Post by scrap on Oct 2, 2012 21:29:50 GMT 10
FOOD FOR THOUGHT (acknowledging Scara's input)
It is interesting to find out just how many people feel uneasy about riding in wet weather. I know of some riders who will take the car if the weather looks like it could turn to rain. Scary thought - especially if they get caught in a sudden down pour and have no / limited experience in dealing with riding in the rain.
Perhaps a few mentions should be noted here for wet weather riding conditions from a personal point of view:
TYRES:
1./ There has been some opinions that leaving tyre pressures at stipulated manufacturers pressures is the norm as the water cools down a tyre when you’re riding, I find it better to lower the tyre pressures as this allows the tyre to heat up and maintain a better percentage of grip particularly rear.
BRAKING
2./ When it comes to braking, during dry riding we spend most of our time using the fronts. It is better to use the rear brake more in wet conditions as this reduces the front end from washing out sooner than later. By introducing the rear brake first, you are creating stability to the bike, then bringing in the front brake to wash off speed. The same thing with the rear brake when exiting a corner. By applying the slightest pressure you are slowing the rear wheel from breaking out prematurely whilst throttling on.
DISTANCE
3./ Providing adequate distance to the vehicle in front of you is the key to surviving if something up front goes wrong. Leaving yourself no where to go if following too close, is pure madness. Braking distances are greatly lengthened during wet conditions, think ahead. If worse comes to worse - look for an escape either side of the looming problem.
LINES
4./ Choosing you’re line in the wet is also more important than in the dry. When it is wet, you cannot clearly see the grease lines on the road, and particularly if you are unfamiliar with the roads you’re traveling on. Always a good idea to stay off the shoulders at all times providing adequate run off in the event of an emergency situation that needs evasive action. The left hand wheel track nearest the gutter may also gather water into pools that blend into the road surface and can't be seen. Hitting a large puddle, even at 60kmph is a dangerous exercise as bikes can aquaplane very easily. Stick to the right hand wheel track on two way carriageways. On multilane carraigeways - stick to the wheeltrack away from the kerb.
VISION
5./ Vision during wet weather is and continues to be notorious – good products to consider for visors is Rainex or similar in reducing the amount your visor fogs up inside, and disperses water on the outside or as discussed, get a pinlock / gel system to prevent visor fog. I still put Rainex on the outside of my visor as it helps dispell water especially with the large screen on my bike protecting the visor from full blown wind.
BODY LANGUAGE
6./ Finally; do not think that riding in wet conditions is unsafe. Try to maintain the bike in a more upright position and steer a little more throught the corners. If, like me, you like to hammer the corners to see how low you can get the bike - well forget that in wet weather - you'll be lowsiding across the road before you know it. The art of better wet weather riding is to make all of your movements smoother. Very special word - SMOOTHER.
THE OVERALL PACKAGE
You need to practice wet weather work and iron out the kinks in your armour and skill level by making all your movements flow better, smoother braking, better apexes through corners, smoother steering position and so on. All of these techniques are suggested to make the direction change of the bike less jerky or sudden. Even the thought of shifting you body weight is good as this further aids in providing grip believe it or not.
7./ The last and most important thing of all, is to RELAX. Wet weather riding should not be a stressful venture. Take your time, think about your next move, but most of all RELAX. Gripping the steering in terror will, as with windy weather riding, translate into overcorrecting.
Riding is meant to be fun………………….. ;D ;D ;D
It is interesting to find out just how many people feel uneasy about riding in wet weather. I know of some riders who will take the car if the weather looks like it could turn to rain. Scary thought - especially if they get caught in a sudden down pour and have no / limited experience in dealing with riding in the rain.
Perhaps a few mentions should be noted here for wet weather riding conditions from a personal point of view:
TYRES:
1./ There has been some opinions that leaving tyre pressures at stipulated manufacturers pressures is the norm as the water cools down a tyre when you’re riding, I find it better to lower the tyre pressures as this allows the tyre to heat up and maintain a better percentage of grip particularly rear.
BRAKING
2./ When it comes to braking, during dry riding we spend most of our time using the fronts. It is better to use the rear brake more in wet conditions as this reduces the front end from washing out sooner than later. By introducing the rear brake first, you are creating stability to the bike, then bringing in the front brake to wash off speed. The same thing with the rear brake when exiting a corner. By applying the slightest pressure you are slowing the rear wheel from breaking out prematurely whilst throttling on.
DISTANCE
3./ Providing adequate distance to the vehicle in front of you is the key to surviving if something up front goes wrong. Leaving yourself no where to go if following too close, is pure madness. Braking distances are greatly lengthened during wet conditions, think ahead. If worse comes to worse - look for an escape either side of the looming problem.
LINES
4./ Choosing you’re line in the wet is also more important than in the dry. When it is wet, you cannot clearly see the grease lines on the road, and particularly if you are unfamiliar with the roads you’re traveling on. Always a good idea to stay off the shoulders at all times providing adequate run off in the event of an emergency situation that needs evasive action. The left hand wheel track nearest the gutter may also gather water into pools that blend into the road surface and can't be seen. Hitting a large puddle, even at 60kmph is a dangerous exercise as bikes can aquaplane very easily. Stick to the right hand wheel track on two way carriageways. On multilane carraigeways - stick to the wheeltrack away from the kerb.
VISION
5./ Vision during wet weather is and continues to be notorious – good products to consider for visors is Rainex or similar in reducing the amount your visor fogs up inside, and disperses water on the outside or as discussed, get a pinlock / gel system to prevent visor fog. I still put Rainex on the outside of my visor as it helps dispell water especially with the large screen on my bike protecting the visor from full blown wind.
BODY LANGUAGE
6./ Finally; do not think that riding in wet conditions is unsafe. Try to maintain the bike in a more upright position and steer a little more throught the corners. If, like me, you like to hammer the corners to see how low you can get the bike - well forget that in wet weather - you'll be lowsiding across the road before you know it. The art of better wet weather riding is to make all of your movements smoother. Very special word - SMOOTHER.
THE OVERALL PACKAGE
You need to practice wet weather work and iron out the kinks in your armour and skill level by making all your movements flow better, smoother braking, better apexes through corners, smoother steering position and so on. All of these techniques are suggested to make the direction change of the bike less jerky or sudden. Even the thought of shifting you body weight is good as this further aids in providing grip believe it or not.
7./ The last and most important thing of all, is to RELAX. Wet weather riding should not be a stressful venture. Take your time, think about your next move, but most of all RELAX. Gripping the steering in terror will, as with windy weather riding, translate into overcorrecting.
Riding is meant to be fun………………….. ;D ;D ;D