Yeah, what he said. Yeah, what he said.
Riding in the rain
- Thread starter RichKirk
- Start date
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2006
- Messages
- 9,676
- Location
- Jacksonville
- Bike
- GL1800 R1200RT NC700
- 2024 Miles
- 010688
- STOC #
- 6651
My comeback to bystander comments about riding in the rain, cold, or other inclement weather is "there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing".
When riding in the rain watch the paint strips can be very slippery,and truck grooves can be deep.I find the st very good in the rain,and stay allot dryer than my buds on there cruisers.
PopJack
Die young, after a long life.
1) Nobody should feel like the lone ranger for enjoying riding in the rain. I really enjoy it.
2) PowellST and I were traveling when he saw an ad for a ...classic bike... that bragged, "never ridden in the rain." He concluded that if we ever sold our bikes, we would have to advertise, "never completely submerged."
3) Although I would love to believe that MC's don't hydroplane, I don't know that this is true. I have had a few experiences where I believe I was briefly hydroplaning... although I understand it takes more to hydroplane a bike than a car. If there is some evidence that I have missed I would appreciate someone referring me to it.
2) PowellST and I were traveling when he saw an ad for a ...classic bike... that bragged, "never ridden in the rain." He concluded that if we ever sold our bikes, we would have to advertise, "never completely submerged."
3) Although I would love to believe that MC's don't hydroplane, I don't know that this is true. I have had a few experiences where I believe I was briefly hydroplaning... although I understand it takes more to hydroplane a bike than a car. If there is some evidence that I have missed I would appreciate someone referring me to it.
Yes... motorcycles aquaplane, or hydroplane as you say over there....
I was returning home late one night down the Argyll Forest road, my front tyre was down to about 1.5mm remaining tread depth... very near due changing... it was very wet and still raining..... and several times I felt the front lift, once or twice into sweeping right hander's where water was puddling on the road..... very, very, disconcerting.... my biggest concern wasn't the aquaplaning, but that the front wouldn't regain grip before running out of road... sideways....
It's an odd feeling when you feel the bars go "quiet" for a split second...... but you get sort of used to it, almost anticipating it in certain conditions and adjusting your riding to suit...
The harder the rain and the deeper the surface water, alongside the shallowest of front tyre tread depth, makes for an exciting ride......
Seldom happens with the rear unless it is very near a slick.... as the front clears the way, even when it is itself almost done..... tyre pressure also plays a significant part in this phenomenon...
http://www.michelin.co.uk/tyres/learn-share/care-guide/Aquaplaning
I was returning home late one night down the Argyll Forest road, my front tyre was down to about 1.5mm remaining tread depth... very near due changing... it was very wet and still raining..... and several times I felt the front lift, once or twice into sweeping right hander's where water was puddling on the road..... very, very, disconcerting.... my biggest concern wasn't the aquaplaning, but that the front wouldn't regain grip before running out of road... sideways....
It's an odd feeling when you feel the bars go "quiet" for a split second...... but you get sort of used to it, almost anticipating it in certain conditions and adjusting your riding to suit...
The harder the rain and the deeper the surface water, alongside the shallowest of front tyre tread depth, makes for an exciting ride......
Seldom happens with the rear unless it is very near a slick.... as the front clears the way, even when it is itself almost done..... tyre pressure also plays a significant part in this phenomenon...
http://www.michelin.co.uk/tyres/learn-share/care-guide/Aquaplaning
Well, my experience is different but then I am not one to lean in the wet. I have gone down on the track in the wet but that was on racing slicks so?
The link is for automobiles... that happens all the time
I have on many occasions had the rear lose traction... spin up and step out.
As for the "do not hydroplane" thing, I got that from a demo rider at a ARC class in the wet.
He was dragging a knee in the wet so I figure he knew what he was talking about (still do)
He said they don't hydroplane.. he did not say anything about tread depth... I'll run a rear right to the cord but never a front.
FWIW
Yep, I know the link was for cars, but as with all tyre manufacturers, Michelin conveniently don't ever mention this issue with motorcycle tyres....
Race tracks are usually better drained than the public highway.... and losing traction is not so much a function of water on the surface as torque overcoming the ability of the tyre to grip, or to put it slightly more technically, overcoming the co-efficient of friction of the surface on which the tyre is rotating... which is reduced when wet...
When a turning (and clearly rotating) tyre reaches its slip angle, the tyre will start to slide, its forward speed, relative to the surface, needs to be reduced below the onset of the slip, usually further below the speed at which it started to slip, in order to regain grip.... this of course is quite different to hydroplaning which is based on the relationship between the tread depth, tyre pressure and standing water depth. If there is no tread pattern, such as a slick, then the tyre can slide at any speed in the wet as there is no water clearance taking place at all.
It is this reason that when a motorcycle race is started as a "dry" race and it subsequently rains, the riders will always raise their hand and abandon the race.... there is no way they can continue to race in the wet without falling off. Some classes now allow the rider to come in and change bikes to one equipped with inters or wets.
Race tracks are usually better drained than the public highway.... and losing traction is not so much a function of water on the surface as torque overcoming the ability of the tyre to grip, or to put it slightly more technically, overcoming the co-efficient of friction of the surface on which the tyre is rotating... which is reduced when wet...
When a turning (and clearly rotating) tyre reaches its slip angle, the tyre will start to slide, its forward speed, relative to the surface, needs to be reduced below the onset of the slip, usually further below the speed at which it started to slip, in order to regain grip.... this of course is quite different to hydroplaning which is based on the relationship between the tread depth, tyre pressure and standing water depth. If there is no tread pattern, such as a slick, then the tyre can slide at any speed in the wet as there is no water clearance taking place at all.
It is this reason that when a motorcycle race is started as a "dry" race and it subsequently rains, the riders will always raise their hand and abandon the race.... there is no way they can continue to race in the wet without falling off. Some classes now allow the rider to come in and change bikes to one equipped with inters or wets.
This past Saturday, I rode over 100 miles in a rain storm. My wife was following in her Jeep. When we arrived home, I parked the bike in the garage and walked in the house and took off my boots. My wife walked over grabbed my jeans and said "how are you not soaked? It poured for over an hour".
I wasn't wearing any rain gear and the only thing that got wet were my elbows and the pant cuffs of my jeans (spray from the road). This was my first rain storm on the ST and I'm impressed. It handled amazingly well and with the windshield up I literally didn't get wet. On my old bikes I would have been soaked head to toe in just a couple minutes.
hmm was expecting a picture of an ST rider on the road with the mufflers bubbling in water.....
Riding in the center of the lane can be a smart idea if the wheel tracks are wore down and the water is puddling.
The only good view of a rain storm is in your rear view mirror.
The correct spelling is detritus. Good luck in your next Scrabble game.