Wet riding/grip

[Coxyzxr]

Anyone really cane it when wet riding?

I'm constantly reading that the new generation of tyres on the market now especially sport touring offer almost as much grip in the wet as they do in the dry.

I have to admit though despite this being on my mind I really don't ever feel confident pushing on in the wet, especially corners.
____________________
**WAS FITTED "WRONG WAY ROUND" !** CANT ACCOUNT FOR THE STUPID !

[Mr Nice Guy]

I've had four slides this week, one front three rear... all have been down to either supercold + cold tyres or crap on the road.

Pilot Road 2's seem almost as good in the wet, I will say that there doesn't seem as much feedback ...but there seems to be as much grip as I can't remember every breaking free on the wet because of the tyre (either crap on road or me being too ham fisted)

But I certainly don't hoon as hard in the wet, but I think that's down to increased stopping distances rather than cornering grip or anything like that...
____________________
Suzuki GSX-R750K4 ~ Mivv GP

[iooi]

They may well give the same level of grip on a test track, that is not covered in all the crap that gets onto normal roads.
In heavy rain grip levels are pretty good. Its when the roads are damp and it lifts all the gressy stuff to the top that you lose it.
____________________
Just because my bike was A DIVVY, does not mean i am......

[MarJay]

On a racetrack you can get surprising levels of grip, even on tyres that you wouldn't normally associate with being good in the wet.

However, racetracks don't have white lines, overbanding, manhole covers, leaves, gravel or worst of all diesel.

These are the killers in the wet.
____________________
British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F; Cheap project: CBR900RR FireBlade
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[G]

Even on decent road, they aren't going to have nearly as much grip compared to actually properly pushing the tyre in the dry.

I was always quite impressed with 010s that I could get my knee down in damp drizzling conditions at a smallish roundabout. However that was on the limit with the tyre squirming; could go a fair bit further in the dry.

Remember, also, in the wet tyres tend to let go quicker with less 'transition' from grip to slide to on your arse.

[Damon]

i find i can kane is the majority of times on my RS, but that doesnt have the power of my kawasaki. Im bloody careful in the wet on that.

[t121anf]

i like confidence in the wet, takes me ages when i get caught out to turn my brain off and start picking up the pace.

that said last time i was out i was still doing 60 in 60 limits which i think is reasonable in the wet

[steveh]

I go out on the motard just for this reason.
So yeah i do, but with a decent suspension set up/tyres its kinda built for it.

sliding is much more fun than wheelies.

ill try and get some pics on my next day off
____________________
Current : 06 Zx10r, 07 Wr450f SM, 74 850 norton commando, 63 bsa b40, 1962 Triton 650, 67 Triumph Tr6r, 1955 Triton 750, 1978 TY250E.

[LeeR]

I dunno whether you would judge me as "caning it" but I did inadvertantly do 115mph through the bends at Michel Wood services on the M5 in the wet a few months ago.

I've had a bit of work done to the bike here and there, new rear shock, fork oil, head bearings, front wheel bearings, and a set of Metzler Tourance EXP. The EXP is the road biased version of the dual-purpose Tourance and whilst it's nowhere near being a true road tyre it is surprisingly good at times.

I think this is why it was so easy to not notice I was going quite so fast, I slowed down as soon as I became aware of my speed, but was mildly impressed it had felt so composed.
____________________
My claim to fame: Austin Vince nicked my pen...

[prawny1]

Although i am pretty confident in the wet, its always better to ride on the side of caution, i have had bikes let go when not pushing it at all and other times i have been expecting my bike to slide when ive miss judged corner speeds in the wet but had the bike just keep going right where it was pointed without even a wobble.

As long as your not accelerating round a bend in the wet it is rare that the tyre will loose traction, but it is just better in my opinion to be expecting a slide than be caught unprepared.

I you are going to be doing a lot of wet riding it is a good idea to get some off road experiance, where there is less grip to begin with that way you get to know what to do in a slide and if you get it wrong at least you got it wrong on soft grass with no traffic, instead of out on the road with cars coming at you.

[rotax81]

im fine when its really wet as all the oil/crap gets washed off.
its when it first starts raining or the roads are slightly wet and cold that i have no confidence. too greasy for my liking.

track is a different matter for the obvious but they use a more expensive grippier surface to start with



____________________
ZX636C6F road. ZX636C1H track. ZX7R redundant. ZX0.5R minimoto as ornament.
Audi A4 Avant 1.9TDi and VW Transporter 2.5TDi 888 Special (no mot and tax lol)

[G]

[rotax81]

not yet, i just use the common tracks
____________________
ZX636C6F road. ZX636C1H track. ZX7R redundant. ZX0.5R minimoto as ornament.
Audi A4 Avant 1.9TDi and VW Transporter 2.5TDi 888 Special (no mot and tax lol)

[doggone]

When your tyres are into the last third or so of legal life, wet roads start to get un-nerving.
Nearly new most are OK.

There's a potential for the rider to worry, get tense, then cause twitches which wouldn't happen if you were relaxed and not thinking about your tyres letting go!

[T0MMY]

I find grip in the wet is so variable so it's risky to push it. For 5 years I only had bikes before I got my first car so used to ride in all weathers and was much more confident with it. Not so confident now and the other day I had the front wheel slide out on me at about 20 mph with the bike hardly leant over at all, only a swift foot down saved me from dropping my bike. That put the wind up me as there was no indication that that corner was any slipperier than any other so I've been riding pretty slowly for the last few days on the little roads round here

On track where you can keep tyre temperatures up and the surface is consistent then it's a different story.
____________________
ZX6R + CBR600RR