Triumphrat

roadkill · 10-21-2005

It's not bad at all. I don't have a fairing, so i get wet. But that is when a good rain suit comes in handy. I hardly get wet.

Riding in the rain requires you to be smooth. Give plenty of distance between the car in front and you, more so than if you were driving a car. Make sure cars behind you are far away, otherwise if you brake you might not make it.

I always watch the mirrors in case a car does not stop. I have had a car not stop, and I rode into the middle of cars just in time before the car plowed into the car in front of me.

The first 30 mins of raining, specially after it has not rained in a while is the most dangerous. The oil gets all over the road and its pretty visible! I dont take corners hard, i put my foot out when I take corners and do it slowly.

Riding in all conditions will make you a better rider, and i love getting thumbs up when I ride my triple in the snow.

If you are not willing to ride in the rain, then dont bother even riding. I had a friend that refused to go over bridges with metal grating because he did not like the feeling they did when you rode over them. Too bad we live on the east coast, the home of many bridges. Get used to it or leave. ahah :0

kuhlka · 10-21-2005

I sometimes deliberately go out and ride when its raining, but thats just me. I love practicing powerslides in the rain.

Speed3 · 10-21-2005

Road kill and Kuhkla, please come to Connecticut for a skill evaluation, because your stories are bordering Bull s hit. Road kill, how, if your puttting your foot down going 5 in the rain can you get thumbs up for your S3 skill in the snow? And Kuhkla, I want to see your powerslides in the rain. I know you can wheelie, but haven't seen that either. Just curious. :wink:

roadkill · 10-22-2005

Quote:

On 2005-10-21 20:12, Speed3 wrote:
Road kill and Kuhkla, please come to Connecticut for a skill evaluation, because your stories are bordering Bull s hit. Road kill, how, if your puttting your foot down going 5 in the rain can you get thumbs up for your S3 skill in the snow? And Kuhkla, I want to see your powerslides in the rain. I know you can wheelie, but haven't seen that either. Just curious. :wink:

Are you serious? If you are, I can explain myself further.

Geof3 · 10-22-2005

Generally I prefer to NOT ride in the rain... It's basically a PITA, kit or not... I'm in CO though and afternoon thunderstorms are what they are... You get wet, you wash the bike... end of story. The Mich tyres are stellar in all conditions. Even when it's 30deg out!!

MonkeyHanger · 10-22-2005

I love riding in the rain; which is just as well as in the Autumn in the North of England it often rains. Providing I'm dry and not too cold I love it.

MH

Speed3 · 10-22-2005

No, I was just stirring the pot. I think rain riding is a skill everyone should master. I went to Vermont this summer, and it poured all day saturday, so I went for a 100 mile ride in twisties to work on it. The tires will grip way more than you think they will. Speaking of powerslides, I used to do them on my motocross bikes, but don't do them so much on the S3.

BubbaZ-Isaac · 10-22-2005

So, how about this ...
Riding motorcycles is a dangerous activity.
There are things you can do/not do to make it less/more dangerous.

Riding in the rain increases the risk.
Riding at night increases the risk.
Riding in heavy traffic increases the risk.
Riding at dawn & dusk in deer country increases the risk..
Riding without protective gear increases the risk.
Riding someone else's pace increases the risk.

Just for heck of it, how do you rank these 6 things?
Or not.

kuhlka · 10-22-2005

I wouldn't rank my skill at anything. I just practice what I can do and do little nudges to get better at certain tasks and learn new things. Riding in the rain has given me a lot better throttle control and suprise suprise, I haven't dumped my bike once in 8 years of riding. If it ever happens, I'll bet it'll be when I'm screwing around in the rain, snow, or a moment when I'm not paying attention at night and nail a deer or something unexpected. Most of the time I just try to stay alert and looking around ahead of me to spot trouble before it decides to meet me halfway.

Speed, I'm not saying I'm a supersport trackday rider like one daytona guy I saw in a video doing sideways powerslides around turns. I do them in a straight line by just slamming the front brake to practice emergency braking so I'm never freaked out by the squirreling from the rear end when it locks up. I also do it so I can better feel the rear sliding so I can better modulate the rear brake to get a good feel of where the limit of the rear is before it locks up. Most of the time the rear doesn't wag much so maybe thats something I'll play with this winter to see if I can get controlled wagging without highsiding.

Speed3 · 10-22-2005

I'll say again that dirt riding is a great way to develop bike handling skills. Also, mountain biking translates well to controlling a street bike. A friend stopped short a year or so ago on a wet road, and I hadn't bled the front brakes as well as I thought I had. I tried to stop but pinned my fingers to the bar, and slid by him with the rear brake locked, sideways standing up on the pegs. It felt great, but made everyone a bit nervous. I headed home early to bleed the brakes properly! :hammer: