I ride every day (don't own a "cage") and have done a lot of riding in the rain.
All those common sense "rules" that have been mentioned thus far are sound. There is no reason any biker can't ride any bike in the rain safely, and it needn't be a horrible experience. Personally, I enjoy the challenge of it and the way a wet surface can make the same old corner just that bit more interesting. Use it as a learning experience and get to know your bike (and tyres) in a new way.
+1 for extra caution around cars. It's like a full moon when it rains - they seem to throw out all their driving skills and some even decide to go faster than normal(???)! To be fair though, put yourself in their shoes...they have their wipers going, the windscreen fogging up, rain droplets all over their side windows and mirrors, etc etc. It is extra hard for them to see us, especially if it's getting dark or gloomy and we are wearing dull/dark colours (black anyone?). I think the best plan is just to stay out of their way, whether they can see you or not.
+1 also for keeping away from anything on the roads other than the normal road surface itself. If you don't believe that you can easily slip on a manhole cover, painted lines, wooden bridge, smooth cement, etc etc then just try riding over one of these in the wet and get ready for a rodeo ride!
One pet hate of mine in the wet is my helmet visor fogging up. Even with my expensive Shoei XR1000 I have to crack the visor to reduce the fogging - but that in turn means I'm opening my face up to the rain and cold. Takes the fun out of it I must admit. I hear the new Shark helemets and visors don't fog up so I'm looking at getting one of those.
If you want to go "fast" in the wet, a lot comes down to confidence and trusting your tyres. I totally agree with Hub - I think a LOT of riders would be amazed by how hard/fast it is possible to ride in the wet (either on wet roads after rain, or even during - assuming visability is ok) with a decent set of tyres that aren't worn out. The tread/grooves are there for the wet - otherwise we could all be on slicks and have more rubber on the road (more tread = less rubber on road). Just look at the MotoGP wet tyres vs. dry slicks to see an extreme example of this!
As for stock tyres, I did a 300 miles ride through the mountains here in Queensland, Australia a few weeks ago and the roads were wet and it was raining on and off all...day...long. But, it was one of the most fun days riding I've had in a while. I am still on the stock Bridgestone 014's (original set) and I pushed hard all day. Because we ride such a smooth bike in the ZX14, you can really push this bike hard in the wet if you are smooth through the corners (on the throttle, brakes and suspension transitions). I have no problems saying that the 014's are great in the wet and was riding on the edge of the tyres at corner speeds not far off what I'd be doing in the dry. Again, check out a wet MotoGP race and see how the lap times are not far off the dry track times!
If you are a doubter regarding riding hard in the wet...why? Have you dropped your bike in the wet? Have you hit the limits of your tyre's grip in the wet? A bit of a slip is not the limits - if you stay in control and don't freak out, your tyres will normally "catch" and step back into line quite nicely. Same way they will if you slide the rear out in the dry.
Front slides are a bit more freaky and dangerous. Again, if you stay calm and don't hit the brakes/chop the throttle/stand the bike up/lock your arms up etc, the tyres and bike will do their best to save you. It's a very unusual feeling though...you are sliding sideways whilst still moving forwards, all whilst leaning over. Weird...but you have to be pushing really hard to get into that situation.
Another plus of improving your skills, experience and confidence by riding in the rain is that when the roads dry up, you'll realise that you can go even quicker than you realised before. I believe learning to ride well in the rain makes a better rider.
Be careful, for sure. Slowly build up your skills! I'm not encouraging anyone to just go out there in the wet and ride like it's a race track. It's just as easy to drop your bike as it is to improve your riding. But IMHO there's no need to live in fear of wet roads and that if ridden on responsibly, they can even be a bit of fun!
My 2 cents.
- "Midnight" (2009 ZX14 Black)
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