Riding in the wet

[Jamieg285]

Hi all,  I'm about 600 miles into my return to biking after 15 years off, Loving it, but still settling in.  I have good confidence in the dry, but I'm really struggling when the roads are wet.  I know it's all in my head, and that I could probably ride to almost the same level as I do in the dry, but when it comes to it I find myself slowing too much and not leaning properly into the corners.  It just doesn't feel right.


Any tips on how I can get over this, and start riding properly whatever the road condition?

[Chillum]

Gripping tighter with your knees should automatically help you loosen your upper body.

A relaxed upper body is essential imho.

If the roads have been dry (not applicable atm I know) and there has been a light shower then I'm as paranoid as feck coz of all the muck that's been lifted, but if it's been raining enough to wash the muck away then it's just a question of building your confidence gradually.

[JZS 600]

Shiny roundabouts are my Bete Noire, there's a couple on the way out of town on the way to work each morning and the odd time I get the front pushing out.
 
Other than that, it's pretty much OK as long as there's no shit or diesel on the road

[caretaker]

as above, but stick to your own limits. if youre slow, it doesnt matter. what helped me many moons ago was advice given by an old grasstrack racer. lean over the bars a bit more than normal and stick your elbows out like the motocrossers ride. it looks a bit daft but it worked for me. i still do it 20 years on!

[MadDogMcQ]

I'm not a fast, racer type, but I do ride in all weathers and don't really worry about it. I just slow down.
 
Like someone else said, you need to relax your upper body and relax your grip on the bars. Use your knees against the tank to give you a feeling of stability when turning. If your tyres are in good nick and are proper sports-tourer types, they'll probably outperform your skills, so don't think they're suddenly gonna give way under you - they're not!
 
Just avoid hard accelleration and braking. People will tell you to avoid manholes and white lines, but if your speed is constant, there's no need to slalom around everything as though they're bags of nails  .
 

 
Tom
 

[Lazarus]

Geez Maddog - you're hard core m8!!! Hats off to you.


If theres snow on the ground outside - then i rarely even do out walking, never mind biking!!!!!

[AdieR]

First thoughts are make sure you've got decent gear - if you're cold and wet it'll sap concentration levels and lead to poor decisions which is never good.

Lack of vision (rain / traffic spray on your visor) can be more of a problem than lack of grip sometimes - in which case, obviously slow down. What sometimes helps here is moving your head slightly (if you have a fairing, duck your head slightly) to use the windblast to your advantage (it'll depend on the exact conditions and speed), but the wind can help clear water off your visor and aid vision. It may be awkward on your back though.

As stated, make sure you're bike is fit for it, especially as regards tyres / suspension.

If you find it hard work keeping concentration up in poor weather, consider taking more frequent rest breaks (if you're commuting, it may mean leaving for work earlier) - better to take a bit longer and arrive in one piece than to not arrive at all...I got caught out in snow in May (who the hell predicted that??), and I went a few miles (until the cold kicked in), stopped for a cig by the side of the road, and carried on another few miles. It were a long run, but I made it in one piece eventually.

Beware of standing water, and beware of the muppets that hit it at speed: if you're on familiar roads, you'll know the likely risk spots for it, obviously slow down and take it steady through, and beware because cagers *will* insist on hitting pools of standing water at speed and drenching you (I've had it happen to me - not fun).

Similarly, beware of roads with lots of trees etc - if its been raining and the sun (sun, wtf is that??) comes out the open parts of the road may dry off, but shaded parts may still be wet where the sun can't get through ("micro-climates", as they're termed). Same rule applies in winter where it may be icy.

As well as slowing down, look further ahead, which will in turn encourage you to be smoother with your bikes inputs - anticipating a situation and adjusting your speed accordingly is better than carrying on braking late or snatching a gearchange because you weren't ready for it.

Finally - stick to your own limits and take it easy.

[know your limitations]

Just avoid hard accelleration and braking. People will tell you to avoid manholes and white lines, but if your speed is constant, there's no need to slalom around everything as though they're bags of nails    .

Add to that, avoid sudden changes of direction. Even crossing lines and cat's eyes for overtaking can be trouble-free as long as you don't swing out and swing back in at an angle.
Remember, the gyroscopic effect of the wheels turning will always mean the bike WANTS to stay upright
I also prefer taking a tighter line when cornering. It reduces the amount I have to lean and means I can use the width of the lane as I progress through the corner. If you start your cornering from the middle of the lane, You leave yourself less margin for error if you have to straighten quickly or you get a twitch from the tyres. As said though, the tyres won't just give up their grip without warning (save for the obvious reasons), they will give you a yellow card first.

[dadlegend]

I agree with all the above comments. TBH ride slowly you arn't going to take a cropper like that. Stay central to the roads on bends. Take it easy and get there in one piece. I am regularly overtaken by crazy moped riders in the wet. But they always have the war wounds on their heaps to show for it.


Simon

[devilsyam]

keep off white lines and other road marking look out for man hole cover

[SEPTIKANGEL]

keep off white lines and other road marking look out for man hole cover

Hardcore pisstaker! 

[ghostbiker]

I am the same in the wet and have been riding all year round for over 20 years. I'm just not comfortable in the wet. Tried lots of things to improve myself but still ride very upright with the slightest bit of damp.

Top tips though is good kit, warm and dry without being to bulky is key. Also as said above smooth and controlled with good ahead planning works wonders to.

[eddie]

 Pr3's sorted ... according to write ups

[virtual bodysnatcher]

Depending how much you like cleaning the bike but I'd suggest if you feel it's affecting your riding going out on wet roads, not particularly when it's raining as it's the road surface that's worrying you.
But if you can find a space in the recent summer when it's not actually coming down....... find some road(s) that're not full of hazards and just ride on them, is easier to get some wild rear wheel slides, but not if you're smooth with throttle opening as if it does the wheel speed will catch up with the engine dead quickly and the slide will slow, if you're grabbing handfuls of throttle then the engine speed will rocket when it looses traction and the wheel won't catch up for a long time and if you're still right way up when it does catch all that energy will get you a highside, go into corners slower and put power on gently but earlier as bike's most likely to crash loading the front wheel in the turn tho' with the fab' brakes/SBS pads on a Fazer and a good front tyre you'd be surprised the massive amount you can brake provided you're upright, be smooth, which isn't the same as slow! With increasing the braking force and avoid doing any braking on anything slippery, you don't want to be trailing any brake once you're turning. If you do and can catch front wheel slides regularly you should be on a track with Cal.
You'll find you do have to work to provoke a slide and if you do provoke it then you can stop it too, is unexpected spins that catch you out.
Use as much of the road as is safe but you should do anyways, one of the best bits of bikes is the amount of space on a road, both sides are fair game if you can see ahead, further you can see around a corner the faster you can go/more upright you can remain but also the quicker you'll see that Astra with an old giffer at the wheel going at 50mph less than the speed limit.

On a decent surface you'd want to get as much heat into the tyres as you can as (In my opinion) that's a large reason for lack of grip, just feel how cold a rear tyre is after a rainy ride compared to a dry one, front's even worse.
If you're lucky to have a track near you there's worse things than doing a track day, there'll be a ton of grip even in the wet and it's likely to be going on the last few months.
The Fazer's a pretty good tool in the wet as is softly sprung, well balanced, has ace brakes and enough shunt and heavy enough not to be skittish, my RG500 would spin up with no encouragement which was great for onlookers.


Is all the rubbish on the road that causes trouble, diesel is worst as is pretty much always on a curve and is the most slippery stuff, lot of grit washed onto them at the moment I find around here too, ok if you've a motocrosser....

[Raymy]

What they said.

What I've found recently with bends and such, I find it being smoother and more confidence building to drop the shoulder entering a be instead of trying to lean over. this way the bike goes itself and all you are doing is keeping it as upright as you need to depending on how far you drop the shoulder. Trust me that if the bike does it on its own with little or no effect from you, it will thank you for it by not dropping you. I know cos my front tyre is like me, madders, neilly, Duncan goodhew and a cancer ward all stuffed into a plastic bag. But if Tue bike does it its as smooth as silk and stays the way you want it to be be

[VNA - BMW Wank]

only been in ayrshire for 45 years mate and ive NEVER been into Nardinis!!!

 

I thought every biker in Scotland had been to Nardini's for an ice cream.

Anyway it's still a cracking cafe, but quite what it was.  The Nardini's lost it through family in fighting, then it shut down, somebody nicked the interior and eventually it was taken over and refurbished.  They have done a great job with the cafe and the restaurant but the foyer and shop are nothing like what they used to be.  My favourite bit was the shop and bakery, full of continental stuff you couldn't get anywhere else, it was all beautiful 1930's art deco style.  For me the foyer and shop was the most beautiful part of the whole building.  I reckon it got shipped out to Moscow, New York or God knows where.  Somebody somewhere has Largs's original 1930's art deco cafe shop.


 

[VNA - BMW Wank]

Sorry wrong thread.   

[know your limitations]

Sorry wrong thread.

No shit, Sherlock! 
Nice reminiscence though

[Grahamm]

There's some excellent advice above which pretty much covers everything, so the only thing I'll add is to invest in some NikWax Visor Spray because it's great for stopping rain and spray from screwing up your view and a Pinlock or Fog City insert (or a breath deflector) to stop your visor misting up on the inside.

And always remember to be able to stop in the distance you can see is clear, so slow down and give yourself extra space for braking distance.

[JZS 600]

Microclimates!
 
When it's drying up, early morninge etc you will notice that the road remains wet in the shade or under trees. Nothing like a wake up call when riding round a dry bend and it suddenly gets wet half way round!

[devilsyam]

Hardcore pisstaker!

ok dont get this did i say summat to offend?

[Old un]

I'm not a fast, racer type, but I do ride in all weathers and don't really worry about it. I just slow down.
 
Like someone else said, you need to relax your upper body and relax your grip on the bars. Use your knees against the tank to give you a feeling of stability when turning. If your tyres are in good nick and are proper sports-tourer types, they'll probably outperform your skills, so don't think they're suddenly gonna give way under you - they're not!
 
Just avoid hard accelleration and braking. People will tell you to avoid manholes and white lines, but if your speed is constant, there's no need to slalom around everything as though they're bags of nails 
Absolutely on target - nothing to add - man you've said it all.....
 

 
Tom

[Bitfik]

Consider stopping distances.


If the car behind is too close... Make some space for yourself


Allow space for you, and the vehicle behind to stop!

[SEPTIKANGEL]

Hardcore pisstaker!

ok dont get this did i say summat to offend?

Nah, no one was offended here Devilsyam, really thought you wuz pisstaking tho!  MadogMcQ had said peeps will tell you......... and then you did just that!  LOL     Sorry it waz wasted on you mate, but think Old 'un got onto it right away.    Best adice for wet riding is keep it smooth and upright as u can, or keep it in the shed 'till the sun shines..... 

[DryRob]

I personally don't care if I'm slower in the wet, I'd rather take my time and stay upright than push the limits and end up on the deck. Even motoGP riders adapt their riding style to wet conditions so I wouldn't worry about being slower if the road conditions dictate a more consideration.
I'm still learning about riding and I've found that being out in the wet encourages you to be smoother and makes you pay more attention to what you're doing. Can't see this as a bad thing as it'll probably improve dry riding skills.