Riding in the wet

[Mattastic]

I recently passed my CBT on Wednesday and have so far managed to clock up 120 miles! I'm slightly worried that the weather is going to catch me out with me being so inexperienced. Here in Bradford it seems to be pretty wet all the time and cold!

Have you got any tips for poor weather riding? At the moment I make sure that the distance I'd usually break at is doubled, I make sure that none of my steering is exagerated ie avoiding potholes etc early rather than at the last minute. Any more?
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Too skint to buy a bike

[ZaphodBeeble]

Just generally take it easy. Watch for negative camber bends and roundabouts. In other words, roads that have a slope to the left, they can make it SO much easier to skid off the bike.

A friend of mine fell off his bike doing about 10mph around a mini roundabout with negative camber, it was wet and he thought, 'right, I'll slow right down now, I'll take my time' but it didn't matter, the back end still slipped out and he fell off hehe. It didn't hurt though, as he was going slow, but you must always be careful in the wet.

Another thing, watch the white lines and drain covers. They are a bloody nightmare, in the dry they are bad enough. As you said though, don't swerve too much to avoid them. If you can't avoid them just hold the throttle steady and go straight over them (not while turning though), don't freak out as that will surely make you fall off!

One more thing, save the fun riding for when it's dry.
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Current bike: VTR1000F Firestorm. Previous: Firestorm (written off) - XJ600 Divvy - NSR125 - DT125 and a load of offroaders.

[MitoIslander]

Just go easy on the bends, and the breaking, you should be fine.

Oh, and avoid man hole covers on corners in bad weather... Bad Weather + Man hole cover = poor looking bike + Injured rider (sometimes)

Jay

[mr.z]

https://www.survivalskills.clara.net/riding_skills_25.htm (i post that link so often its silly) read though this, there is loads but its 100% reading the lot.

you've pretty much got it, try not to do anything too sharply, keep everything smooth and leave more space to stop,
as a rule anyway (and more importantly in the wet) when coming to a corner try to be at the correct speed when you enter the corner before leaning, braking and leaning will make you loose traction and is not what you want just keep the throttle steady as you go through it and when you see the exit gently increase the power as you straighten up.

Also avoid drain covers and painted lines, also tar joins in the road.. a wet ride can be as much fun as a dry one, i don't really pay much attention (apart from snow) what its doing.

Well done with the cbt, and for going out in the nastyer weather, just try and expect the worst from other road users and you should be ready for them to do even the stupidest things..

Welcome to the board if you have just joined too what have you been rideing?

EDIT: oops, just saw your other thred..

[Mattastic]

[Sparks!]

[ZaphodBeeble]

[T.C]

One of the biggest problems that riders face when riding in the wet is that they tend to tense up thereby magnifying the input into the control of the machine rather than just relaxing the same as they would if riding in the dry.

Modern tyres actually grip (in the majority of cases) very well in the wet, but by tensing up all the movements become somewhat mechanical and this can compromise your grip.
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It is better to arrive 30 seconds late in this world, than 30 years early in the next

[Major_Grooves]

[Ian (GPX)]

When going round corners in the wet, leave the brakes alone, use the bikes engine braking to slow down if needed, ie back off with the throttle and leave the clutch alone.

If you use the brakes on a wet bend / corner the bike will want to do one of two things, it will want to sit upright or just slid out from under you.

Just treat the road the same as you would when it's dry, but watch your speed at the same time.

[Kris]

My advice would be.. (for all it's worth! haha)

Ride exactly the same as you would if it's dry but with a couple of subtle differences. i.e. Ride as if it was a test of smoothness. No harsh braking, no harsh accelerating, super smooth throttle action etc etc.

As T.C. says, modern tyres have more wet grip than you'd imagine.

One last tip would be to just keep a keen eye on braking distances and slippery surfaces.


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www.prisonplanet.com

[vf1000f2f]

i just say well done for not being put off by bad weather, riding all weather will make you a better rider a lot quicker to many 'fair'weather rider's get caught out in a downpour and come a croper oh and keep an eye on idiot car drivers with steamed up windows pulling out on you and across you
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live bikes breathe bikes and sleep with bikes!

[1cyl]

When riding in the wet I find you really have to keep on the ball a lot more, do everything a lot slower and don't lean half as far as you do normally, the other thing is when the rain stops and the sun comes out, roads that appear to have dried off too the eye, sometimes have not, I always skim my foot a few feet just to check before i lay into the corner.
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Chase my Witch up, Catch my Snitch up.
The SMC | The Pit | Stable

[mrchips]

My first ever day on the road on a bike it was rainy and wet. In the wet I just ride normally except for taking corners easier. I don't think I have ever slipped in the wet though.