Riding in Rain?

Stay off the painted asphalt at any cost. Especially if it's in a corner or where you're braking.

Wear a good rain suit.

Wax your visor's shield to repel water.

Carry zip lock bags in a pocket to put items into like a GPS, cell phone, wallet, etc...

High beams in daylight rain!
 
Cobalt said:
Stay off the painted asphalt at any cost. Especially if it's in a corner or where you're braking.

Wear a good rain suit.

Wax your visor's shield to repel water.

Carry zip lock bags in a pocket to put items into like a GPS, cell phone, wallet, etc...

High beams in daylight rain!
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Same goes for staying off metal surfaces (manhole covers, rain grates, etc.).

Be smooth with your throttle and brakes, especially if leaned over. However, most sport touring tires offer a lot of wet grip.
 
The road is at it's slickest right after the rain starts. All those car drippings of oil and antifreeze really come to the surface. After about a half hour of rain the road will have more grip than when the rain first starts.

Give your self more room and be smoother with inputs brake and gas. use a little more body position to keep on the fat part of the tires.

If someone tails you pull over and let them go then go on your way.
 
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Cobalt said:
High beams in daylight rain!
Click to expand...

Very much disagree with this.

High beams at any time only serve to distract & irritate other drivers and especially screw with how well one can judge the distance and approach speed of the object with the beams on. In the rain, this is magnified because of how water reflects light

Here's one nobody mentioned yet: When riding in heavy rain, the brake components become saturated in a layer of water and will take an extra bit of time to clear the water before biting like normal. Leave yourself extra time and space for braking and squeeze the lever earlier to avoid any surprises.

Riding in the rain is really nothing scary once you get over your own fears.
 
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Everyone has to occassionally, IMHO it's just no fun at all, but thats not what you asked is it? If you must, there was some excellent advise already given. I'll add to it ride almost as if your on ice "cautiously", try to be extra smooth with all throttle inputs, gear changes and of course braking. Avoid large puddles,LOL
 
Be careful with Rain X... there's a specific type for Lexan (plastics) because the glass products *will* fog the visor over time.

I'll stand by the high beams in the day, especially when passing a big rig with a lot of over-spray. THEY need to see you and the more light refracted, the more eye-catching you are. We were told this by the state police in the MSF BRC course.
 
I don't know if they do it down there, but up here they use a tar substance to fill in the cracks that appear on the highway surface. When these get wet they are as slippery as ice and more dangerous because they wander werever thay cracks went.:wilynily:
 
Get the best riding gear you can, if you are warm and dry then you will be fully alert, nothing worse than being wet and fatigued and losing concentration.

As stated earlier avoid anything painted on the road, keep out of gutters where loose stones gravel and leaves end up. Manhole drain covers, cats eyes and tram lines are all super slippy. Pay extra attention when passing gas stations where trucks refuel and traffic islands where diesel tends to come out of overfilled truck diesel tanks.

When riding look further ahead and plan further ahead, and remember braking force is more like 50/50 in the wet as opposed to 75/25 and braking distances can usually be doubled if not more.

With the right gear on riding in the rain is a piece of cake i quite enjoy it because it makes you think more and ride better!!
 
I rarely ride in the rain and don't care to do it on purpose. (even though I spent extra to get waterproof gear) However, it can happen and here is my strategy. Ride smooth as possible. For me, this means short shifting to keep the RPMs down, early braking, and mild lean angles. Once I get a feel for the roads, I adjust to what I perceive as the amount of traction that is available.
 
Since I do not have a car, I ride in all weather, BUT, I live in Los Angeles. Still, there are some hard core rain/wind storms that I have to deal deal with.
So far, all the advise is great.
+1 Is Gear, wear what you would want to crash in.
Awareness of road conditions/surfaces.
Remember, everything takes longer, and gentler. Rear brake comes into play....SOFTLY.
Most importantly...
Take your f*cking time!
 
As with most things, find a quite piece of road and try some things. Try hard acceleration so you can get a feel of the loss of grip. Try your rear brake same again and last very carefully experiment with front brake. It's way better to have a feel for these things before you need them. Also if you have softer suspension you will have better control in wet coditions. Only my opinion though.
 
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