Rain Riding?

[Midget Hellion]

So this holiday weekend, I went for a ride down south to a town called Monte Vista. I took HWY 285 south, after I got out of the HORRENDOUS traffic, it was a very nice long ride. I stayed down there for the weekend and returned on Sunday via I-25. Somewhere between Walsenburg and Pueblo I hit some pretty heavy down pour. I lowered my head found a decent position so the rain seemed to bead off of my visor, slowed down to 70 and kept pushing through. It wasn't too bad since it was a straight path. I made it to Colorado Springs and got hit by more downpour. Through Colorado Springs it is not as straight, I cautiously used the left lane and occassionally the center lane and made my way out of the storm. Having ridden for 6 hours the first day and 4 on Sunday through several storms, I feel a LOT more confident, but I wanted to ask everyone here for any tips regarding riding in the rain. This is my first of many trips down there and any tips help.

Obviously staying out of the rain is the best option, but face it, you can't change the weather. I have a GREAT waterproof AlpineStar Jacket which kept me dry and warm.

Thanks for the help ahead of time!

[Devaclis]

I avoid the low side of the lanes to prevent hitting any standing water

If you have hazards, turn them on.

Brights on

Stay loose on the grips in case you do hit a puddle or some deep water

Stay consistent on the throttle

I like to use a good Rain-X type product on my visor so I do not have to worry about rain beading up on it.

Close your helmet vents. Once water gets in you will fog up quickly

Lots of lids have a lip at the back that needs to be above and outside your colar to keep rain from running down your back.

If it is cold, you need to stop often and warm up. Your hands will get cold and numb quickly and you will lose the ability to operate your controls quickly, if needed.

STAY OFF THE PAINTED LINES

Ride in the rain every chance you get. It is not only fun, a change from the "perfect riding" we get to do all the time, it also makes you a lot better at it.

[mtnairlover]

+1 to Dana's post.

I would also add that if you are in the canyons and are riding quickly, but then get dumped on by rain, then slow your riding, keep the turns nice and easy...no sudden braking, etc. (unless some dumb cager pulls a stoopid move, or an animal jumps at you). I found that even on wet pavement, that sudden braking is not as bad as one would think, but the pucker factor is through the roof and I'd not want to have to do that again for quite some time.

[MetaLord 9]

No sudden moves, just be smooth. Traction works roughly the same as it would on a dry road, there's just less of it. Like Dana said, beware standing water, hydroplaning is gonna be your biggest obstacle. Also be aware of all the traffic around you. From my experience, Coloradans tend to blow through snow by & large like it's nothing but as soon as it rains everybody forgets how to drive, brake, or look any farther than the tunnel vision between them & the car in front of them. Stay a little farther back from cars as your braking distance will be a little longer most likely and the spray back often gets you wetter than what's coming down from the sky.

[Matty]

simple way for water to bead off your lens is to slightly turn your head to the right and/or left.

[Nick_Ninja]

Have good tires and ride like hell. Contrary to popular belief you can lean and crank turns in the rain --- as long as the road surface and tires hookup. I came out of the tunnel on I-70 and it was better to pass all vehicles than to take the beating of road grime and spray in the face --- so I passed all the nasty offenders. 90mph was not a big deal in that situation. RainX your face shield helps sometimes too.

[Valguard]

+1 on tires. I have Pilot Road 2's and they are unbeatable IMO for road driving, especially when its wet. Dual compound, last a long time, best wet weather traction, easy to get up to a good temp. What more do you want out of a tire to put miles on?

+1 on car spray. It sucks. IMO its worth getting out of, either by passing em up or slowing up. Just stay away from cars in general.

Also, its my experience that cops wont pull you over in crummy circumstances like downpours. So that's one less thing to worry about. (if you ever do worry about it)

[whitebrad]

when it is just sprinkling is when it is the slickest. the beginning of a storm brings all the oil to the surface of the road and does not wash it away. so at the beginning of a storm you have even less traction than in a downpour (unless you are hydroplaning...) it is also good to remember, that the more time between rains the slicker the road will be as there is more oil and grease collected on the road, and it will also take longer to wash away

when it just starts to rain you really have to stay off the hump in the middle where all the oil and slick stuff is. as it gets wet, that hump is effin dangerous as hell... it goes the same for all linework on the road. that is slick as hell when it gets wet...

when it is raining i concentrate on moving back in the saddle and keeping my weight off my hands. use your knees to clinch the tank and sort of wedge your legs between the indentations of the tank and the foot controls to stay light on your hands. adjust your throttle gently, and if you do slip a bit or hydroplane a bit you want to stay steady, not slowing down or speeding up. traction is dynamic, and as such, smoothness of motion and action are of utmost importance...

[colo_kicker]

Increase your distance between the vehicle in front of you.

Ride in the track of tires the vehicle in front of you.

Increase your scanning distance to watch for brake lights. There are people in Colorado who believe that rain constitutes a 20mph drop below the posted limit.

Depending on the bike you can keep it in a higher gear so that if you crank it the bike will not torque to the side or spin the rear tire.

[Midget Hellion]

Stay loose on the grips in case you do hit a puddle or some deep water

Stay consistent on the throttle

I like to use a good Rain-X type product on my visor so I do not have to worry about rain beading up on it.

Close your helmet vents. Once water gets in you will fog up quickly

STAY OFF THE PAINTED LINES

Ride in the rain every chance you get. It is not only fun, a change from the "perfect riding" we get to do all the time, it also makes you a lot better at it.

Excellent tips, I learned the hard way about the vents on my helmet. Rain drops started trickling down the inside of the visor. Luckily for me the visor only got a little fog at the bottom. I hadn't thought about the painted lines.

I have actually decided that I will ride in the rain whenever I can. It really isn't that bad. Once you overcome that initial fear and you gain an understanding of it, it can be fun.

simple way for water to bead off your lens is to slightly turn your head to the right and/or left.

I used this technique and it worked great, the water shot right off.

Have good tires and ride like hell. Contrary to popular belief you can lean and crank turns in the rain --- as long as the road surface and tires hookup. I came out of the tunnel on I-70 and it was better to pass all vehicles than to take the beating of road grime and spray in the face --- so I passed all the nasty offenders. 90mph was not a big deal in that situation.

A month ago I would not have believed this post, and I would have thought you were just trying to be a smart ass, but after riding in the rain (especially on a fairly straight stretch, I have to admit that I didn't feel much difference in going 90 or 65. I actually looked down a couple times and noticed that my speed had crept up.

when it is raining i concentrate on moving back in the saddle and keeping my weight off my hands. use your knees to clinch the tank and sort of wedge your legs between the indentations of the tank and the foot controls to stay light on your hands. adjust your throttle gently, and if you do slip a bit or hydroplane a bit you want to stay steady, not slowing down or speeding up. traction is dynamic, and as such, smoothness of motion and action are of utmost importance...

Good technique advice, thank you!

All very good advice! Thanks to everyone that posted so far. I will use a number of these tips the next time it rains. Anyone want to go for a rain ride?

[MetaLord 9]

Anyone want to go for a rain ride?

I don't go looking for the rain, it tends to find me on it's own...

[Bueller]

Increase your distance between the vehicle in front of you.

Yes, this will also decrease the amount of splash back that will f-up your shield.

Ride in the track of tires the vehicle in front of you.

No thanks, low spots is where the water collects (and oils).

Increase your scanning distance to watch for brake lights. There are people in Colorado who believe that rain constitutes a 20mph drop below the posted limit.

Some drop 20 in a 25

Depending on the bike you can keep it in a higher gear so that if you crank it the bike will not torque to the side or spin the rear tire.

A wet street has plenty of traction, so quit worring about breaking loose, hard braking is what will cause the headaches. The first part of the rain is the worse, after the road oils washes off you'd be surprised at the traction, even on slicks

[MetaLord 9]

A wet street has plenty of traction, so quit worring about breaking loose, hard braking is what will cause the headaches. The first part of the rain is the worse, after the road oils washes off you'd be surprised at the traction, even on slicks

Remember, they don't cancel MotoGP races because it's raining, so it's not like you're riding on ice!

[colo_kicker]

No thanks, low spots is where the water collects (and oils).

Yes and no. Probably should have caveated this one. If the car has just driven through they have splashed the water out. Sometimes they don't drive in the 'ruts' either so following the tracks is even better.
Rephrased: Drive where there is the most traction; out of the ruts (off the paint) and/or in the tracks of the vehicle in front of you.

[kawasakirob]

I hate it when water starts to seap through my jeans and onto my balls. Always a chilly sensation

[MetaLord 9]

Always a chilly sensation

kinda like reading that post..

[OUTLAWD]

I like to randomly tap my brakes to get the heat in them and the water off of them while riding in the rain. I guess its an old habit from driving old cars, where wet brakes = no stopping, but in case an instance occurs when I do need the binders, it gives a me a little peace of mind knowing that they are dry and ready to go.

Am I the only one who does this?

[MetaLord 9]

Nah, I do it too. Part of my reasoning is that, braking is different depending on the conditions, I need to know how different it is & what to expect

[RajunCajun]

I like to randomly tap my brakes to get the heat in them and the water off of them while riding in the rain. I guess its an old habit from driving old cars, where wet brakes = no stopping, but in case an instance occurs when I do need the binders, it gives a me a little peace of mind knowing that they are dry and ready to go.

Am I the only one who does this?

I think that may be cool if you plan on using the brakes within 3-5 seconds after "warming and drying" them. Other than that, I don't really think it makes a difference because they are designed to cool rapidly and still work when wet, and aren't going to stay dry long while riding in the rain anyway. I guess if you have an old car with drum brakes, water may build up inside if you drive through deep standing water and you pump them regularly to keep them drier, not sure though... I never worry about my brakes being wet. If I drive at low speed through standing water, like water level above the calipers, I will work them just to make sure they r ok but that's about it.

[Dogsbody]

I've read various write ups and the consensus seems to be (to me at least) is that we've about 20% less traction in the rain.

According to James R. Davis a recognized expert witness in the fields of Motorcycle Safety/Dynamics:

There are many variables to take into consideration so there are no set answers but there are some 'rules of thumb' that we can talk about:

On dry pavement

• Your tire traction can handle up to about 1.1 g of acceleration
• When your tire demands exceed that amount of traction you skid which reduces their ability to handle acceleration by about 25%

On wet (not standing water or with depth less than about 1/4 inch)

• Your tire traction can usually handle up to about .8 g of acceleration
• When your tire demands exceed that amount of traction you skid which reduces their ability to handle acceleration by about HALF

If standing water or depth greater than about 1/4 inch

• Traction available at speeds less than about 50 MPH remains able to handle about .8 g acceleration (though I have low confidence in that number)
• When your tire demands exceed that amount of traction you HYDROPLANE which reduces their ability to handle acceleration to essentially ZERO

Hydroplaning is more probable

• The faster you go
• The wider your tires
• The lower the air pressure in your tires
• The deeper the water is

This is true regardless of whether you are accelerating (in a straight line or turning) or not.

It is most likely that your front tire will hydroplane before the rear one does because you ride a single-track vehicle. That is, the front tire squeezes most of the water off the roadway by the time the rear tire gets there. But those of you who have put an extra wide tire (perhaps even automobile type) on the rear wheel will find that you have changed that dynamic. The odds of the rear tire hydroplaning first in that scenario goes up dramatically.

One last thought ... water drainage on a freeway (any wide roadway, actually) drains to the right (in the U.S.) and that means that the depth of that water is greatest in the SLOWEST LANES. That should suggest that the odds of hydroplaning is about equal in every lane (slower movement but greater depth makes the slow lanes as dangerous as the faster lanes.)

[Bueller]

I "check" traction regularly, same with sand
I also practice emergency braking constantly, don't follow me too close

[64BonnieLass]

I "check" traction regularly, same with sand
I also practice emergency braking constantly, don't follow me too close

Oh Rly? Is that what you are calling it this year? Emergency braking! hahahahahaha, Riiiighhhttt!!!!

[DanFZ1]

I think everything that has been covered so far is accurate. I would also add that, regarding speed, lean angles increase through the curves the faster we ride, which is counter productive in the rain.

So, while I agree that it helps to "check out" temporarily if that's what's needed to clear traffic and put some distance between you and them for the sake of visibility, don't forget to:

1.) Scoot your butt back in the seat to put some weight on the rear wheel and keep the bike up right.

2.) Don't lean over any more than is required to negotiate a curve or any change of direction (some people really tend to over do it) and, if faced with the choice of leaning it over or slowing it down (to stay more up-right through the curve) slow it down a bit.

Then just hang loose. If you don't chill out, you can over-react.

If it's raining out and your not used it, just let the idea of riding in the rain become the "new norm" for you and relax. Visibility will still be the biggest challenge of all though. So keep your head on swivel and don't forget to check your six.

I think the only other thing that didn't get mentioned was waiting 15 minutes once it starts raining because it's supposed to take that long to wash some of the oil off of the road. I will be the first to admit to never having waited 15 minutes for the rain but, apparently we are all supposed too.

...so anyway, rubber side down, shiny side up...

[DanFZ1]

when it is just sprinkling is when it is the slickest. the beginning of a storm brings all the oil to the surface of the road and does not wash it away. so at the beginning of a storm you have even less traction than in a downpour (unless you are hydroplaning...) it is also good to remember, that the more time between rains the slicker the road will be as there is more oil and grease collected on the road, and it will also take longer to wash away

when it just starts to rain you really have to stay off the hump in the middle where all the oil and slick stuff is. as it gets wet, that hump is effin dangerous as hell... it goes the same for all linework on the road. that is slick as hell when it gets wet...

when it is raining i concentrate on moving back in the saddle and keeping my weight off my hands. use your knees to clinch the tank and sort of wedge your legs between the indentations of the tank and the foot controls to stay light on your hands. adjust your throttle gently, and if you do slip a bit or hydroplane a bit you want to stay steady, not slowing down or speeding up. traction is dynamic, and as such, smoothness of motion and action are of utmost importance...

I missed your post on the first read and +1 for everything but the "hump".
I'll have to think about that one. I focus on putting my bike where the guy in front of me can see me, and rain washes so much sand across the road (especially in the corners) I sometimes have a hard time taking my eyes off of it. I also find that where the car tires go, the tar tracks form. But anyway, I never like to get locked into one small slice of my lane.