Riding in less than perfect weather.

[Trinity765]

Everyone prefers dry roads though, right? If I'm warm and dry on the inside, it's not so bad and still more enjoyable than whatever else I might have been doing instead.

[Bustaspoke]

I can really see the logic of getting an off-roader for the colder, wetter months but if I had an SV650 I'd be tarting it up and putting go-faster bits on it, and also it's a Suzuki and they aren't the most resistant to getting dirty, shitty and unloved. With an off roader you just jet wash it when you get home and then have a bath.

My SV650 is from 2008,so it's not exactly mint,but the important stuff like the chrome on the forks all appears to be in order & I think they're less desireable to thieves than a trail bike.I wouldn't spend good money on something new for hacking around on.
My main priorities for a hack bike are affordable,cheap to run & would I get my money back if I sold it,
For me the SV650 fitted the bill,lots of other options out there

[dern]

I like riding in the rain. It cleans off all the dust and dead flies that I can’t be arsed to clean off.

[mangocrazy]

Take your point about trail bikes and their desirability to scumbags. I was idly thinking about a secondhand trailie, but they do seem to hold their value. For me road riding in the winter is not that attractive, mainly because the road surface is normally cack. At least on green lanes or whatever you know exactly what you'll be dealing with, but at much lower speeds and no traffic.

But as I don't have room for another bike, the question is moot.

[Bustaspoke]

I like riding in the rain. It cleans off all the dust and dead flies that I can’t be arsed to clean off.

That's my attitude to car ownership..

[Bigyin]

I don’t think Mango is going to love these ……. First one was a ride out Jan 1st with frozen areas in the morning and lots of salt on the roads ….. picture taken on return with salt baked onto the headlight by its heat





Probably not the best weather to be riding a 12 grand Italian supposedly temperamental steed



Fair bit of cleaning required all round

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

If we're doing snow pictures

FB_IMG_1585683405015.jpg (23.7 KiB) Viewed 527 times

Guess who thought the ice was thick enough to support a DRZ400 and rider.

[mangocrazy]

@Bigyin you'll be giving Weeksy a heart attack with those photos... What you choose to do with your bike is cool with me, but I wouldn't be venturing out in those temps/conditions except walking with a camera, thermos flask and very warm clothing.

When I was about 18 I remember riding from Stafford to Uttoxeter to a mate's house (about 15 miles) in very deep snow. It took me hours to get there and I was totally exhausted when I arrived from the concentration required.

[Scootabout]

I always used to say that I was glad I started riding in December, for commuting, as after that nice weather was always a bonus. And 15 years later I was still commuting to work, pretty much whatever the weather. Now that I'm retired I've become more or less entirely a FWB. The exception would be a one day navigational scatter rally which, if booked, I'd go ahead and do virtually regardless of the weather. It's a sort of reminder of the days when my sense of adventure exceeded my desire for comfort.

[Noggin]

I got my first bike in November 2002, so, because I had one, I rode it pretty much every day!! LOL The notable days of not riding were the days I woke up to a 'covering' of snow on the ground. Having ridden back from work - from Shepton Mallet to Wells - on roads with a slight snow covering, I did decide that maybe snow wasn't the right condition for a newbie! (Has never helped that before the Monster, I've never had a bike that I could get my feet flat on the ground!!!)

I learned to enjoy riding in the rain because my riding buddy bloody loved it (and was sodding quick on wet roads). So I learnt how and improved massively.

But I've never had really good wet weather kit, so the comment about laughing as the rain slowly worked its way to filling up boots is something I've done! My and a friend used to say "soaked to the pants and bra" - cos soaked to the skin didn't seem to be as bad as having your undies totally soaked

On hte second (last) race weekend I did, the Friday was torrential rain and I was one of only three that went out in my group!! It turned out sunny for racing on the saturday though, phew! Although, I think I'd have been ok in the rain, but I don't think they'd have been happy running a full race day in the monsoon from the Friday! (And, cos it wasn't a raceday I could wear my 'attempt' at keeping less wet!! LOL )

Freezing conditions apart I enjoy a few hours messing about on the bike & have been known to get out in the snow



Wouldn't do that on the Streety ..

One day I'd love something like that over here for 'silly' days

[Count Steer]

Back in the 80s I commuted, year round, an 18 mile journey in North Wales. (Only had a bike). So rain, snow, fog...the lot. Once I'd got the original tyres off (early Bridgestones aka Tombstones, that appeared to be made of cheese) and put some decent rubber on it wasn't so bad. It was only later though that I got to understand just how much grip there is on wet roads using modern tyres (Tourance are )and how much fun it could be when you were wearing the right kit.

Heated seats, fairing and decent sized screen are in cold weather too.

Doing MX days with muddy bends was a great help in developing confidence in less than ideal situations too. Can't recommend it enough. I like the idea of a winter traillie too.

[Nordboy]

I don’t have much of a choice, if i’m running a course then i’m on the bike. In fact, the other trainers refer to me as ‘Noah’ as when i have bike courses, you can pretty much guarantee rain. I’ve been riding bikes in work for 18 yrs so am comfortable with riding in all weathers.

[Supermofo]

I don't enjoy riding in crappy weather, I own a car so that I don't have to.

Yeahbutt,what if you are gagging to get out on the bike and it rains for a month?

I think part of the problem is living where you live. I do remember sometimes where I've not been able to ride for 2 weeks as it's rained at times I could/needed to ride but it's rare in summer I've been stopped for a month, if ever. But then the SE of England is as dry as it gets for these isles.

Totally get your point about it stopping you riding though. I've had dry mornings where the roads are still wet in places esp with field run off and the thought of spending 1.5hr at least washing the bike puts me right off. Actually rain I just won't bother with now. I've been caught out once in the rain on the GSX and luckily it coincided with the bike needing a wash anyway

[Rockburner]

Everyone prefers dry roads though, right? If I'm warm and dry on the inside, it's not so bad and still more enjoyable than whatever else I might have been doing instead.

This

I'd prefer to ride on nice dry roads, obviously, but I've done enough inclement weather that it doesn't really bother me anymore. As long as I'm physically dry and warm (which just needs good kit) then I don't mind at all.

As said - as long as you can see and you're warm then no worries.


Ah - and if we're doing snow pics:

[dern]

I rode my first big bike (zxr750) home to Northwich from Coventry where I bought it on the M6 in snow. Filtering on the snow covered cats eyes while dressed in standard 90s cheap two piece leathers nearly killed me.

[The Spin Doctor]

Everyone prefers dry roads though, right? If I'm warm and dry on the inside, it's not so bad and still more enjoyable than whatever else I might have been doing instead.

Clean wet roads are great fun.

You can feel the tyres moving around.

[asmethurst99]

It’s odd how when it’s a shower I feel more uneasy whereas if it’s steady rain I feel ok - pinlock helps as well.
Don’t mind it because you’ll always need to ride in the wet at some point.

[Horse]

It’s odd how when it’s a shower I feel more uneasy whereas if it’s steady rain I feel ok -

Really light drizzle doesn't always clear from your visor and won't wash the oily residues off the roads.

[Skub]

It’s odd how when it’s a shower I feel more uneasy whereas if it’s steady rain I feel ok - pinlock helps as well.
Don’t mind it because you’ll always need to ride in the wet at some point.

There's way more grip on a road when it's been raining steadily for a while,up to the point of standing water anyway. I wasn't talking so much about grip levels,which vary on any road dry or wet,I hate the long cleaning sessions afterwards. That's what puts me off riding at all.

[The Spin Doctor]

It’s odd how when it’s a shower I feel more uneasy whereas if it’s steady rain I feel ok - pinlock helps as well.
Don’t mind it because you’ll always need to ride in the wet at some point.

If the rain's light, it's means it's also constantly changing conditions. And that means you're constantly trying to recalibrate between dry, damp and wet. If the rain's steady, you get that recalibration done relatively easily because the road's just wet. All you have to be alert to is the changing road surface under the water.

I was down in the S of France the year that the Bol d'Or was brought to a halt in the middle of the night by torrential rain (88?). That Saturday night was the end of summer down there. We'd ridden down in blazing heat, and although it was dry on the Monday morning when Andy and I had a session out on the circuit, it rained most of the way back to Calais. But we carried on with our planned route, which was to take a few days and ride back through the Massif Centrale.

The rain wasn't so heavy but it was pretty non-stop. And after the initial "well, this is a bit pants" reaction, I just had to get on with it... and both Andy and I had slightly miscalculated on the tyre wear issue and the ride down had pretty much finished them. I had a bald front, and he had a bald rear.

At first we were both nervous about the slick tyres as we splashed through the puddles. But by the end of the second day, I was sliding the front into corners, he was wheel-spinning out of them.

Looking back it was a bit stupid, given the sheer drops off the hairpins and all that, but that's still one of the most enjoyable rides I've ever done.

By contrast, a few years later I was with the old Compuserve group out in the Vosges. Remarkably, it had been a very dry winter, spring and early summer and despite working full time as a trainer, it was about three months since I'd actually ridden in the rain. On Day One, we'd just set off when it rained. Almost immediately, it felt like I had a lurid slide turning left/right switching from one bank to the other over a bridge over a stream. It was probably a twitch, but not expecting it, it felt huge.

It completely wrecked my morning's riding - I began to make all the cornering mistakes I see nervy riders making on my Confidence: BUILDER courses - slowing ineffectively, braking too late, turning-in too early, running wide on the exits. And of course, the more mistakes I made, the worse it got, to the point where one of my buddies came over and said "what's wrong with your riding this morning?"

At the lunch stop, I took myself off to a quiet table and more or less rebooted - I ran mentally through all the things I coach into riders with cornering problems. When we went back on the road, I went to the back of the group and rode at my own pace - rather slower than the rest - whilst going back to basics on every bend - slow in, cautiously round, faster out and so on. Braking upright, steady throttle round bends, counter-steer to adjust lean if the bend changes radius, accelerate when upright again.

Within thirty minutes, I was feeling myself relaxing and the timing and speed was coming back. Within an hour, I was back to normal.

Point being, if we're feeling uneasy, going back to basics nearly always works.