" title="Confused" /><!-- s:???: -->
For me riding in the wet is a confidence thing... I'm not at the point where I ride all that hard in the wet... But I don't think I'll ever be... or even want to be. I'll head out in the wet, even if it's pouring when I leave. But it is and always will be different riding... and nowhere near as fun... Grip all has to do with tyre temperature, so if you can warm up the tyres, you'll have plenty of grip, but it takes longer in the wet...
I had that too! Never fixed it ebcause I sold it though. I was told that I would have needed to take the rear shock off and put grease in the hinges there.
