rain ride ? yay or nay ? just curious -----

**Elizdad** · 11-05-20

so it rained most of the day here in central washington - i rode on tuesday in about 60 degrees but very dry - just the way i like it - but definitely not today -

i have ridden in the rain in the past - but it wasn't exactly a choice - either didn't make it to a dry spot before the wet hit - or was on a road trip of some sort and it just happened with no cover for miles - -

my question is, do any of you CHOOSE to leave the house, off to the hardware store or wherever, when the skies are letting loose ? or do you make the wuss decision and take the cage ?

**emlevy** · 11-05-20

The car. There’s nothing wussy about taking four wheels.

**Daboo** · 11-06-20

Originally Posted by Elizdad

...my question is, do any of you CHOOSE to leave the house, off to the hardware store or wherever, when the skies are letting loose ? or do you make the wuss decision and take the cage ?

I don't mind at all riding to the store in the rain. I have kind of a reputation for riding no matter what the weather is.

For me, part of the decision process is where I am going. I commuted year around in any weather as long as it wasn't snowing. And the commute was an hour each way. With the right gear, it is fine.

But...where am I going? When I commuted to work, I left a warm house and parked at work. I was able to park in a parking garage, but even if I didn't, I would walk inside and put my gear where it could dry out. At the end of the day, I put on the dry gear, walked outside to the bike and went home.

But let's say I'm going from church 10 miles away to Fred Meyer on the way home, less than a mile away from the church. And then after that, I'm stopping at Costco about 5 miles away. What do I do with my gear? Take it off in the parking lot? And put it back on in the rain? Or wear it into the store, and take it off and put it into my shopping cart?

Or another example would be that I ride the bike to the prison. I park outside in the rain. I take off my gear and put it in the panniers and top box...wet. Three hours later, I stand outside in the rain putting wet gear on. Nope. Doesn't happen.

I don't mind riding in the rain. I don't mind riding in the dark. But I don't want to ride in the rain in the dark.

I hope that helps.

Chris

**BoxerBits** · 11-06-20

Originally Posted by Elizdad

...
my question is, do any of you CHOOSE to leave the house, off to the hardware store or wherever, when the skies are letting loose ?

Morning Elizdad

Short answer :- Yes.

Long answer :- Yes, but then again, I originate from a part of the world that's gets a fair bit of the wet stuff. Try it with the right clothing, you'd might even enjoy the experience.

Sent from my moto g(8) power lite using Tapatalk

**DJ123** · 11-06-20

you will only get more confident in yours and the bike abilities if you ride it in as many conditions as possible. If you are then out and get caught by some unexpected weather, you are going to be fine as you know how to ride and the bike behaves.

It's one of the reasons i have always ridden all year round, and try to ride on all sorts of roads. Better preparation and knowledge means you are more adaptable to situations as they arise.

**Dalesman** · 11-06-20

Potentially, riding in the rain can make you a better rider, smoother on the throttle and the gentler brakes and anticipating manouevres well ahead. You learn what the tyres can cope with, which is generally more than we imagine. I don't choose to ride in the rain, but with the right gear and a pinlock visor to prevent steaming up, I'm quite happy.
Unless of course it's apocalyptic rain...

**Gunther** · 11-06-20

Right, I don't mind riding in the rain, but not in the city, here you'll find cast iron manholes, iron rails, and signals painted on the tarmac with oil paints (I don't know if this is the correct translation), and all of them are slippery even on foot, wearing sneakers...
Outside of cities, no problem (aside my rain gears that started to leak

), particularly in France and Austria, where draining tarmac is extensively used to pave roads

**Gunther** · 11-06-20

I add that riding in the rain is not so fun as doing that in a warm dry weather, no "extreme bends", nor quick left/rights

**Richard230** · 11-06-20

I never ride during the first rain of the season in California where it hasn't rained for the past 8 months. A little rain mixed with 9 months of dripping oil and antifreeze, plus 90 mph speeds by "pony" cars, pickups and SUVs, makes for a very dangerous riding environment. Let the highway mayhem commence. But it is probably great for increasing the parts inventory in salvage yards.

**ccramerusc** · 11-06-20

In my 2 decades of commuting and road trips I have ridden tens of thousands of miles in the rain. That said, I don't enjoy it, nor do I intentionally do it. I will not ride to work if it's raining in the morning. Mostly because it is a pain to deal with all my rain gear at work. In all these years I am still scared to corner in the rain. Road trips are a little different for me. I typically will zip up/gear up and keep going as opposed to stopping for shelter. I've done very long days (500+ miles) in the rain, but that's usually on freeway roads for me. I feel much more safe on a freeway in the rain.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

**Richard230** · 11-06-20

I never feel safe on U.S. freeways, especially near urban areas. It is the other drivers that I worry about who are more interested in playing with their cell phones or their car video displays than watching where they are going. And the danger is very much worse in any sort of rainy condition.

**Rev Ken** · 11-06-20

Living in the Lake District I wouldn't get many rides, especially at this time of year, if I didn't ride in the rain!

**Daboo** · 11-06-20

There's a saying I heard on a forum once. "If you don't ride in the rain, you don't ride in Seattle." Maybe not 100% accurate, but if you aren't willing to ride in the rain in Seattle, you will get very few days of riding till full on summer.

Chris

**Richard230** · 11-06-20

Originally Posted by Daboo

There's a saying I heard on a forum once. "If you don't ride in the rain, you don't ride in Seattle." Maybe not 100% accurate, but if you aren't willing to ride in the rain in Seattle, you will get very few days of riding till full on summer.

Chris

When my daughter was living in Ballard, just north of Seattle, she rode all year long on her R65LS. And that included when it snowed during the winter. She would ride on side streets and place her feet on the icy pavement to either side of the bike and use them like outriggers to keep her upright as she slid along. I recall her telling me that she hated crossing the floating bridge to get back and froth to work after it had snowed heavily. Gobs of snow would fly off of the roofs of the vehicles ahead of her and cover her helmet until she could brush it off so that she could see. Not my idea of fun, but it didn't seem to bother her too much. However, she did find the constant rain depressing and was happy to return to drier California 20 years ago.

**Elizdad** · 11-07-20

Originally Posted by Richard230

When my daughter was living in Ballard, just north of Seattle, she rode all year long on her R65LS. And that included when it snowed during the winter. She would ride on side streets and place her feet on the icy pavement to either side of the bike and use them like outriggers to keep her upright as she slid along. I recall her telling me that she hated crossing the floating bridge to get back and froth to work after it had snowed heavily. Gobs of snow would fly off of the roofs of the vehicles ahead of her and cover her helmet until she could brush it off so that she could see. Not my idea of fun, but it didn't seem to bother her too much. However, she did find the constant rain depressing and was happy to return to drier California 20 years ago.

wow - that's awesome ! does she still have the 65 ?

**Richard230** · 11-07-20

Originally Posted by Elizdad

wow - that's awesome ! does she still have the 65 ?

She certainly does. It has about 100K miles on the clock so far. This photo was taken about 10 years ago.

**Elizdad** · 11-07-20

beautiful !

**Dom Mecca** · 11-10-20

Having a basic set of rain gear is a plus. I appreciate frog togs. They are big and easily go on over your gear. Once you get a decent dry system together is not so bad at all. It’s invigorating in fact. I had a scary moment recently riding straight toward my home (where the eye of the storm was forming) the rain was coming down super hard AND it was insane windy lightning and all. The wind was blowing so hard that even though I was leaning into it I felt like the wind was gonna slide my wheels sideways. I was about 5 minutes away from my house which is right off of a highway(70mph) the last bit of civilisation before the stretch of maybe 3 Mike’s to my home is a little bar. I threw in the towel and pulled in. The tress where breaking and lightning zapping down as I came to the door. I could see people inside. An old man invites me in where there is 8 good old boys singing and picking around a table. They gifted me a beer and I called my wife to come pick me up. It was nice enjoying beautiful music made that night in a safe shelter. I left my bike outside that night. I wasn’t worried about it being hurt or bothered by anyone because the owners of the bar living right there and it’s like a family local safe spot. When I showed up at 9 next morning she was safe and sound. I had another deal in the I-10 going though New Orleans in the rain. Really nasty stretch of damaged asphalt super bumpy and what happens? My left side mirror blinker assembly falls right off of my r1150rt. There was no way of stopping for it. Long story short I pulled off ASAP and got a hotel for the night. Called the nearest bmw shop which was in Lafyette And they quoted me a price $300-$600 or something for the part. The nice old guy says your welcome to go up in the attic and see if you can find anything up there that will work but no promises. So up to the attic I go. I look around and there isn’t much up there and then in a box way in the corner I pull out a maroon coloured left side mirror blinker assembly for r1100/1150rt with a pretty bad spider web crack in the mirror but half of it was fine and definitely got me back in the road. The boys gave that to me and sent me on my way. Oh and as I was going down the I-10 through the New Orleans stretch where I lost the part. I see it and this time it’s not rainy and it’s daytime(I forgot to mention when I lost that part it was about 8 or 9 at night. I pulled over and grabbed it but it was ruined.

**Daboo** · 11-10-20

Dom, you reminded me of my ride to Wall, SD to see the Badlands. I wish now that I had turned on the video camera, but my focus was on surviving, not on gathering Internet fame and stardom for my stupidity.

I was leaving Cody, WY and had gone through Beartooth Pass. It was early summer and the hot temps south of me were causing huge thunderstorms. I missed some, but late in the afternoon on the final stretch to Wall, there was little choice. I could see it ahead, and the weather map showed I would go through the center of it. You know, that place where the green turns to yellow, and then to orange... There was little choice. There was no where to pull off the road. There was no civilization to speak of. No towns, let alone any motels to spend the night. My thought was to press on and hope to minimize the time I'd be in the thunderstorm.

I have to confess that I used to be on aircraft accident investigation boards while in the USAF as an aircraft maintenance officer. A year and a day prior to flying into RAF Mildenhall, I'd been at the accident debrief of a C-141 that was ripped apart by a thunderstorm. I had no illusions of how bad things could be.

On the outskirts, the rain started. Hard. There were a couple inches it seemed on the road surface that hadn't had time to drain off. While I thought about that for a brief second, the wind picked me up and shoved me hard into the other lane. There was no time to prevent the effect of the gust, only to thank God that no one was coming towards me. At some point, a truck came up behind me. I turned on my four-way flashers and motioned for them to pass me. They would later meet up with me at a gas station on the other side and marvel that I had made it through that. I seriously thought about dying, and decided that was acceptable. I'm a Christian and believe in that verse that says "To live is Christ, and to die is gain." This was a time of seeing if my words that I believed in, really meant anything to me.

Besides the rain that was coming down sideways, the hail came down as well. The bike did well, and while the hail that was the size of golf balls hurt, I tucked down close to the tank bag and was thankful that the Madstad windshield was still in one piece. The windshield and Olympia gear did a marvelous job of keeping most of the hail off me.

Eventually, I got through it all. If I had stopped, I would've had no shelter from the hail or rain. I was totally soaked, but I wasn't worried about it. The temps inside the thunderstorm were a good 20 degrees lower than outside the thunderstorm and I dried off by the time I reached the motel in Wall, SD.

I feel like when we encounter challenges like that, we realize how much we can take...and it is a lot more than we would normally realize. In my case, I feel like I have a guardian angel watching over me. (You can give credit to whatever you want.) When I left for the "Sanity Ride" I wrote about in another thread, I could see some rain coming, and some was hitting my visor. I did a quick check of what I was wearing and quickly dismissed it. I've been through a lot worse and this would be no big deal.

And in the end, the ride I did was so much better than sitting behind a keyboard wishing I was riding.

Chris

**lateral_G** · 11-11-20

I had a similar experience to some of you gentlemen, but I was far more inexperienced, so I didn't make the best decisions.

I was riding from Detroit to Columbus on a rainy day about 3 years ago and relied on weather forecasts to conclude that the worst of the rainstorm will be near Detroit. I should have checked the radar, as Chris did, and not just the forecast. When I started, it was essentially dry, so I thought I'll be fine all the way. About halfway, while I was on the I-75, the storm kicked in so fast that I was completely soaked in a few minutes. And then, the winds were just like Chris described above - the gusts were so strong that in spite of trying to steer against them, I was getting blown from one shoulder to the other. At one point, I was passed by a semi just moments after I got blown into the left lane and then returned to the right lane. That's when I decided that either I was incapable of riding in that weather, or it was too strong for me, so I put on my hazards, crept along at around 30 mph on the shoulder, and pulled off at the next exit to wait out the worst of the storm.

My biggest problem with full-on thunderstorms is visibility - sometimes the rate of rainfall is so high that all I can see are the rivers on my helmet's visor. But I also dislike going out in the rain, although I can't avoid it sometimes because I don't have any other vehicle.

I haven't yet ridden in the snow, though. Have any of you on STs, GTs or any other such road-only bikes (i.e. not GSs, Africa Twins, etc.) ridden in the snow on street tires?

**Daboo** · 11-11-20

Originally Posted by lateral_G

...I haven't yet ridden in the snow, though. Have any of you on STs, GTs or any other such road-only bikes (i.e. not GSs, Africa Twins, etc.) ridden in the snow on street tires?

You don't want to ride in the snow.

I've been in snow, but only because I got caught in it. Snow is a four-lettered word. Hail is too. Snow is like riding on greased snot. Hail is like riding on ball bearings. If your two-wheeled vehicle turns into a unicycle...you will find yourself on the ground looking at it also on the ground. Ice is another four-lettered word. Trust me, there's a fourth letter in there someplace if you look close enough.

I've ridden down to 16F...but...there was no moisture on the road. And I was commuting, on the same roads I'd ridden on each day for years. I knew where the moisture would accumulate, and how to avoid that. I'd never have tried riding like that on a "fun" ride in the country where every turn is brand new to me.

You won't be able to hold your bike upright, even if you can stick your legs out like out-riggers. The bike is 470 lbs, even without luggage. If it is going down, it is going down and there's nothing you can do to stop it.

I found the Rounders website many years ago where they had riders who shared how to ride in virtually any kind of weather. There were a few of them that actually put studs into their motorcycle tires and rode all winter in the snow and ice.

Chris

**CagivaRider** · 11-11-20

Daboo and I live in Seattle. I commuted on my motorcycle into downtown Seattle for decades. I perfected my raingear so that I was always dry - on the inside - when I got to work. We have one car and two drivers. My wife usually takes the car to work, only occasionally riding her motorcycle. That leaves me to run all my errands on the motorcycle - rain or shine. I don't ride when it snows. Commuting home on a major freeway is pretty spooky when it snows after I get to work. Like many of you in the higher latitudes riding home after work in the dark on rainy nights is a given. Not my idea of a great time, but at least I get in a ride!

**Elizdad** · 11-11-20

Originally Posted by Daboo

You don't want to ride in the snow.

I've been in snow, but only because I got caught in it. Snow is a four-lettered word. Hail is too. Snow is like riding on greased snot. Hail is like riding on ball bearings. If your two-wheeled vehicle turns into a unicycle...you will find yourself on the ground looking at it also on the ground. Ice is another four-lettered word. Trust me, there's a fourth letter in there someplace if you look close enough.

I've ridden down to 16F...but...there was no moisture on the road. And I was commuting, on the same roads I'd ridden on each day for years. I knew where the moisture would accumulate, and how to avoid that. I'd never have tried riding like that on a "fun" ride in the country where every turn is brand new to me.

You won't be able to hold your bike upright, even if you can stick your legs out like out-riggers. The bike is 470 lbs, even without luggage. If it is going down, it is going down and there's nothing you can do to stop it.

I found the Rounders website many years ago where they had riders who shared how to ride in virtually any kind of weather. There were a few of them that actually put studs into their motorcycle tires and rode all winter in the snow and ice.

Chris

snow is definitely a no go ! and if you think doing down in snow sucks, just wait till you try to pick that thing up -

**Daboo** · 11-11-20

One thing I've learned over the years is ...no one cares except you that you were able to ride into work through the snow and you only dropped your bike three times. It makes a nice story on a motorcycle forum, but chances are, none of us will see you. We'll all tell you how sorry you are that you broke your ankle and the bike is totalled.

But we aren't going to pay the medical bills, and we aren't going to buy you a new bike.

Chris

**BoxerBits** · 11-12-20

In my opinion, continually using your legs as outriders is something that will increase the risk of lower limb injury should the worse happen.

You might want to try out riding off road to increase your confidence riding where levels of grip are significantly lower than you'd normally encounter while riding on the road.

Keep shiny side up.

Sent from my moto g(8) power lite using Tapatalk

**Bryan Baker** · 11-15-20

It is fun driving in the rain but you have to be extra-careful.

**GregWoo** · 12-03-20

I had a bad experience of riding in the rain, got stuck being sick for two weeks..

**Womble** · 12-06-20

I took my bike in for it's service on Saturday, poured with rain for the 10 miles there, hated it, but mostly I think as I've ridden so little this year and none in the wet that my confidence was shot, really surprised me, maybe need to revisit the advanced riding I took so so long ago! It was also horribly cold, 4 degrees C

I used to be confident in the rain and cold when commuting, but leisure riding has made me forget those skills

At least I can pick my day to collect, so should be able to find a dry day!

**Elizdad** · 12-07-20

no matter where, when, or why i go, the most important thing is making it back ---- preferably alive and well - we all know the challenges/risks of riding even in perfect conditions - start throwing in inclement weather elements and our chances of returning home unscathed decrease significantly - me, i want to ride again ------- so i'll wait -

you other guys, be safe !

**Elizdad** · 12-07-20

Originally Posted by BoxerBits

Morning Elizdad

Short answer :- Yes.

Long answer :- Yes, but then again, I originate from a part of the world that's gets a fair bit of the wet stuff. Try it with the right clothing, you'd might even enjoy the experience.

Sent from my moto g(8) power lite using Tapatalk

good point Nigel - i'll have to give that some thought - thanks -

**Elizdad** · 12-07-20

thanks everyone for your thoughts - certainly gives me some incentive to at least explore the possibility of investing in gear that would increase my desire to venture out into the wet and wild - i do dislike not riding -

**Daboo** · 12-07-20

Originally Posted by Elizdad

no matter where, when, or why i go, the most important thing is making it back ---- preferably alive and well - we all know the challenges/risks of riding even in perfect conditions - start throwing in inclement weather elements and our chances of returning home unscathed decrease significantly - me, i want to ride again ------- so i'll wait -

you other guys, be safe !

I understand what you feel like. The location makes a difference too. Here in the Seattle area, the rain is usually a light rain. Occasionally, we get some downpours, but not often. Where you live, I suspect when it rains, you're getting downpours and possibly thunder, lightning and hail. Hail is a four-lettered word.

One last thought. The instructors at the Advanced Motorcycle Safety Course I took said that our tires have about 85% of the normal traction in the rain. In other words, its a lot more than we think we have.

I try to ride in the summer, the way I would in the winter. By that I mean I try to avoid things like metal manhole covers, white painted lines, etc. In the summer, they are no big deal. In the winter, they can be pretty slick. It becomes something natural that I don't even think about much.

Chris

Thread Tools

Display

Bookmarks

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions