Rain Riding

[pinger05]

My family and I are moving to Germany within the next couple months. With this impending move I sold my car and am relying totally on my 78 Honda CB750K for transportation. The beast is lovingly maintaned and runs pretty well considering her age.

Since it is getting to be spring time I need to know if anyone has any advice for riding in the rain. I have a complete gortex rainsuit that keeps me pretty dry. So far the only complaints that I have are that I need to take the REALLY long way home (the really long way has almost zero traffic) and that I feel really nervous taking even a mild turn. twisty.javascript:emoticon(':oops:')
Embarassed

I have a KBC Shoei helmet with a flip up visor. Will it take to a coat of rainx?

Should I be learly of the twisties when it rains?

During the rain I ride much slower than traffic (I do the speed limit) and the cagers like to tailgate. Any advice here?javascript:emoticon(':frusty:')
Fustrated

Thanks for the help.

[Lion_Lady]

DO NOT use Rain-X on your visor! It is made for glass and will damage your visor.

Use Plexus or Zooke, etc. Either should be available at your local motorcycle shop, both are made for plastics specifically.

As for riding in the rain, it is NOT as dangerous as you make it out to be. Yes you do need to take it a bit easier. But mostly watch out for slick surfaces like painted lines, metal plates, LEAVES, etc. No need to go THAT much slower that traffic backs up behind you.

P

[poppygene]

What the Lady said.

Just make sure you've got fresh, good quality tires and that they have plenty of tread remaining. I've seen tires that were only a couple years old that became hard and lost their ability to find good traction, even though they looked fine.

[TechTMW]

Aye. With good quality tires, you only lose about 10% of your traction, so you just don't want to push the bike to it's limits. The only time you -really- have to be careful is until about 10 mins after it starts raining. Until the streets have had a time to wash off, all that oil that collects in the pavement floats to the surface in the initial rain.

[pinger05]

Use Plexus or Zooke, etc. Either should be available at your local motorcycle shop, both are made for plastics specifically.

My local motorcycle store is 45 miles away. I sure do love the Mojave desert <Sarcasm>':frusty:

Thank you for the suggestions.

[JJ]

I've done plenty of rain and the best thing I can recommend are ways to stay dry. If your tires are decent you won't have a problem. Just take it real easy in the turns.

On my last trip I rode 7 out of 10 days in heavy rain. Problems: Boots soaked through, leather gloves soaked, and a windshield that when the rain came over the top the water went right in my face. What to buy, rubber boots, rubber gloves, a taller windshield.

JJ

[the_first_lonewolf]

I've found that a good spray silicone (not the type for boots but the industrial type) keeps my boots waterproof....other then a rain suit to keep the rest of you dry.

The only prob I have on rainy days here is the wind, my sporty has the solid rear disk wheel and really pushs on the crosswinds.

Lonewolf

[Itzamna]

Watch out for the oil build ups as well. These get very slick in the rain. It really gathers at the bottom of hills. That is how I had my only wreck, braking at the bottom of a hill and hit an oil spot in the rain.

Another thing I've found to help a lot is to engine brake as much as possible. Do a lot of downshifting to slow yourself down. Then you don't have to worry about locking wheels up and such. You'd be suprised how much you can slow yourself down, without even touching the brakes.

Keep your distance from other vehicles giving you plenty of reaction time. You can never have enough, especially in adverse conditions.

[Skier]

I've read Turtle Wax works well for keeping the water from blocking your view on your visor. It's worked decently for me, might want to give it a shot.

[madmax]

Just plain ol Pledge (furniture polish) will work well on your visor or windshield for that matter. Been using it for years, even makes the next batch of bugs clean off easy. Watch the roads when wet, especially after it first begins to rain. That is when they are slickest. My Joe Rocket Ballistic gear sure keeps me nice and dry and I would'nt even think of riding in the rain with out it. Just "gear up" & ride easy and you shouldn't have any problems!