Rain Riding

[BKingRider]

Okay, so I was the only one to show up for the ride on Saturday, August 16th.. you know, that big rain-storm that hit the whole front-range. From Aurora to Estes to Loveland to Aurora. Rain pretty much the whole way...

People think I'm crazy, but there are ways to ride rain without ditching it. First off is GEAR. If you're doing long rides or you know you'll have rain, buy and pack a rain suit that you've hit with waterproofing. Throw this over your leathers (yes, make sure you have em) and you'll stay bone-dry wherever they are. Keep em in side-bags or have a pack. Make sure your boots are waterproof or spray em twice a season. Wet, cold feet don't shift or break well, and if you loose feeling, you loose control. Gloves... well, I had to buy neoprene fly-fishing gloves in Estes, but now I'll pack em when I know I might hit rain.

Now, for riding... with solid tires (DON'T HAVE SLICKS) you can do the speed-limit the whole way... trust me... just back off a bit more in corners and you'll stay rubber-side down. The real trick is watching for three things: blow-back from on-coming and in-tandem traffic, center-lane rise (and quality) as well as standing water.

For blow-back, you gotta keep reading what all traffic ahead if you is doing. Read as far ahead as you can and watch where the water is spraying, regardless of who it will be coming from. Just throttle up and down to keep out of that spray, and if you can't avoid it or don't see it coming, don't panic... just always remember what the line is in front of you and roll through the "blind spot" when you're getting soaked. If you're next to a guy hosing you, then back-off till your clear. Then either pace behind him or look for a drier patch (slanted pavement is always best) for where to pass.

For where to ride, you have have to make a choice on when the rain started. If it's pavement that just got wet, stay off that high-center portion of any lane. The oil and anti-freeze collect there, so fresh rain will lift it off a bit and make things that much more slick. Also, use the shoulders. There may be a bit of gravel, but there's no oil-slick at all and you're tires will hold.

Standing water is generally unavoidable. If you're alone on the road, you can cruise through it without too much trouble. But stay off the gas... coast through it and don't touch the friggin break. Once through, proceed normally but remember that your disks will be wet and won't grab as quickly or efficiently. In fact, remember that your disks will be wet during any rain and you need to buy extra space between you and anything you'll need to break for including vehicles, blow-back and corners.

The other catch is riding behind vehicles when you see them hit standing water. This is a biotch on some areas of I-25 and all over, really. The trick here is to get in behind one of the big rigs if you can, then trucks if you can manage it. Try and stay a bit closer than normal (while still giving you some breaking or swerving distance... then, keep your tires in the swath they'll cut in the standing water. This will put you in the trench of a lane, but if you're close enough to have your rubber hitting pavement before the standing water flows back, you'll be in great shape.

The down-side here is that you'll be getting some spray-back from the vehicle ahead, but with good gear, you should stay dry.

The other thing here is to try and find days and places where there's little or no traffic and then hit them when there is rain. Building up your confidence and skills will keep you from jerking brakes or dumping clutches at the wrong time.

So, hit that wet pavement without fear, remember these rules and you have a shot at turning a bad rain day into a great ride day.

Enjoy!

[Mort82]

Riding in the rain kicks ass. I was amazed at how well a good set of tires can stick. Keep it in a high gear and easy on the controls and you can still do well over the speed limit.

It was like riding jet skis it rained so hard one time. I don't think my full ti system liked that though

[dattaway]

Good gear is a must in rain. I ride to work all year and I found my sportbikes handle water much better than cars. My electric Gerbing's suit keeps me dry during the heaviest downpours and my uniform is dry when I arrive at work. That means I am comfortable the whole way and am in control of my bike.

I found 90mph to be the point my bikes hydroplane on standing water. This is the speed where the road vibration stops and the rear tire starts to spool up, limiting top speed. I'd imagine any kind of turning at this point would wash the bike on its side. If the downpour isn't strong enough to keep a lake on the highway, top speed is far higher.

I currently have rain race tires mounted on my bike (they do make these!) They can yank a wheelie anytime at higher speeds. There are rain races on youtube that show what sportbikes can do in the rain. Water doesn't slow these down! They have a knobby tread pattern that looks like dirt bike tires. Since they have lots of tread and far less contact patch, its easy to melt these tires on dry pavement. That's why you rarely see rain tires on sportbikes.

[frank2]

I totally agree wiyh you guys. Rain riding is fun, and most of all, a good lesson in handling. I used to go out in the rain to practice. Sooner than later, you're going to get caught in it, and you won't have to panic. Proper gear is definately a must. I do agree, it's a blast. Also, as you said, most riders will never know how good today's tires really work. The rain shows all. The rubber is incredible.

[Captain Obvious]

I don't mind riding in the rain either.

I actually like racing in the rain even better as less people want to and I don't slow down as much as others do (not that my dry speeds are all that earth shattering). But I usually get wood at the race finish when it is wet out.

[rforsythe]

Some other general rain riding tidbits:
- Be SMOOTH. Fluid. Don't hamfist the controls or be all abrupt. You'll find that the bike behaves a lot better when inertia isn't trying to yank the tires off the pavement.
- Don't give it a ton of throttle abruptly, or while leaned way over. Mostly up and down before getting on it means it has more friction available for throttle, since it isn't being used up by turning.
- Don't brake into turns (i.e. trail braking), unless you like that front-washing-out feeling. Get the speed set before you lean in. Do that and you will be able to lean pretty far (on rain race tires on a track, pretty far = all the way).

[Spiderman]

... remember that your disks will be wet and won't grab as quickly or efficiently. In fact, remember that your disks will be wet during any rain and you need to buy extra space...

Ever since switching to race take-offs, I've been worried about braking in the rain (haven't done much rain riding until recently), and that lack of initial bite was scary the first few times... at first I thought it was my front tire not grabbing, but I eventually I realized it was just the pads & rotors drying off, and once they're dry, they get their bite back.

[Devaclis]

Man, I got the Dunlop RoadSmart from Chris at the Grand Prix a while back and got to test it in the rain up in the high country. AWESOME tire!!! I have always been comfortable in the rain and snow but this tire made me feel like I was in a beach resort with no worries and a never ending supply of BJ's. Yeah, I like this tire a lot.

[bgilley]

So does anybody have any advice on some good shoes, or a good way to keep them from getting wet. Usually I'm at work in the evening and then it starts raining, and usually not really prepared or care to be either really, but any quick tips for the long run as far as shoes go. Seems like the water justs pours in the back of them.

[MaddMatt]

Rain?...Snow!?...see you guys @ loveland ski area...Nuts!

[dattaway]

So does anybody have any advice on some good shoes, or a good way to keep them from getting wet. Usually I'm at work in the evening and then it starts raining, and usually not really prepared or care to be either really, but any quick tips for the long run as far as shoes go. Seems like the water justs pours in the back of them.

Bates Military Boots. I wore them in a foot of water doing flood control all night after riding to work and my feet were dry:

http://www.botachtactical.com/bam9zipasbos.html

[bikernoj]

Rain isn't bad, even if I get caught in it on the way home. What annoys me are the cagers that go SLOOOOOOOOOW as hell when there's a drop of water on the pavement (candy-ass Californians!) and back traffic up.

These are the same morons you see slid off the side of 470 in their Lexus SUVs when it snows ("Yes, honey, I had it in 4wd, I don't understand what happened!")

Then I get stuck behind them and get wetter from the splashback than I do from the actual rain!

[asp_125]

With the right gear and mindset, rain isn't bad at all. It's the traffic and blowback that sucks, so if you can get out of the city and off the slab it's actually kind of nice. I remember riding over Independence with some friends and it rained all the way from Twin Lakes to Glenwood. Everything was so quiet and green, and riding slower let us check out the scenery.