The_Dog33
Fe Butt
Reged: 02/01/07
Posts: 16984
Loc: NE PA USA
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Manhole covers, rail road tracks, leaves, and lines painted on the road are all very slippery when wet. Also right after it starts to rain oils and such are still there making the road surface slippery. To lessen that risk keep your tires where the car tires run, there is less oil there.
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I learned all I need to know about life by killing smart people and eating their brains.
Eat right ,Exercise ,Stay fit, Die Anyway!
some shots of our bikes
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foglefar
Learned Hand
Reged: 03/09/05
Posts: 1973
Loc: Brisbane, Australia
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Spilled diesel is treacherous in the wet. Trucks with full fuel tanks often spill diesel out their tank overflow on corners. Their diesel usually spills on the outside wheel track of the corner so it pays to ride the inside wheel track on corners in the wet.
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Cheers, Richard
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09 America, Staintune Pipes, K&N, Breathe, Hagon Nitros, AI & O2 removed, tune 20184 (modified), MTX-L a/f gauge
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Gurdy
Adjunct
Reged: 04/24/05
Posts: 576
Loc: New Paltz NY
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I got stuck riding in a torrent of rain on the way to Lake George. rain suit 1/2 helmet & no bandana to cover my face. ended up riding one handed to block the needles from my face. it sucked.
just remenber to be smooth when the weather gets nasty, trust your tires. ever watch bikes racing in the rain? Smooth.
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"Got the wind in my face the road goes on for miles...."
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Trumpeteer
Adjunct
Reged: 07/07/10
Posts: 323
Loc: Currently in Japan
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Investing in good rain gear sounds kind of simple but it does magic. I got used to riding in the rain quite a bit when I lived in the UK. Being able to stay dry while you are getting dumped on always gives me a sense of security that things are not out of control. Make a deliberate effort to keep your bike straight up and down more than what you usually do. This will force you to slow down in the turns and not lean your angle too much. The more of a lean...the less tire contact on the surface. Those are the two biggest things for me...keeping dry and having the most tire surface coverage that I can at all times. You will be surprised how these bikes handle in the rain when that is done; I have traveled through some real whoppers of a storm. Of course in the UK, you can start out with a beautiful and sunny day and two hours later be in a monsoon that showed up out of nowhere. I just got used to it.
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The_Dog33
Fe Butt
Reged: 02/01/07
Posts: 16984
Loc: NE PA USA
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I keep a leather face mask the covers my nose and cheeks and goes down onto my upper chest and a pair of brown jersey gloves in my jacket pockets.I also keep a dew rag in my jacket pocket with those 3 simple items I am always ready for rain, I get wet but it doesn't hurt at 70mph.
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I learned all I need to know about life by killing smart people and eating their brains.
Eat right ,Exercise ,Stay fit, Die Anyway!
some shots of our bikes
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Keith
Stickman Yogi
Reged: 03/21/09
Posts: 11609
Loc: BC, Canada
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I wear a dickey of sorts... a leather garment that fits the description of Ian's face mask. It zips up around my chin and face thus covering most of the exposed areas of my face.
But I'm still on the look out for a good finger wiper blade to clear my goggles when I need it. There are gloves with a wiper blade built into the thumb (But I thought it should be attached to the index finger). I once was shown a pair of gloves with the wiper built into the throttle hand glove! Huh? Since then I've hear of a wiper that attaches to the finger of a glove with a Velcro fastener. That sounds like a good idea and I'll either make or find one for those wet and rainy rides.
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Live to love, love to live.
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Bucky
Loquacious
Reged: 05/21/06
Posts: 3971
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Rain tales
In the center of my small town there is a right angle corner with two heavily painted crosswalks across it. Some time ago I rounded said curve in a downpour at just a wee bit above traction speed, and the bike slide out from under me on the wet paint. As I was only going around 5 or 10 MPH, no injury came to me, and I recall laughing about it at the time. There was a funeral home there with 50 or so people outside to witness the spectacle. (My "incidents" ALWAYS happen with at least one or two witnesses to pass the sordid tales along) One gent got fairly frantic and wanted to call the police. Lucky for me I had a full face helmet on, and was able to stave off any embarrassment due to my anonymity. Hearing the word "police" gave me an extra few drops of adrenaline, and I picked the old girl up in no time, and rode away just as a police car was rounding the bend in the other direction. I rode home and stashed the bike in the woods just to be sure. Here in CT single vehicle accidents usually earn the operator a ticket for "Speed too fast for conditions." It's our little way of adding insult to injury, while putting a few bucks into the system. Never did mention the get off to my wife. Shh!  Why worry her for no good reason?
Old fart with a bruised ego and a bent brake lever - 1
Police - 0
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Dill
Learned Hand
Reged: 03/08/06
Posts: 1540
Loc: northwood nh
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Biggest tip I was told about riding in the rain, is too take it easy. Don't push yourself or the bike. Don't stab hard on the brakes or gun the gas. Just be smooth.
Oh and we had a wicked ride back from Dinqua's rally one year, heavy rain, hail, miserable. Uncle Charlie decided he'd sleep for a another couple hours. He had the same ride, just sunny. So sometimes it worth pulling over and waiting.
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Bucky
Loquacious
Reged: 05/21/06
Posts: 3971
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Sleep?
Beercoma would be a better word
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Dwight2
Adjunct
Reged: 05/27/10
Posts: 609
Loc: Prescott, AZ
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Quote:
Rain tales
In the center of my small town there is a right angle corner with two heavily painted crosswalks across it. Some time ago I rounded said curve in a downpour at just a wee bit above traction speed, and the bike slide out from under me on the wet paint. As I was only going around 5 or 10 MPH, no injury came to me, and I recall laughing about it at the time. There was a funeral home there with 50 or so people outside to witness the spectacle. (My "incidents" ALWAYS happen with at least one or two witnesses to pass the sordid tales along) One gent got fairly frantic and wanted to call the police. Lucky for me I had a full face helmet on, and was able to stave off any embarrassment due to my anonymity. Hearing the word "police" gave me an extra few drops of adrenaline, and I picked the old girl up in no time, and rode away just as a police car was rounding the bend in the other direction. I rode home and stashed the bike in the woods just to be sure. Here in CT single vehicle accidents usually earn the operator a ticket for "Speed too fast for conditions." It's our little way of adding insult to injury, while putting a few bucks into the system. Never did mention the get off to my wife. Shh! Why worry her for no good reason?
Old fart with a bruised ego and a bent brake lever - 1
Police - 0
Great story, well told, Martin. 
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Yep! Just like a good Single Malt Scotch, you might call me "an acquired taste" TOO.(among the many OTHER things you may care to call me, of course)
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