Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

Tonights commute home needs a theme song!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uebInqG1pJI

damn all i had tonight was bloody rain and slow arse drivers. back tyre still has some wax on it so abit slippery but all good, tomorrow is suppost to be worse.

where's work for you gpxpunk?

arndell park dude, DHL, on the great western hwy.

Ahh yeah, what's your role? Lots of transport companies around there huh, fastrack, toll etc and the supermarkets too.

Ihad 2 errands to run tonight in the pouring rain, about 60km city driving.

First hour, no worries, warm even without the neck section of my jacket and dry.

2nd hour, neck getting COLD, neck section goes on, hands arms, waist and knees start getting wet and then on the m7 on the way home COLD. I got a feeling Winter's gonna need some appropriate "preparation" to not turn into an "i-cycle".... get it, get it.....

i will ride the postie into town when its raining so i dont get the ninja wet

As for highway riding in the wet when i have to, its not much fun especially when you are stuck behind cars in single lane and they throw up alot of mist, further reducing your vision.

zx-10r wrote:As for highway riding in the wet when i have to, its not much fun especially when you are stuck behind cars in single lane and they throw up alot of mist, further reducing your vision.

+1, it sucks being on the M4, sitting behind people that are just throwing blankets of mist up and over you... and they don't understand why you just want to get out in front (sitting there with their wipers on, in their nice warm cars), but still, I wouldn't trade it for the car unless it was hailing or flooding (oh, wait, it's done that twice this week already -- oh well). All this week has sucked for the runs home, hopefully tonight will be a bit cleaner/clearer...

I ride the F3 every day to work, rain hail, shine. I would have to say that the best way is to drop speed and keep as upright as possible.
Keep off the middle of the lane and stay to the edges of the lane. the freeway is actually better than the normal roads as all you have to do is turn your head slightly, rain slides off. RAINX is a great invention.

The first Oxley run last year was a shocker & the main problem was waterproofing of gloves then the cold wind on the wet gloves, the waterproofing was non existent so I did a heap of research including a magazine article on waterproof gloves & this was the pick of the bunch:
http://www.bmw-motorrad.com/com/en/inde ... /index.jsp
The mag test included immersion of the gloves in a bucket of water for a few minutes well as far as I am concerned that's a test & a half so I was sold on these..... bonus they were cheep as they were on sale at Procycles Hornsby.
I got to test the gloves this week & although a bit thick I soon got used to them & they were dry & cozy.... bring on winter

I don't mind the rain a great deal. It helps to have a good set of wet weather gear though - there's been afew times i've picked up the pace on the m5 a to save my leather jacket from an absolute drenching. I've lost a pair of dainese gloves to getting wet - i find that is pretty common with the Italian brands. Get them thoroughly wet once and next thing you got a hole the size of a 50 piece in the streched parts (palm and finger joints). My last pair of gloves were Astar GP Plus' and they lasted me 9 months of continuous riding - and got soaked through a few times. But best to get a pair of cheap textile gloves for the wet days - they are warmer and sort themselves out in a storm.

As for tyres, i've only ever had to buy one new set of tyres - PP's which i got on a wet day. The guy who fitted them tryed to wipe of some mould wax with some alcohol before i left. Needless to say i took it very easy on the way home. Since then they are fine on wet days - even with a 4inch square off and down to indicators they give good feedback and stay true (unless you hit those tar strips they use to fix cracks)

Best test i gave them was potholed thunderbolts way in the pouring rain for 2 hours going up to walcha. So much rain that it flooded my boots & every downshift was like stepping in a puddle. On the same trip me and my mate (same tyres) were stuck behind a horsefloat which hid away a nice 15cm deep, 5 metre long puddle we hit at 110k's - that wasn't hairy at all! Needles to say that we did the oxley the next day in damp equipment! Still its got nothing on the guy with the titanium ZX10 traversing a puddle in his avatar.

Hopefully it doesnt rain tomorrow because i get new 2cts and it would be nice to not have to wait to scrub em in

If you don't want to go through the tenuous chore of scrubbing a new tyre in and you own a paddock stand, get a sheet of 80 or 100 grit sand paper, get the bike up on the stand and start it up. Knock it into 1st gear (hold the front break on when you do this, just in case ) and let the clutch out. You can now give the tyre a good sanding to get the wax off it. It only takes a minute or two and you're ready to go.

The worst thing about riding in the rain isn't the slippery roads or the reduced grip, its the dickheads in cars that seem to come out like flying ants when it rains. They seem to switch off even more than normal when its wet, not using indicators at all, driving in the dark/fog with no lights, not even bothering to look in mirrors/head check. I find the best way to avoid a bit of bother in the rain is to treat ALL cars like a live bomb. Keep as much distance as you can from them, and if the opportunity arises, get in front of them as quickly and safely as you can. This way they more or less have to acknowledge your existance. I have been commuting on my bike for 2 years in the wonderful regular weather patterns of Toowoomba and I haven't had a prang yet (yet, I say). I don't mind riding in the rain unless its winter, then you freeze.

Whoever said move to melbourne it never rains is kidding themself

I Did my learners test in the rain, I did my licence test in the rain. First ever "sh**te myself moment on my Postie turning a corner in the wet and rear hit a patch of oil and bit of sideways, so I always take corners cautiously when wet.

I frequently have been caught out in the rain deciding to go out for a run through the dandenongs at the first sign of sunshine, back on my CT110, and both my gpx's. Im very cautious in the wet, i don't take corners quickly just try to be smooth with gear changes and have found tyres tend to grip ok. I don't find riding in the rain too bad except when its also extremely windy being on a 250 having to lean the bike to keep it straight whilst getting pelted with rain isn't the most enjoyable riding experience, but there is a sense of achievement when you reach your destination.

anyone ridden in the rain with a ZXR250? i still haven't done it yet and i dunno what smooth gear shifting means my ZXR goes crazy most of the times in the dry, my rear slides around wen i stop....any tips?

weekend_rider wrote:I don't find riding in the rain too bad except when its also extremely windy being on a 250 having to lean the bike to keep it straight whilst getting pelted with rain isn't the most enjoyable riding experience, but there is a sense of achievement when you reach your destination.

+1, that is going to be winter for me...

kevindinho wrote:anyone ridden in the rain with a ZXR250? i still haven't done it yet and i dunno what smooth gear shifting means my ZXR goes crazy most of the times in the dry, my rear slides around wen i stop....any tips?

Yes, well, sorta. I have a GPX250 (1990), and if I downshift and release too quickly I can get some squirming as *all that power* goes to the back and it compression locks. I try NOT to do it, but I have done it, and it's not nice when you're not expecting it (i.e.: quick stops for red lights). Might try letting the clutch out slower? or look into replacing the tyre if you still can't get a grip on it... It definitely shouldn't be THAT powerful.