Rain Riding

[PhilipJCaputo]

My wife and I moved to SoCal about 4 months ago. I've been commuting daily, but those daily round trips have been totally dry. Tomorrow is the first day where I will be riding in the rain.

 

I've got some good gear to keep me mostly dry, but I don't have a lot of experience riding in the wet.

 

I plan on taking it easier, longer distances to accelerate and brake, stuff like that. I'll stay out of the grease strip, etc.

 

Anyone have any pointers?

[Firefight911]

The first rainy day after a long dry spell means the entire roadway is a grease strip. If possible, delay your commute during the first couple hours of a good rain. This will allow the upper surface to clear off some. Of course, if it's only a sprinkle versus good wetting this means your road will be greasy and it won't get washed off.

 

Get your eyes up. You are not looking far enough ahead of you. You need to get that head on a swivel and you need to move your eyes down the road. See those brake lights 12 cars ahead of you? Respond to that. Find your escape route, adjust your positioning within the lane, change lanes, increase your following distance, etc.

 

I can not say it enough, loosen up on the bars, relax your shoulders, take a deep breath, relax!!!!!!! If you are tense on the bike you will not be as able to respond to what goes on around you. Notice I said respond? You need to respond to your environment. Reactions are not what you are looking for.

 

People loose their minds (what they have left) during the first rains. Just know that going in, respond accordingly, and stay loose. Expect that cars around you will still drive as if it is dry. Your extra following distance will get taken from you by the car in the lane next to you jockeying for a faster lane, etc. Expect it. If you expect it you can respond versus react.

 

Have fun, realize your overall traction is reduced but the principles of braking still apply.

 

Hope this helps. I lived in S. California for 8 total years. 5 of which I was a motorcycle only owner. You'll be fine if you don't get upset or riled up.

[NCStephen]

Roads can be amazingly slick in the first part of the rain. Be aware. After it has been raining awhile 15-20 min, you might be surprised at how good tires are at traction on wet pavement.

 

Be aware of the rain pattern. If you have been riding from behind a front and are getting closer to the front edge of it, you may have been riding in rain for a hour but you are now on roads that are just freshly wet and slippery as you get to the front edge.

 

Have some sort of water/mist/fogging management system on your faceshield / Glasses ... Pick up some of the various treatment wipes that last a few days and need to be reapplied. If this happens a lot it is nice to convert an old shield to one with a "Fog City" insert attached. (Pinlock inserts are a great system also)

 

Remember in misting rain turn you helmet side to side while riding some and the wind on the shield will help clear off things.

 

 

You can have good visibility or horrible depending on the type of rain and mist. Just expect it not to be predictable. Adjust accordingly until you learn.

 

Expect the cars behind not to really see you. If you are in the faster lanes, be faster. Watch way ahead so you are flashing your brake lights long before traffic is suddenly stopping. You don't want to be the one having to make a sudden stop and not be seen from behind.

 

If you are not running a tad faster than the lane of traffic, move to the slower lane.

 

Remember to close the head vents on the helmet so you don't get your head so wet.

 

Moderate the chin vents. They do a great job of helping to clear the inside of the shield. They also can do a great job of splashing rain up into the shield if a really heavy rain or lots of white out mist being kicked up by cars or when you are passing a truck. I tend to close my chin vent when passing a truck.

 

Riding in rain is really an OK thing to do. It is all part of the adventure!

 

Let us know how you make out!

 

NCS

[BerndM]

If the first rain is a "gully washer" the roads become quite oil free fairly quickly. If it's just a sprinkle or two, different story.

You're right, stay in the tire tracks, not in the middle. Also, be EXTREMELY CAUTIOUS of the painted lines and arrows on the road. They are as slick as elephant snot!!! Tar snakes also need attention.

[szurszewski]

All good advice above.

 

I try to remember two key things both when riding in the rain and when answering a similar question (this applies to DRIVING in the rain too, but the consequences of screwing up tend to be less dire):

 

You should be doing all the things you should be doing in the dry - just as listed in the first reply to the OP (staying relaxed, good following distance, eyes up and scanning, smooth controls, etc) - and with a little added space to make up for the reduced traction.

 

Staying relaxed (though vigilant) is key - you won't be smooth on controls if you have a lot of tension based potential energy stored up in your hands/arms/feet/legs. (This goes for mental tension too - if you are sure someone is going to kill you at any moment and are just waiting for it, you're more likely to overreact instead of making the proper smooth response when someone does enter your following bubble, etc).

 

And because I can never say two things and actually have it be two things, remember that depending on your setup, you might have a serious impairment to your vision because of fogging, or water collecting on your shield or whatever. If you can't see well - stop riding. Like, right then. Especially if you are in traffic - the people who love you will be much happier if you're late for work or whatever than just "late" in general.

[AviP]

After it has been raining awhile 15-20 min, you might be surprised at how good tires are at traction on wet pavement.

+1. Don't override the bike. The tires grip better than you think. I try to ride in the rain just to keep my skills up. The first 15 minutes ca be hairy but then the fun stuff happens as you push it.

[Quinn]

Try this on your faceshield. Works about as well as RainX works on car windshields.

 

http://www.fogtech.com/raincoat.html

 

If you have to leave your faceshield cracked because of fogging, you might want to coat both sides.

 

----

 

 

[EddyQ]

Looks like a lot of good pointers.

 

Keep a watchout for steel plates. They are common around contruction areas and sometime at railroad crossings. They are slicker when wet.

 

Also, the temperature drops when wet due to evaporative cooling. So plan for a 10-15 degree drop from what the weatherman says.

[EddyQ]

So, it has been a decade since I really rode through a real heavy rain on an interstate. I ride through mild rain, but huge amounts I usually get off the road. Way back, I had an interstate bus send a wave of water to my face and chest at interstate speeds. My bike did not have a windshield and it woke me right up.

 

A neighbor of mine said he hydroplaned his bike and crashed (quite a while ago). Does this happen? I guess I was always under the impression the motorcycle tire would always shed enough water even if an inch deep at speeds of 60mph riding flat and straight.

 

This is a bit of a hyjack, but perhaps the OP could benefit with any experiences.

[szurszewski]

Speaking as someone who rides year round (though not as often as that implies as for my main {80%} job I usually have to take the company car - though my other job often has me commuting to sites a minimum of 60 interstate miles away) in western Oregon on an R1100RT, having a very fully faired bike will not keep that wave from a passing bus or semi (or riding through that wave while passing said vehicle) from waking you up...and/or putting enough physical pressure on you and/or the bike to move you around just like an extreme wind gust. Staying relaxed/loose but still securely attached to bike and controls is key.

 

Also, from personal experience, bikes will hydroplane even with rain-friendly tires. Having a thinner contact patch surely makes it harder to get a bike to do that than a car, but, as is my understanding, hydroplaning is how ice skates work, and you can't get much less contact than that.

[upflying]

I was out on damp roadways this morning. First rain in many months in NorCal.

Gentle lean angles, gentle throttle and gentle braking is how I stay upright.

Watch out for Botts Dots.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botts%27_dots

[David13]

I think the best word there is gentle. That's the way I ride in the rain. Gentle. Take it easy.

My neighbor went down in the rain on a manhole cover, on a corner. Like the steel plates, they are slippery when wet.

I believe he means one of the larger flat surface rectangular covers. They are out there.

Another friend went down in the rain, on some angled (to the road direction) railroad tracks.

Take it easy and you should have no problem.

And when a truck drives thru' a puddle of water and splashes me, I laugh. I need to paint a smile on my helmet so they can see that it doesn't bother me.

dc

[CoarsegoldKid]

Take the cage.

[NCStephen]

Take the cage.

 

Why would you consider that?

[StuGotz]

Adjust your commute if possible, I did today.

 

Adjust your arrival and departure times. Adjust your route. Adjust your riding style to suit the conditions. First rains of the season are nasty, with slick roads evident as no other time of the year.

 

Had a tailgater today on my approach to the offramp, while it was raining. Flashed the brakes twice, and when the cager didn't get the clue, I outstretched my arm with palm facing rear, and that got the point home. I then flashed a quick wave approving the new following distance....

 

May not work all the time though..

 

MB>

[Bill_Walker]

Take the cage.

 

Why would you consider that?

 

Because SoCal drivers have absolutely no clue how to drive in rain, because they do it so seldom. Some percentage of drivers will overreact, crawling along well below the speed limit. Most will not adjust their driving at all, continuing to use the same speeds (10-15 over the limit) and following distances they do when it's dry. There will be many accidents.

 

Especially if this is your first rain commute in SoCal, take the cage so you've got some protection while you learn what you're up against. It's true you won't be able to split lanes to get through the snarled traffic, which will be worse than in the dry, but given the slipperiness of paint lines and Bott's dots, do you really want to do that anyway?

[NCStephen]

A different world than here I guess.

[David13]

mb

I sometimes use one that I learned back in the 50's. Take the left arm, straight downward, point with one finger about 1 foot out from the rear tire, to the left side, pointing straight down at the road.

NCStephen

It is somewhat of a different world here. Urban jungle. The average driver drives in a manner, well, 'frantic' is the only word that comes to mind.

Race like a maniac, only to stomp hard on the brakes at the next stoplight.

Basically pure unadulterated insanity. And most importantly, never, never show any courtesy to another driver. Cut them off, stop so they cannot get into the road, do not let them change lanes, etc.

Joe knows this. He used to live here. Now he has passed on to Nirvana. Very different than here. As long as you do not go into Fresno.

dc

[PhilipJCaputo]

Thanks everyone for the great responses!

 

I'm not a fan of Botts' dots, what terrible invention for the lane splitter in all of us.

 

 

I am contemplating taking the cage, partially because I won't be riding my normal route as I have a mid-day meeting away from my office.

 

I've felt the slipperyness of man-hole-covers before. I ride up Beverly Glen Canyon (south) from the 101. Every morning people are watering the street. The covers are very slick and I avoid them wisely now.

 

I assumed the painted lines were very slippery, but haven't tested them yet. I'll probably just avoid testing them for now.

 

 

I did learn a really good lesson on my way home tonight. When the bike computer says you've got 25 miles remaining until you are out of fuel, it really means 1 mile... glad it didn't happen in the wet!

[themenz]

Try this on your faceshield. Works about as well as RainX works on car windshields.

 

http://www.fogtech.com/raincoat.html

 

If you have to leave your faceshield cracked because of fogging, you might want to coat both sides.

 

----

 

 

Full disclosure: I make Raincoat. While it repels water off of plastic better than RainX repels off of glass, it will not stop fogging. The drops that cause fogging are too small. So don't apply to the inside of your shield for that problem.

[ddlewis]

...Also, be EXTREMELY CAUTIOUS of the painted lines and arrows on the road. They are as slick as elephant snot!!!...

 

My two rain rules:

1. back 'er down a half notch

2. STAY OFF THE PAINT!

 

[NCStephen]

 

I assumed the painted lines were very slippery, but haven't tested them yet. I'll probably just avoid testing them for now.

 

 

I did learn a really good lesson on my way home tonight. When the bike computer says you've got 25 miles remaining until you are out of fuel, it really means 1 mile... glad it didn't happen in the wet!

 

Good thing about the gas. Also I think I have heard to not really low that low regularly as the fuel also acts as a coolant for the pump. Just hearsay at this point

 

About the painted lines.. In a safe place when you are relaxed, at a slow speed, try braking and accelerating over the lines to just learn what the traction is like.

 

Let us know how it goes when you do ride in the rain.

 

NCS

[PhilipJCaputo]

Rain Update:

 

I didn't ride today. Didn't even leave the house. I guess it was probably good that I didn't ride today, everything I heard from everyone said that people were nuts on the road today.

 

But I was kind of surprised at how little it rained. It wasn't the down pour I was expecting from all of the hype. It was just as constant light rain all day long.

 

I will be riding tomorrow, might have a little rain on my way in, but should be cleared up for the after trip.

 

Thanks again for all the tips, I'm reading through everything a couple of times to let it sink in!

[upflying]

Not sure if this mentioned yet, but stay away from the outside apex in curves. Especially important on sweeping 180/270 degree turns on on and off ramps. Due to centrifugal force, diesel sloshes from truck fuel tanks and makes ramps slick as snot on the outside.

[NCStephen]

Well Philip,

You have been given lots of tips.

 

Me thinks it is time for you to watch the weather and make a few days tour somewhere in the rain. Once past the tips, and brushing up on skills, it becomes about attitude.

 

Enjoy

NCS

[Francois_Dumas]

And get some Michelin Pilot Road 3's

[Survived-til-now]

Someone mentioned aquaplaning - it about this time of year that I change my tyres and make sure I have got the maximum tread.

 

Rain's just part of the experience

[outpost22]

Have to agree on the "take the cage" reply from Joe. The first rain is brutal.

 

Coming home 2 years ago, it wasn't supposed to rain that day...the first rain day. It started sprinkling 2 miles from home. Backed it down to 35 mph in a 45 zone around a curve I take at 50 -55 with the cage. There was a new asphalt paving patch in the road. JUST LIKE ICE. It's the only time street riding I've ever been down.

 

First rain day??? Take the cage.

[CoarsegoldKid]

Frankly I wouldn't ride a motorcycle on Los Angeles roads in the rain period. I had a car for that. I thought of it as a rather large helmet. And these days I don't feel comfortable entering the LA county limits on a motorcycle in the dry.

[Francois_Dumas]

Like in England, in Holland rain is just as much a part of life as breathing..... so we ride in the rain a little more often than in California

 

But to be honest, if I don't have to go out, I stay in.

[outpost22]

Like in England, in Holland rain is just as much a part of life as breathing..... so we ride in the rain a little more often than in California

 

But to be honest, if I don't have to go out, I stay in.

 

Riding here in Oregon equates to rain riding too...just not the first rainy day after summer is over.

[dhanson]

I thought this was a thread on how to ride to make rain! Sorry.

[Jeepster]

I thought this was a thread on how to ride to make rain! Sorry.

That's easy. Just wash your bike the day before you want it to rain.