Rain riding

[Robbarrie]

Last night I got home from a 3 1/2 hour ride home in the pissing rain. It was to say the least a fucking nerve shocking experience for sure. I don't trust this bike at all in the rain. It hydro planes like a water skier...With no wind shield and at night with a shorty helmet and a stock headlight - I was taking my life in my hands.

The other two guys I was riding with left me way behind, I couldn't keep up in fear I was going to loose control or not be able to stop in time if I had to brake fairly quickly.

My question is how do you guys feel about riding the Max in the rain and what tips if any do you have for me. ( is there any ! ) other than...

windshield
fullface
better light
slow the hell down !

What seem to be the best tires for the rain and the Max. :bang head:
I run a Dunlop tire now. Im not familiar with other but these tires suck
Thanks.

Maybe I should have posted in the tire section but I want to hear more about your wet weather rides. Do you feel the same as me about this ? I'm a fairweather rider - now I know why.

 

[QuarterHorse]

I'm not very confident in the rain either. I do wear a full face helmet as well as having some suspension mods done. I have a Dunslop D404 up front just because it was on there, and I have the ME880 Metzler out back in a 170/80/15. I've not been left behind, and I'm usually up front, but I'm still not 100% confident in riding in it and I prefer not to.

 

[Bill Kratzenberg]

I try my best to avoid riding in the rain.
If i do get caught in it , I close my shield on my full face helmet and slow down. Then when i get home, The cleaning begins:damn angry:
That's probably the worst part of it all...

 

[Robbarrie]

I only had and RZ before this bike so I haven't had allot if riding expierience on other bikes especially in the rain. Am I just being paraniod :confused2:

 

[113s&s]

rode once on the highway in heavy rain...lucky i had the full face on....was riding around 75 80 mph...bike seemed to handle well stock tires traffic was light so had lot of road around me

 

[maleko89]

I haven't had any trouble in the rain. Biggest issue for me is wet boots. I would definitely pull over for hail though....that hurts.

 

[Robbarrie]

If I had it my way I would have waited till it slowed up to a spit rather than a pour...but the guys I was with wanted to high tail it home so I didn't have much of a choice. I made it but it wasn't fun.

I guess as we live we learn from it. I will be making sure I have a full face on if there is a chance or rain - It was really getting to me the feeling of having your face sandblasted from the pelting rain.

We were almost home and I was tracking behind when a family of coons ran out infront of those guys. When we got to a red light a few miles down the road. I said to them that they both had horseshoes up there ass...but then one of them told me that he felt that he did in fact hit one. Man what I ride....I was just thinking what next was going to happen, a moose, deer, bear...drunk driver. I was glad to make it home. Smoked about 5 in a row and took a nice hot shower while thinking I don't want to go through that again. I sucks being wet, cold and tired while trying to ride and having a nic fit to boot. Those guys don't smoke so the need to stop wasn't there. Damm those non smokers they have no idea what it's like.

I too came home and rung out my socks. I bet there was a 1/4 of a cup.

 

[maxcruiser]

I have done my fair share of riding in the rain. Main thing needed is good tires, ME880 do well in the rain. Some type of face protection, full face, clip on shield and/or windshield.

Next important thing, a loose grip on the handlebars. Holding to tight will cause a variety issues. Try not to give it a death grip (relax). You need to be smooth in your turns, accelaration, etc.., just like driving a car in snow, now being from Barrie, Ontario - I know you know about that!

I agree with Kratz, the worst part is clean it after riding in the rain.

Mike

 

[Redbone]

I have ridden in the rain quite a bit so far this season. I have full rain suit, waterproof riding boots, rubber gauntlet gloves, and wear a full face helmet. Best thing I use for riding in the rain? Rain-x! Everytime I have to clean my shield of bugs(almost daily) I reapply the Rain-x. For me not being able to see is the worst part of wet riding. I have to say that I don't have to ride in heavy traffic so that makes it easier.

 

[Robbarrie]

I looked in the tire section, nothing on good tires for wet weather. Maybe the ME880 should be in there as you recommend them, that's good to know as I shop for new ones. Thanks.

How do those road racers have so much control on a wet track - I don't get it ?

Anyway for those who have rode many different bikes - other than torque is the Max just a crazy bike to ride in wet weather ? or is it no better or nor worse than any other bike.

For those who are new - please be prepared to ride in this kind of weather. I wasn't and I paid for it but I did make home - I had to snap on the guys I was with and asked them what in hell is the rush ? Why were they leaving me behind ? We were all fuck'n soaked to the bone anyways.

I think they were just getting me back because I'm the one usually leaving them behind. :biglaugh:

But I'd never do that to anyone who was having a hard time in that kind of weather. Knowing they were having troubles seeing and driving faster than they were comfortable. If someone is falling behind in that kind of weather - be kind and rewind, slow down and wait for them, you never know they maybe doing you a favor.

 

[maleko89]

I have done my fair share of riding in the rain. Main thing needed is good tires, ME880 do well in the rain. Some type of face protection, full face, clip on shield and/or windshield.

Mike

+1 to that. My old Dunlops were bad enough on dry roads. In rain, it was like driving on ice....slow corners.

 

[Robbarrie]

Copy that - thanks guys

I was going to go with the Metz before - now I will be for sure !

 

[Thevmaxrider]

+1 on the Metzler tires in the rain. ME880 rear and a Lasertech front before I went radials was a great combo. Now run an ME880 Radial rear with a Roadtech Z6 front. No problems whatsoever in the rain. Just need to give more time for everything and no sudden braking if you can help it. Rode through rain to get to Thunder, rode in rain at Thunder, and rode in rain to get home with nary a problem.

Rain-Ex on the face shield of my full face is the only way to go as well.

Then the pain in the arse cleaning when you are done...... gotta love baked on road grime:bang head:

 

[Nobody]

Unfortunately over the last 17 years I have owned my Max I have been caught in the rain many times. No issues with the tires, brakes or handling, but seeing can be an issue. I have gotten dumped on in Sturgis with no helmet and only sun glasses on, and that really sucks. With a full face it is better but after a while the inside of the helmet starts to get wet and the visor fogs up, no fun. As long as it is not too cold, being wet is not too bad, but once your boots are wet it can get uncomfortable. As long as you use common scenes you should have no issue riding in the rain.

I agree the worst part is cleaning the bike after you ride in the rain, the dirt gets everywhere.

PS: Several years ago we were at Thunder, and Bill Warner was riding around at night in a down pour, with no helmet and only sunglasses on. He is still alive to tell about it today. He is one sick man.

 

[dannymax]

Being from northern new york I've ridden in the rain hundreds of times, common sense and good equipment will get you through it just fine. The thing that bothered me the most was, there always seemed to be real hard downpours after the hot, dry spells and there would be foam in the wheel tracks that was very slippery. I've heard that was oil coming out of the blacktop, but don't know if that's true or not. Just know I never liked riding through it, felt like being on ice. :confused2:

dan

 

[veebooster]

Just finished several hours in the monsoons to the UFO Drag Day...all I can say is either stop and wait for it to pass or slow down! Face shield as a minimum. Proper rain gear really helps as it allows you to concentrate on what you're doing rather than worrying about how wet you are. Oh yes...rain suit will keep you dry but your boots and gloves will really leak....and then you get that trickle from your helmet down your back and you know you're getting wet and .....it SUCKS!
PS Stay away from transports that blind ya with they're dirty spray

Dale #2592

 

[Redbone]

I hate water running down my neck and cold, wet feet. I purchased Alpinestars Ridge boots and the full Tourmaster Elite II jacket/ pants.
The Tourmaster jacket has a hood feature that keeps rain from running down your neck. The boots have surprised me so far with their versatility. I have worn them in 35 degree temps and playing horseshoes in 85 degree, in the full sun! I normally wear a pair of liner socks & fleece/ smartwool socks with any boot that I wear, a habit from my backpacking days. My feet never got cold or overheated in either situation, to my surprise. I won't say my feet weren't sweating some but they were not uncomfortable either.

 

[Redbone]

Gloves? What do you do for gloves for wet weather riding? I currently use a rubber coated gauntlet type (only cost around $4 locally) that I wear over my regular gloves. They go on and off easy enough and are totally waterproof, but don't like 2 things about them. 1st, the fingers are a little short so they are bulky while holding on to the grips. 2nd, they have no velcro/snap closure on the gauntlet. I know for $4 what do I expect!

 

[Lordofwyr]

I got caught in a Texas Frog Strangler just the other day. At 70 mph the rain felt like hail as I was only wearing a t-shirt and jeans at the time. Got so wet I was laughing inside the helmet. Even my wallet was filled with water.

The only time it got dicey was when I left the freeway and hit the side streets, where they were extremely slick. Just slowed waaay down and took it easy til I got home. unk:

 

[82ndCowboy]

I get caught in the rain here in Florida almost everyday. It seems this year, our daily thunder storms are between 3 and 6. So the evening commute is usually wet!
I am running a ME880 on the rear and a Dunlop on the front. And haven't had any problems yet. (knocking on wood) I didn't have any problems on the stock Bridgestones either.
I wear a full faced Scorpion with anti-fog visor, works great! And I use a Fox rain jacket that I keep rolled up in my "fork cooler"
I think the key is to relax, slow down, and leave your self plenty of stopping distance so you don't have to grab the brakes hard! I do slow down to the speed limit when the roads are wet and slower on curves.
Other than that, sometimes the wetness is a nice change from the 90+ degrees.
And yes the one thing that really sucks is the Baby gets filthy from riding in the rain! grrrrrrr!

But my favorite thing is when some dork in a car yells " It must suck riding in the rain, ha haaaa!" I just yell back, "not as much as it must suck being a pussy who's afraid of getting wet." The NOW THAT's A Real Man, look on his woman's face! Priceless!