As many of you know, I ride in the rain A LOT. It has gotten to the point where weather forecasters call me in the mornings to see if I’m taking the bike in order to give out the day’s forecast. Apparently, I’m cheaper and more accurate than a Doppler.
Seriously, if I’m on a bike, water will fall. That said, I don’t prevent something as petty as a Cat 5 Hurricane impede my two-wheeled enjoyment. I spent most of the summer of 2009 riding through the amazing east coast mountains. At one point, I had a storm system chase me from Massachusetts to Louisiana; it was also some of the most enjoyable riding I’ve ever done. Yes, when done properly, riding in wet conditions can be just as fun as riding in the dry.
Don’t believe me? These were taken in the rain:
Or hell, just ask this guy:
SBK 2008 - Donington Park - Kiyonari Show The first and most important thing while riding in the rain is to not be afraid. Seriously, don’t be scared, it’s just water. The main mistake I see people doing over and over again is that they tense up as soon as they hit the tiniest amount of moisture and seem to forget everything they’ve ever learned about riding. It’s like water transports riders to the first time they ever got on a bike, from deathgrip on the bars to locked elbows and jerky throttle control. The worst part is when riders don’t realize this when they crash and blame the accident on the conditions, which only makes them more nervous and accident prone next time they hit water. Don’t be afraid, it’s just a little water.
Preparation
Like any good boyscout knows, it pays to be prepared. It makes all the difference in the world. There is nothing quite as uncomfortable (this side of a proctologist’s office) as putting on wet gear. Specially putting on wet gloves, it’s about as pleasant as a surprise visit from the IRS. The whole point of having rain gear is not to keep you dry because water impedes your riding, it keeps you dry for the sole purpose of keeping you comfortable so you can enjoy your riding.
You might have the bad habit of leaving your peripherals in your pockets when you’re riding (like me), but you really need to make sure to put them away in a weatherproof container (Ie: baggie) whilst enjoying a moisture filled ride. Having to worry about weather or not your iphone is being turned into a shiny paperweight while hitting an apex is quite counterproductive, so do yourself a favour and put it in a bag. Wet bills suck too, so put your wallet with it while you’re at it.
Treating your helmet’s visor with an anti fog or rain repellent is invaluable, being able to see where you’re going is usually a positive thing. Just make sure that whatever product you’re using wont damage the visor. The visor that came stock with my Suomy is actually really impressive at repelling fog. But there are a myriad of product out there for your enjoyment.
And now we arrive at tyres. Tyres are just about the single most important external factor when riding in the rain. Make sure they’re properly inflated and not overly worn. My favourite rain tyre is the Pilot Road 2. It’s awesome. It makes wet pavement feel like dry sandpaper. Supreme stiction, grip galore, faithful friction! It’s everything the snake oil vendor promised you and more. If you haven’t noticed by now, I love those tyres. Just make sure you have a good tyre with plenty of tread left so it can displace water. If you’re going out with worn tyres in the rain you might as well just beat up your bike in the garage and shoot yourself in the shoulder. It might be cheaper and less painful that way.
Riding
And now for the actual riding. Like I said before, the most important part is to not be afraid, STAY LOOSE! Tensing up will only end in tears. I know it might be hard to do, but you really need to will yourself to relax, your natural instinct will be to grab the bars harder in an attempt to have more control, but just the opposite would be the effect. Smooth really is the name of the game when you’re in a reduced friction environment. You really need to make sure to be gentle but assertive with all your inputs, from shifts to braking. No jerky or overtly harsh input, so guys, not like dating in high school.
Throttle Control
Let me stress this again, SMOOTH, like Fonzi. Unless you want to engage in super happy lowside funtimes, don’t ham fist the throttle, open linearly, close linearly. That doesn’t mean that you can’t drive out of corners, just do it a little more carefully than you usually would.
You rear-end is gonna slide and step out, that’s normal. When this happens, decrease the throttle SLIGHTLY until you get it back in line and then hit it again. Do not, under any circumstances, chop the throttle entirely; you will loose a lot of control over the bike if you do.
By keeping on the throttle, you can control when and how the rear end comes back into place You can help the rear of the bike get in place with your hips but you don’t have to, by keeping positive throttle the bike will eventually right itself. Having your rear tyre spinning is not necessarily a bad thing, it’s just different. It’s actually kinda fun once you get the hang of it. I really recommend most riders to go out on a dirt bike to get used to the feeling of the rear stepping out.
Throttle control is one of the reasons why it’s so important to stay loose on the bike. If you’re tense, you wont be able to be smooth, and you’ll be prone to losing traction at the most inopportune moments. So always remember, hold the bars like a twinkie.
Body Position
Most people make the mistake of hanging off less in the rain when it’s actually counterproductive to do so. Hanging off less will reduce your contact patch, which in turn reduces available grip. Reduced grip in a reduced friction environment spells s-u-f-f-e-r-i-n-g.
You just have to be really careful with your transitions as you really can’t muscle the bike around like you can when it’s dry. Be sure to be properly positioned before tipping in and try not to adjust your position mid-lean. And make sure you have good footing , slipping off pegs is not an enjoyable experience.
It’s important to be light on the seat, when the bike loses grip for a fraction of a second, it will want to buckle to right itself. Keep your weight on the pegs and let the bike do it’s thing under you. By keeping your weight down, the movement will affect you a whole lot less and you’ll have much more control over the bike if you lose traction.
As you can see in the pictures, i don’t really do anything different when I’m riding in the rain, it’s all just mental.
Braking
I don’t like to use my rear brake at all when I’m riding on wet pavement, unless it’s at parking lot speeds. The rear is just too easy to lock up and loose control over. Unless you’ve got Haga-like braking skills and control, I’d advise you to stay away from the right pedal as well. Or if you’re insane, like Kiyonari on the video above, you can slam on the rear and back it into corners like a motard.
Obviously, your brakes will be a lot less effective in the wet, so plan accordingly and brake well before you usually would. The most important thing here is to be progressive and smooth. Don’t slam on the brakes, don’t grab a handful. If you brake too hard too soon, you probably wont recover from a front end slide; whereas if it happens during progressive braking you can recognize the point at which you lose traction and recover.
Shifting
I like to use a lot of engine braking, regardless of surface conditions. It’s always a good practice to rev match when downshifting, the only problem is that if you don’t do it properly, the rear will want to step out. When you’re on a wet pavement, the probability of that happening goes up exponentially. If you haven’t mastered it in the dry don’t use tons of engine braking in the wet, please, Darwin might claim you. But if you do have good mastery of rev matching, engine braking can be a very valuable tool to help you slow down the bike. Just be prepared for the rear to want to go sideways.
As for upshifting, I would actually recommend short shifting a bit to soften the torque curve, it really helps to avoid driving out a little too hard and ending up as a hood ornament.
Line Selection
I always try to ride inside of one of the “grooves” carved out by the cars or bikes that went in front of me. That pavement will be dryer than the less traveled middle of the road and offer better traction. I try to stay on the outside line as dirt and debris will tend to collect in the middle, and cleaner pavement leads to happier tyres, which in my experience leads to less road rash.
Always remember, keep the shiny side up and have fun!
Follow these tips at your own peril; any comments, additions, or scathing criticisms are welcome.
