We've started to get some rain here, so I thought I'd recycle a post I wrote last winter (and save it from the clutches of the TOB).
A ride this last weekend led to many more than one encounter with a wet, gravel-ridden blind corner. I was reminded of a couple of techniques that I find helpful when the conditions are less than ideal. Even if you're not a "rain rider", this still applies to you.
First, I hang off a lot more than usual. That way I can stand the bike up much more easily. It also reminds me not to be tight on the bars, which is easy to do--and even more dangerous--when conditions aren't ideal.
Second, if I'm already in a turn and all of a suden I see gravel or a damp patch or something that is going to affect your traction, I stand the bike up. There are a couple of ways to do this. If you're already hanging off, straighten your outer arm. It'll push the bike away from you and stand it up. It's almost like you're trying to throw the bike to the outside of the turn. Another way that works well is to step down on the outer peg. It'll straighten the bike up. I tend to do both--straighten the arm and step on the outside peg. You'll get an immediate response from your bike.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not recommending that you straighten up completely and blow the turn. Just stand the bike up a bit so that you have more traction and so that the wet/gravelly spot won't eat you and your bike for breakfast.
Third, even though I'm not a rear-braker, I cover the rear brake. You don't want to use your front brake when traction is not ideal.
Fourth, I don't expect the next corner to be anything like the "clean" corner I just went through. You never know what is around the next bend. Ride like it.
Fifth, and probably most important, I like to leave a big buffer. Don't measure the buffer by how much faster you can go through the "clean" corners. Ride as if each corner is a wet/gravel-ridden one. If you come around a blind turn and there is ice/water/gravel or whatever, you should have enough time and are traveling slowly enough that you can avoid going down.
Have a good and safe [moto]
