Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

This week has seen me on my first wet roads, and today, my first steady rain.

My observation so far is that 2 things are influenced in a major way.

Rain & Vision: Didn't realise how much having rainy-visor-vision changes the experience of riding! For me so far I have been more "on edge", and felt less in control of the situation because of the limited ability to scan the road and surrounds, and didn't find riding in the rain anywhere near as enjoyable as even riding on wet roads, but with no rain.

Wet roads & Traction: I've NOT lost any traction at all, but the fact the roads are slippery has me being very cautious. I've been Washing off speed, maybe 10km/h off a lot of the time, especially corners, almost to the point of not leaning going around roundabouts and very slow corners which feels totally uncoordinated. I'm comfortable with this and it feels sensible.

I'm happy to keep learning and observing and trying different techniques to find what suits (tried steering with knees, am conscious of weight distribution and braking loads to not overload the front when turning/cornering), it just seems to me to make such a large difference to the experience of riding thought I'd bring it up, and it's hard to know just HOW far you are inside the limits on 2 wheels when it's wet.

Yeah its tough. I rode a couple of times in the wet. First time was from the Putty to Windsor in the dark of night and pouring rain. I had two wimps on a zx10 & zx12 following a 250R carrying L plates...

Its not comfortable but when its the only way to get home, you get home! My advice is to avoid the wet where you can. If its pouring, may as well grab a coffee and hang around for the rain to back off a bit. If you have to, ride very cautiously! Its all a learning curve! Stay upright, sounds like your doing well thus far!

Hint:

Ride in a gear higher than you would in normal conditions and

Lean off the bike a little more than you normally would on the road when cornering to keep the bike as upright as possible.

Me smooth with the wrist

fireyrob wrote:Yeah its tough. I rode a couple of times in the wet. First time was from the Putty to Windsor in the dark of night and pouring rain. I had two wimps on a zx10 & zx12 following a 250R carrying L plates...

Its not comfortable but when its the only way to get home, you get home! My advice is to avoid the wet where you can. If its pouring, may as well grab a coffee and hang around for the rain to back off a bit. If you have to, ride very cautiously! Its all a learning curve! Stay upright, sounds like your doing well thus far!

Rob, where you leave that can of HTFU?

mate i enjoy riding in the rain, gets the blood pumping and lets face it, you wont always be able to pick when you have to ride, sometimes you will have to ride through the rain, and the more experience you can get in the wet, the better it is for you.

The first time i got caught out in the rain it started to hail and shortly after bucketing down, was quite a shock, but i got home much the same way you did.
Over time i explored my bike more and more and now i can comfortably lean the bike around corners where before i would basically be walking it. So i say get some practice, but take it easy.

The best advice I've got for riding in the rain is to keep relaxed. If you tense up all you inputs to the bike will be rough and you won't get the feedback you need. And what's the best way to be relaxed when riding in the rain? Ride in the rain a lot! It's actually heaps of fun and contrary to popular belief, your bike doesn't shrink in the rain

Good advice above. Something to bear in mind too is that some tyres are good in the wet. Some are bad- worst wet tyres I've encountered were Pirelli Match (keeeeeeeeeeeeeeerist they are bad- my girlfriend still has one on her bike-gotta get around to fixing that) Avon Roadrunner (no longer made thankfully- it also failed when it developed a golfball sized bulge in it) Michelin Macadams and Shinko Sportmaster Pros kinda suck in the wet too. Other Shinkos I use are great in the wet- Ultrasofts and Tour Masters.
Riding in the wet is great after a hot day with a light shower of rain. Only things that annoy me about riding in rain are cleaning the bike afterwards (and oiling chain if the bike has one) and boots filling with water.

Have to agree about the shinko's, though i must admit i haven't used my new tyres (can't remember what they are, but i think they are dunlop's) in the real stonking wet as yet.

What's Rain????
I live in Geelong, Victoria

Riding in the rain is a good skill to have under your belt. With the weather in Sydney this week, some of us have had little choice in the matter!

As well as the advice you've already received here, I'll add: be extra cautious of metal plates/manhole covers, white painted lines and of course, grease on the roads, as they tend to be extra slippery in these conditions. Also, steer clear of large puddles if you can, as you never know what could be underneath them.

MrWasabi wrote:Rob, where you leave that can of HTFU?

Drank it all at EC today in the wet

fireyrob wrote:My advice is to avoid the wet where you can.

I think the almost the reverse is true.
Riding isn't the wet isn't as comfortable, but with the right gear you can stay mostly dry.
Learn to ride well in the wet and the dry becomes easy.
Tim, you're doing the right things - wash off speed, take it easy and ride within your limits.
Learn to smooth everything out - acceleration, braking and cornering - and riding in the rain will become a very useful skill.
One day you'll get stuck - best be prepared.

You might gather that I never really understood fair weather riders
ty
PS. My first ever road ride was from the shop in Parramatta, to work in North Sydney, in pouring rain.
My second ride was the same day - home from North Sydney to Gosford, on the old road, in the dark, rain, and heavy fog.
I started the hard way

Try so rainX or fog off or something on the visor to help with the vision. Practice practice practice as stated. And trust that the bike is better than you are likely to be and was designed with rain in mind. The technique advice about reducing lean angle and speed is good but don't lean off the bike like you're trying to touch the ground . And if you are behind another vehicle, ride in their tracks where possible because there's likely to be less water remaining there.

Im happy to agree to disagree on this one. I can see the other side that it will make you a better rider. I wont be in a hurry for any rain filled Sunday rides when I FINALLY get back to some road riding. Or city commuting through the rain either. The baptism of fire for Ty in traffic and rain

Ive heard that smaller diameter tyres tend to help with more weight over the patch of tyre on the road v the wider sportsbike tyres like on my 10. Is this true or BS?

I'd be interested in the answer to that too - I'd heard that the smaller diameter tyres 'cut' through the water better.
But the postie is scarey to ride in the wet...

Well after having no bike for 5 weeks I was itching today....Was a slight break in the weather @ 2pm so I went for a blat thru the nasho and back up thru picton and the M5 home...And I loved the rain ....Nah just joking the rain was shit but being back on the bike was the best ....