Hydroplaning?

[MotorinLA]

I've experienced hydroplaning several times to varying degrees in my car, but luckily never on my motorcycle. I started thinking about it and then began wondering if motorcycles are less likely to hydroplane than cars (traveling at the same speed). It would seem that the narrower contact patch and tire shape could reduce the likelihood of hydroplaning.

 

Any thoughts/experiences?

[Alfred02]

I have hydroplaned my original K100RS in a straight line.

Scary but no nasty surprises as you will feel the steering getting lite just like in a car.

Wouldn't want to do it with any lean on it but.

[dirtrider]

Morning MotorinLA

 

Lots or things contribute to hydroplaning on both cars & motorcycles.

 

_Weight on the tire contact patch (or even near contact patch if water is deep)

 

_Number of water channeling sipes, depth of water channeling sipes, width or water channeling sipes, angle of water channeling sipes, (basically tire design)

 

_VEHICLE SPEED, every situation is different depending on water depth, tire design, tire pressure, tread wear, etc.

 

_Water depth (to some extent up to a certain depth anyhow)

 

_Tire tread profile & tread width. Motorcycle tires have a rounder profile than car tires so act a bit different.

 

Personally I ride pretty fast on wet roads (usually well above hydroplaning speeds) so have to be careful of loss of grip when water is present. If I know there will be a lot of heavy rain I usually jack my tire pressures up a bit (sometimes to near max) before the ride. Max tire pressures can buy a few more MPH before hydroplaning appears. Luckily the front tire is narrower than the rear tire so the front will usually push some of the water out of the path of the wider rear. The perilous time is when the rear tire doesn't completely follow the front tire.

 

Also try to be careful on travel path. There are parts of the roads that tend to pool water or retain deeper pools of water & those I try to avoid.

 

Speed is your enemy when it comes to hydroplaning. It can happen on a motorcycle at speeds as low a 40 mph but usually in the low 50's is the speed to start worrying. Low thread depth, very flat tire centers, low tire pressure will lower the speed to start worrying.

 

The best thing I can tell a person that wants to understand & practice for sudden hydroplaning is to get a dirt bike & ride loose gravel & deep sand at a fast speed. Even better is to do some ice riding or ice racing. Most of us old ice racers ride pretty fast on wet roads & don't tighten up if the tires skip across some deep water on the road.

 

[MotorinLA]

Hi D.R.,

 

thanks for the info. Being a rider in So Cal I get limited exposure to riding on wet roads. However, as I was riding to work on the freeway the other day,in the rain,I began thinking about hydroplaning. Many riders here have stated they ride in the wheel tracks of the cars and avoid the oil stripe in the middle. During rain it seems that might need to be modified, as the wheel tracks actually accumulate water. Lane choice also becomes different, as water tends to accumulate mostly at the edges of the freeway. My main reason for wondering about hydroplaning was the fact that traffic was still moving at about 70 mph, which would seem to be plenty fast enough to cause hydroplaning, if there was a sufficient amount of water on the roadway surface.

 

Since this board has riders from all over the world, I figured there'd be riders that could share their experiences with riding on wet roads, with those of us having limited exposure to these kinds of conditions.

[Boffin]

Well I live in England where we get a LOT of rain. This means our roads are designed to remove surface water but you still get puddles. In thirty years of motorcycling I have never experienced hydroplaning (BTW, we call it Aquaplaning) on my bike, but I have a few times in my car when I have hit standing water.

 

When it rains, I still ride in the wheel tracks of cars - this is the cleanest section of road. The muck and corruption that gathers elsewhere on the road gets _much_ more slippery in the wet - a vastly greater risk to loss of tyre adhesion than standing water.

 

Andy

[dirtrider]

Sometimes hydroplaning can be used for fun!

 

[Glenn Reed]

Until they made some passes with the guy standing in the middle of the water, I didn't think it was all that big a deal. Then it changed considerably!

[Dave_zoom_zoom]

Looks like GREAT FUN!

 

I think that "push right to turn right" still applies.

 

What do you say?

 

Dave

[Quinn]

Looks like GREAT FUN!

 

I think that "push right to turn right" still applies.

 

What do you say?

 

Dave

 

I think pushing the tiller starboard makes the boat go portward. Seems that would apply more.

 

----

 

 

[4wheeldog]

Looks like GREAT FUN!

 

I think that "push right to turn right" still applies.

 

What do you say?

 

Dave

 

I say, whatever you do, do not chop the throttle!

[EddyQ]

I think pushing the tiller starboard makes the boat go portward. Seems that would apply more.

 

I think pushing the tush off the stern is the key here. . . Keeps the bow a float.

[EddyQ]

All this said, I met someone this summer that said he crashed at highway speeds due to a very sudden downpour and hydroplaning. He talked like he did a very lot of riding. So . . . donno. He might be full of S%&^t and simply had a case of instant slippery oily road or did the exact wrong thing and chomp the throttle off and brake. I'd be careful with deep water.

 

BTW, I had a wave of water from a bus in the next lane slamb me pretty hard once. I was a wakeup call that said "get off the road".

[Huzband]

All this hogwash () is just that. Matt (Matts_12_GS) & I rode home from Ga. through a tropical storm a few years ago. Lots of rain, lots of wind, lots of water. Did I mention lots of rain?

 

Hydroplaning on a bike boils down to a state of mind. When it happens, ignore it, then it will go away. React to it & you're toast.

[tallman]

Beth and I have ridden through hurricane feeder bands, actually the night before we first met Matt.

Water over my boots at times on I 10 and hard wind too.

Since most vehicles were going slowly or pulling off we trucked on, not too many vehicles (it was night) and I felt very secure on the bike.

We never had an issue.

Merely anecdotal, not definitive, but we've done a lot of riding in the rain.

I wonder if being 2 up helps?

 

[Paul Mihalka]

"I wonder if being 2 up helps?"

Possibly. More lbs/inch2 on the rear tire patch.

[LDHack]

All this said, I met someone this summer that said he crashed at highway speeds due to a very sudden downpour and hydroplaning.

I can say the same; I personally know a very experienced rider, both a long distance rider and a dual sport rider, who hydroplaned and crashed on a BMW this summer. Maybe the same person EddyQ met.... I totally trust his analysis of the situation, not only because of his experience as a rider but also his occupation as a cop. Although apparently rare, it can happen.

[the41tao]

2004 R1150RT

Avon Storm tires

Looked like the tires were ok but worn

I experienced several different forms of hydroplaning in the rain.

Rattled me too. 90 mph thru a "puddle" and I could feel the complete

loss and then the hook-up of traction. It's not a fun feeling.

Then it seemed like I was sliding

around on the surface oil or something. The rest of the ride home was nerve

racking. Put new tires on quick.

[AviP]

I've hydroplaned numerous times on my RT. Front wheel only. The first time it surprised the heck out of me as the handlebars were not evenly weighted and they swung from full left stop to full right stop a couple of times as I tried to correct. The moment I got out of the standing water, the tires bit and the handlebars straightened. I was doing about a buck even.

 

It was so ridiculous that I tried to repeat it again during that same ride and it worked again. Total steering loss, full left stop to full right stop more than 2-3 times and it never felt like I was losing control. I even let go off the handlebars and it didn't bother me.

 

Bottomline is that it happens but there is barely any chance of losing control. Panic and you might crash.

[EddyQ]

I've hydroplaned numerous times on my RT. Front wheel only. The first time it surprised the heck out of me as the handlebars were not evenly weighted and they swung from full left stop to full right stop a couple of times as I tried to correct. The moment I got out of the standing water, the tires bit and the handlebars straightened. I was doing about a buck even.

 

It was so ridiculous that I tried to repeat it again during that same ride and it worked again. Total steering loss, full left stop to full right stop more than 2-3 times and it never felt like I was losing control. I even let go off the handlebars and it didn't bother me.

 

So, your bars are swinging between stops at a buck and you figure that was something you needed to experiment with more? Cool . .

 

Bottomline is that it happens but there is barely any chance of losing control.

 

But doesn't that depend upon the length of road you travel while hydroplaning? If a puddle, yes. But what happened to my buddy was a sudden heavy downpour which he said caused a continuous sheet of water all the way down the freeway.

[biometrics]

I'd be careful with deep water.

 

Be a bit more careful than this guy, anyway! :

 

 

 

[Selden]

So, your bars are swinging between stops at a buck and you figure that was something you needed to experiment with more? Cool . .

:thumbsup:There's an old joke punchline about a guy in a mental asylum: "I may be crazy, but I'm not stupid."

[Gene O]

Back in my road racing days, we used to race in the rain on DOT tires in some of the classes. There's no doubt that you can hydroplane a motorcycle at higher speeds. My guess is that a car would hydroplane on the same track and water amount at a lower speed than a bike, but the effect is the same. I've witnessed some very skillful riders take a spill caused by losing control due to hydroplaneing. It doesn't happen if you reduce speed.