Riding in the rain

With the proper gear it's all good on a Hayabusa
rain wont stop me ,now sleet and snow
heck u think I'm some kinda mail man or somethin'




Lannie Settles
 
Glade to see some of my fellow Washington State people spoke out here, rain, humm yes we get it and if you want to ride in this state you will have to ride in the rain.
First keep yourself dry have rain gear on your bike.
Next rain ex for your visor will help out.
Paint marking are like ice along with manhole lids avoid or go over with little to no lean angle.
Slow down for the corners, tires these days have great traction, but your sight is so reduce you need to keep the pace much slower.
Be smooth, no quick changes.
Keep out from behind big trucks or heavy mist, you will not be seen there, bikes just disappear.
Use cars to be seen, what I mean by this is bring a car in close behind you and use it as your break lights and buffer from the traffic behind when slowing down, the car has to know your ahead of it, it does work out nicely, samething by following a car. Make sure it's a small car so you can see right over the top, the mist is minimal on those cars too.
Best thing is just don't ride that day.
 
20 year old thread. And I’ve ridden in the rain, once from the OR border to Yosemite NP, the whole way. Frogg Toggs are great!
Riding in the rain sucks......

I recall once during a race, I was going past the pits when a gully washer blew in......we had to ride around the track to get back to the pits as they red flagged the race....

By that time we were all soaked to the skin........my leathers must have weighed as much as I did......

Not to learn from this, I was riding from my home military base to the base where the wife was at and as it was a nice, sunny beautiful day I decided to travel light and left my rain suit at home.....a half hour out black clouds blew in and there I was in a rain storm that had a little gusto to it....

When I got to her place of course it was nice and sunny.....I remember using 3 of those metal coat hangers to hang my leather and they were still bending.....I was there for the weekend and they were still damp when I put them on to ride back.....
 
Lol
Rain doesn't really bother me.
I learned many years ago, that if I didn't ride in the rain, I was going to miss alot of riding time.
I will go riding while it's raining, and usually get caught in it a few times a year.
The best rainy ride I can remember was a hot summer day on the Blue Ridge Parkway, we rode from day break til late that night.
Before sunset we had been through 3 thunderstorms, soaked to the skin, and then completely dry from the hot wind before the next one...and that good, ice cold high altitude storm rain too, lol.
My leathers were new at time, and the soaking and drying around me in a riding position made their fit go from new, rough, and bulky, to soft and easy to move around in, all while fitting even better.
Which proved to me that soaking new leathers in the shower or with the hose, then wearing then until they dry, really does make them fit you much better.
I still wear the same suit and boots to this day too, with only glove and helmet changes every few years.
 
Lol
Rain doesn't really bother me.
I learned many years ago, that if I didn't ride in the rain, I was going to miss alot of riding time.
I will go riding while it's raining, and usually get caught in it a few times a year.
The best rainy ride I can remember was a hot summer day on the Blue Ridge Parkway, we rode from day break til late that night.
Before sunset we had been through 3 thunderstorms, soaked to the skin, and then completely dry from the hot wind before the next one...and that good, ice cold high altitude storm rain too, lol.
My leathers were new at time, and the soaking and drying around me in a riding position made their fit go from new, rough, and bulky, to soft and easy to move around in, all while fitting even better.
Which proved to me that soaking new leathers in the shower or with the hose, then wearing then until they dry, really does make them fit you much better.
I still wear the same suit and boots to this day too, with only glove and helmet changes every few years.
I recall one summer years ago that it rained so much the only way to get any riding in was to go out in the rain due to the crazy work schedule I had at the time..............my wife thought I had lost my mind though........

When racing I was sponsored by Bristol, I had boots, suit and gloves from them...they were a great company and I was able to color match my suit with my bike which made me look more like a full factory rider instead of being a partial sponsored factory guy.......I had 3 red, white and black suits that matched my GSXR......I was also sponsored by Shoei and thinking of that, I often wonder why I stopped wearing them over the years....

I might go back to them but will have to do a bit of research first to see which model I would like....
 
Riding in the rain sucks......

I recall once during a race, I was going past the pits when a gully washer blew in......we had to ride around the track to get back to the pits as they red flagged the race....

By that time we were all soaked to the skin........my leathers must have weighed as much as I did......

Not to learn from this, I was riding from my home military base to the base where the wife was at and as it was a nice, sunny beautiful day I decided to travel light and left my rain suit at home.....a half hour out black clouds blew in and there I was in a rain storm that had a little gusto to it....

When I got to her place of course it was nice and sunny.....I remember using 3 of those metal coat hangers to hang my leather and they were still bending.....I was there for the weekend and they were still damp when I put them on to ride back.....

On one of my trips to Montana I took too long enjoying hiway 12 west of the Lolo pass on my way back and got caught in a downpour just as it was getting dark. I had no rain gear and by the time I got to Grangeville Idaho I was thoroughly soaked, dripping wet! I used the motel room’s heater and hair dryer to dry my clothes and gloves over night. Next morning was cold but dry. I carry FroggToggs with me every trip now.
 
On one of my trips to Montana I took too long enjoying hiway 12 west of the Lolo pass on my way back and got caught in a downpour just as it was getting dark. I had no rain gear and by the time I got to Grangeville Idaho I was thoroughly soaked, dripping wet! I used the motel room’s heater and hair dryer to dry my clothes and gloves over night. Next morning was cold but dry. I carry FroggToggs with me every trip now.
I've never ridden my Hayabusa in the rain.....

I bought it when I was retired and only ride short distances these days.....
 
Back
Top