Another first for me

[simonm]

I went out in the dry and sun, came back in the dark and wet.  First time I've ever ridden in the wet and I'm wearing leathers...nice.  So I spent the 20 minute ride home on the wet roads with rain coming down, petrified and taking each slow corner at about 5mph.  When I first started on the wet roads the rear end felt all floaty (technical term alert),  I thought the rear tyre was running flat (it felt kinda squishy).  Then accelerating it felt like I was wheel spinning.

Time for a glass of wine to settle the nerves.  God only knows how couriers, commuters and racers cope with it.

I'm glad I did it, I feel like I might possibly be able to do it again in the future if I absolutely had to.

[Dead Eye]

Out of interest, what tyre do you have on the rear? I've ridden in some downpours before and I've never felt the rear misbehave that much. I obviously ride appropriately for the conditions but not so much that I'm crawling along at a snails pace

[noggythenog]

But you still did it simon :thumbup


You know what ive barely ridden in the rain but i think you can probably easily ride at about 2/3 usual throttle & cornering, a few more times in the rain & you'll naturally speed up & relax a bit.


Im taking my bike into the garage for new tyres tomorrow morning & looking at the weather forecast its gonna be pissing rain on my way home & ill be on Brand new yet to be scrubbed front & back tyres & further still they are tyres best suited for dry conditions :eek .


So I've got a plan....im just gonna act normally, albeit as if i was on my bike test ie no unnecessary throttle grabs, nice & smoothe.ill report back but if i can manage it with brand new tyres then it kinda shows how ok wet weather is.


My sisters ex was so petrified about scrubbing in new tyres that he asked my dad to scrub them in for him, foc that!!!! :b

[simonm]

Out of interest, what tyre do you have on the rear? I've ridden in some downpours before and I've never felt the rear misbehave that much. I obviously ride appropriately for the conditions but not so much that I'm crawling along at a snails pace

I think they're ancient bt57's but they have plenty of tread on them.  I have no idea if they're squared off or anything.
http://www.bridgestone.com/products/moto.../bt57.html

[darrsi]

After riding a while in bad weather you'll totally understand why there is so much talk about tyres that perform well in wet conditions.
Some tyres completely outperform others in the wet, and if you are like me and ride all year round, with the bike being my only transport, then you can appreciate that sliding even just a bit is not an option that i want.
This is the whole reason i've stuck with the same tyre combo time and again, which are different brands front and rear, because i have confidence in them when it's raining.
You lose that confidence and it will spoil riding the bike and make you a nervous wreck, clinging on for dear life, and going round bends upright at 10mph.  :thumbdown

[Punkstig]

Us couriers (the intelligent ones that is) tend to wear and or carry the right gear so we're dry and comfortable (Rukka for me!)
I cannot rate Michelin road pilot 3 tyres highly enough, they really do what it says on the tin, great in the wet and brilliant mileage, its not just sales gumpf!


If anyone's concerned about not having tyres scrubbed in for the weather then change one on one day then the other next week when the other is scrubbed in, not both at the same time, its gonna be the same price!


My personal advice for riding in the wet- The funky chicken!


It's the best advice I ever read and I pass it on to everyone, give it a go in the dry, you're more relaxed in the dry anyway but still give it a try, but make a more conscious effort in the wet,


On approach to corner make sure you are at a comfortable speed for the severity of the corner (no braking mid corner in the wet!) and flap your elbows, if they don't flap easily you're too tense, its all about relaxing, which we've probably heard many times but mentally its difficult to do, flapping your arms a little helps to tell your brain that your body is relaxed.
when you've done it a few times and feel comfortable give the inner elbow a teeny weeny little wiggle mid corner to remind yourself your relaxed.


Going back to dry weather- want to be able to corner a little faster? We all hear about looking where you're going target fixation etc etc, you think 'I do that though' - make a point to Physically turn your head to look through the corner, not just moving your eyes. Ever been a little too fast into the corner and your arse starts twitching like a bunny rabbits nose?- wiggle the inner turn elbow and physically turn your head, you WILL make the corner, the bike is more capable than you, you'll be fine!


That's me done anyway!

[darrsi]

@Punkstig, i would've said there's a bit of The Birdie Song in there, as well as the Funky Chicken!  :lol

[noggythenog]

It would be rude of me not to try the funky chicken...




"What you doin???"


"Eh...the funky chicken"....


"Who tought you that???"........


"Ehhh.......Punkstig!!!"..................


"Ah....ok.....laters.......dont call me!".... :lol


Cheers punkstig ill try it tomorrow jus for the crack. 8)

[Punkstig]

I'm awaiting the 'OMG Funky fuckin chicken works' and the obligatory 'PunkStig is a leg-end' titles in the general section tomorrow chaps, lol


Tbh, because its a fun thing in your head its easier to remember!


I do stupid miles but still do this to make me feel comfortable out there!

[Punkstig]

I also sing 'East bound and down' (smokey and the bandit theme) to myself on long journeys but that's for a completely different post!

[noggythenog]

I also sing 'East bound and down' (smokey and the bandit theme) to myself on long journeys but that's for a completely different post!

  top top top top top top top

[Exupnut]

Just imaginin u goin round a corner in the wet @ 5mph flappin ur arms up and down while shittin urself Si hahaha

[simonm]

Just imaginin u goin round a corner in the wet @ 5mph flappin ur arms up and down while shittin urself Si hahaha

Yah, frickin hifuckinlarious.  :lol.  I bet I was too.

[Chris]

HAHAHAHAHA!!!

Awsome comments with some very great advice Punkstig.

Can't wait to hear the east bound and down story  :lol

For me, going out on a ride in the sun and then returning home in the pi$$ing rain can be quite a common occurance. making sure your gear is good and waterproof helps to keep you dry, warm and relaxed. I constatly talk out loud to myself when I feel I'm in a situation where I might tense up as it helps me to stay relaxed. I just talk about looking where I want to go, stay relaxed, the bike can do more than me so have confidence in the tyres, throttle on slowly as you're making the turn etc etc

Chris

[Exupnut]

Anyways... If u wanna corner without ur pants fillin up u shud ask Merv the Swerv aka our very own christoT ;-)

[simonm]

I find the whole thing a lot easier when I concentrate on the riding rather than the physics of having a handwriting sized contact area between me and a messy ending 

e just given Jack a bottle feed for the night and he looked at me and gave me a beaming smile.  At the moment anything could happen and I'd still be ecstatically happy (if that's even a word).

[Dead Eye]

It certainly is a word ^^

The contact patch may seem crazy but its how you use it that counts Don't worry simon, you'll get better the more you ride and its good to push your boundaries - pretty sure I've developed better as a rider being out with the LoFo's as the riding gets a bit crazy at times but helps you to understand the limits of your machine better. I noticed this more when I went out solo the other day, doing things without thinking that I usually had to really concentrate on

[ChristoT]

Anyways... If u wanna corner without ur pants fillin up u shud ask Merv the Swerv aka our very own christoT ;-)

God, if I get this amount of banter for my "normal" riding, I hope to God I never stick it in a hedge - I'd never hear the end of it!!  :lol :lol

[stevierst]

[quote author=Punkstig link=topic=7858.msg76643#msg76643 date=1368741723]
I also sing 'East bound and down' (smokey and the bandit theme) to myself on long journeys but that's for a completely different post!

I sing that one when I'm doing a long ride too! (i used to be a HGV driver) so don't worry punkstig, there are a couple more of us oddballs out there :o:
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

[ponkster]

I cannot rate Michelin road pilot 3 tyres highly enough, they really do what it says on the tin, great in the wet and brilliant mileage, its not just sales gumpf!


- me too - the best tyres I've used and yet on the the review sites they get quite an average review - I guess tyres are just a personal thing.

I agree about relaxing ( not sure about the chicken) - just keping it steady with a smoth throtle roll on through the corner , you more likely to get all out of shape tensing up and chopping the throttle - keeping the gas steadily going on will increase the preasure on your back tyre and maintain your contact patch.