tips for riding in the rain?

[ngng]

thought this could be a useful little thread

[sshaikh01]

1. Turn you head sideways so the water and side down from your lid
2. Ride in the patched area on the road left my others cars.
3. Keep extra space between you and others


thats all i can think of

[makton3g]

I think I'm about to learn how to ride in the rain today ..

[juanovm]

If you have to ride in the rain, honestly AVOID the freaking highway.
I got blown across tthree or four lanes of traffic on I75 and ended up on the median, soaking wet and scared shitless.
Bike water looged the minute I hit the grass, I thought I was going to hit the floor hard, but I managed to maintain control.
Nowadays, if I see rain ahead of my path, i pull over anywhere I can, grab a bit or something.


Just be careful dude...rain is very unpredictable and besides getting hit by raindrops at 60+ mph totally sucks

[Sinkos]

My tip is to not ride in the rain.

I got rear ended riding in the rain, cars can barely see you when its not raining.

not worth it!

[redfox]

Don't get wet?

Seriously though, I've ridden in the rain plenty of times. Be VERY careful when it first starts raining, especially if it hasn't rained in a while. There will be more oil on the road than normal for the first 30 minutes or so.. give it time to run off. Also, be extra cautious with the back brake in the rain.. same goes for when it's dry but it's doubly important in the rain.

Don't make sudden starts/stops. It's rather scary to hit the gas hard in an intersection and have your rear tire spin on you.

If the rain is steady and persistent, you should be able to ride fairly normally. Just look for pools of water to avoid.

And be extra cautious of drivers.. people do stupid things when the water starts to fall from the sky.

[drtymex]

Rain hurts.Bad.Especially highway.But if it's persistent,and keep aware of the road(patches of water,other riders and drivers)you should be fine.Wind can be a bitch also.I remember one time riding and all bikes are going straight but leaning over at the same time to compensate for the wind.

I've got dunlops 208 gp,and done 100+ on highway raining several times and stick like a S.O.B.I put rain-x on my helmet helps with visibilty.Besides the constant sting of pelting rain,being soaked and cleaning the damn thing afterwards,it's not so bad.

[justin.]

get a car.

[warmseth]

if you don't have a car and you have to ride in the rain then RIDE the bus. rain sux!

[TDeezyR6]

1. Give TONS of extra space between you and car in front of you. Car behind you too close?? Try to switch to a lane that gives you more of a cushion behind also.

2. Do EVERYTHING slower and more carefully. Dont turn/lean hard at all. Don't accelerate hard at all. Use extreme caution when downshifting. Careful when using those brakes!! Give 3x more time to slow down than usual, just to be safe.

3. Tuning your head to the side every now and then does act a very good "windsheild wiper" for your visor.

4. Ride in the tracks left from other cars.

5. If it just started raining....omg be careful. Road is much much more slippery. Sometimes before i'm going to turn or brake, i touch my foot to the ground to see how slippery it is. you can quickley learn the "ok wet" from the "bad slippery wet" road surfaces. Also you may be surprised and find the road almost dried off when you are thinking its still soaked.

6. compressed air for about 30 minutes dries out your shoes pretty well.

7. Lube chain next chance you get. And dont forget to wash off those nasty water spots.

8. When you get where ever you are going, thank God that you made it there in one piece.

EDIT: I rode home from work this morning andsure enough it was raining...So i paid close attention to everything i was doing. One thing i noticed was:

9. Try to rely more on engine braking than your brakes themselves. But be sure to roll off the throttle smoothly.

That it all for now.