I'm not very experienced as far as riding in the rain and this question popped into my head yesterday while riding in the rain. I've read that you still have about 80% traction in the rain, is this correct and if so, how much can you safely lean into turns?
How much can you safely lean in wet rainy conditions?
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You can't come up with a figure because of all the variables.
Road composition, splooge composition, tire compound, speed, paint compostion, etc., etc..
If you're leaned over in a rainy sweeper and wheel scoots out, you were going too fast. Back tire is sorta fun; front tire will teach you to pray.
Road composition, splooge composition, tire compound, speed, paint compostion, etc., etc..
If you're leaned over in a rainy sweeper and wheel scoots out, you were going too fast. Back tire is sorta fun; front tire will teach you to pray.
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My confidence level for riding in the rain is extremely low now. I had started riding more in the rain and had changed to the more popular tires for wet riding. Unfortunately, there is more than water on the road and you never know how that will affect your day.
http://www.gl1800riders.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=67874&highlight=accident
http://www.gl1800riders.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=67874&highlight=accident
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kennyc wrote:
You can safely lean until you lose traction. Then it's no long safe.
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Here's a video:
Click Here to see it "Gettin' Squirrelly"
Click Here to see it "Gettin' Squirrelly"
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It's like knowing your limits -- no one knows them for sure until you go over the edge!!!
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Arn Butt Bill said it best. There is no definite answer. There are some roads that are unsafe to go straight on when its raining, but some of the newer, better surfaces grip quite well in the rain.
A little tip that I learned from riding with yellow_wolf is when riding in the rain just slide your foot on the pavement for a few feet. This will give you a very good idea of the available traction. Sometimes after doing this quick check for traction I have drug a peg in the rain, sometimes it scares the crap outta me to go straight at speed. I know, I know..... there is always the risk of the unseen like fuel spills, mud stuff like that, but hey, thats the chances you take riding in the rain.
FWIW; The new highway bill recently signed into law has new and improved mandated guidelines for skid rating on all road surfaces. This is great for improved traction, but it is gonna suck for tire life. More traction equal more tire wear.
A little tip that I learned from riding with yellow_wolf is when riding in the rain just slide your foot on the pavement for a few feet. This will give you a very good idea of the available traction. Sometimes after doing this quick check for traction I have drug a peg in the rain, sometimes it scares the crap outta me to go straight at speed. I know, I know..... there is always the risk of the unseen like fuel spills, mud stuff like that, but hey, thats the chances you take riding in the rain.
FWIW; The new highway bill recently signed into law has new and improved mandated guidelines for skid rating on all road surfaces. This is great for improved traction, but it is gonna suck for tire life. More traction equal more tire wear.
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When you hit the ground and start sliding ... you know you should have backed it off a tad...
cosmic
cosmic
It's different in each situation, like Arn Bill said. Each of us has a different pucker factor too. You go til your pucker kicks in then if you aren't at the traction limits you're still upright. If your traction limit is exceeded your sliding. FYI, one of those crashes looks like one of the bad one's I took. I'll have to go back and see if I can see the placrd number, my shoulder still hurts from that.
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My number one factor is whether or not the road has Tar Snakes. When it is wet, there are certain local roads that I go out of my way to avoid because of the sheer number of these $%^&*#$ things.
Today I rode across one that was wet from FOG, and both tires skipped to the left a couple of inches. Didn't really feel like I was losing control, but it was a gentle reminder that it doesn't have to be raining to stir up the snakes. :lol:
Kirk
Today I rode across one that was wet from FOG, and both tires skipped to the left a couple of inches. Didn't really feel like I was losing control, but it was a gentle reminder that it doesn't have to be raining to stir up the snakes. :lol:
Kirk
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