Whats good all? I was sitting at my pc and noticed the storm cloulds gathering outside the window and thought about all the things i've read about riding in the rain. After spending hours reading over the forum it hit me, if you want to know ask an expert. So here i am asking.
Obviously, if you dont have to ride in the rain dont. Thats a gimme.
Gear up....always, rain or shine.
Slower is better. Got it.
But, like i said those are commons since things. IF you all have anymore input please drop a line and dont be shy, (not of problem from some of the posts i've read)

Got back from a 9-day trip to Yellowstone recently. We had some rain most every day. Wasn't really a problem. Just had to slow down a bit. Probably depends a lot on your tires -- some are probably better than others on a wet surface.

-bg

Thanks for the welcome. I have just under 2000 miles on it and everything is still stock. Think i have to give the wife another month or six before i spend the money to get upgrades.
By the way, do you have rain gear, if so what kind?

I have a FirstGear jacket that's waterproof, but that's about it for rain gear at the moment. Levis got pretty soaked a few times on the trip, but it wasn't too much of a distraction.

Always good to keep the wife happy re: upgrades -bg

My advice, keep away from rain if you still have stock tires. If you're slow enough, stock tires do fine in rain. But as a personal rule, I try to never ride on stock tires (on any bike, zx 14 or any other) in rain. There's only so much a stock tire can do.

I've always avoided rain. I check the weather forcast before heading out on the 14 for any length of time. When I've gotten stuck in the rain, I just slow down. I wouldn't do it on badly worn tires because the tread is what squeezes the water out from under the tire to counteract hydroplaning.

A good rain helps clean your chain off. Always lube your chain after a rain ride. Immediately is best to displace the rain water that penetrates.

LEVI's BG?......."helps clean your chain off"-mmmmmmmmmmmmm,yes,while it's coating yer pipes with everybit of road grime it can!!!!(not to mention passing vehicles and their lovely "spray and wash")-"no wax please,just some more mud thanks". LOL

Blue:

You wouldn't BELIEVE the mud we had to ride through one morning on our recent trip.

It was on one of the mountain passes between Yellowstone and Beartooth Pass. For several miles at the top of this pass, there was road construction, so it was essentially a dirt road. There had been a deluge right before we got there. The mud was several inches deep and there were ruts in the mud that, once you got in them, there was no way to get out. We had no choice but to go forward.

All three of us made it through, but I'm surprised that we did without a fall. It was the biggest mess I've ever ridden through.

We had planned to return the same way that afternoon, but changed our plans and added many miles to our riding day to go south into Wyoming and then west back to West Yellowstone, where we were staying that night.

Had quite a cleanup job on the bike after that one... -bg

Well I'm glad ya didn't take a spill!I HATE riding in rain-wouldn't be bad if "spray" didn't get EVERYWHERE!Geez I hate to see my bike filthy with that stuff!!Virtually ruins my ride.I'll stop and clean the bugs off when it's warm and they're flyin like crazy.

Rain is as safe as dry. You have no idea how fast you can go on your tires. My youth showed me a unique experience that taught me well. Lets just say; if we were to start from A and end at B... You wear all the rain grooves you need. Put me on a set of slicks.

Boo-Bye! It's experience, not rain grooves, I tell ya.

Blue I am with you. I cant stand the rain, it sucks cause of visibilty spray back and the bumper to bumper traffic that usually follow it around major city driving. I do it when I have to, but for no other reason.

A couple more common sense items that you didn't mention:

• Be careful right after the rain first starts falling - it could be lifting up some of that road grime and oil and be extra slick. Especially if it's been a while since the last rain.
• Be careful stressing traction (breaking/turning/etc.) when you're on painted lines - they can be kind of slick when wet.
• More usual than usual - watch out for those cagers - they do EXTRA stupid stuff when road conditions change and traffic gets ugly.

Another problem I have with rain is the fog that used to build up on my faceshield. I'm hoping that will be better this next winter because I bought a"pin lock" shield and insert that is supposed to be the ultimate in fog elimination or reduction.

I have a LOT of trouble trusting these stock tires in the rain - I've felt the back end sort of squish out a tiny bit a few times. Never enough to affect handling, but enough to scare the hell out of me. I can't really even tell if it's really sliding or just settling into the road... I feel like a wuss, but I drive almost virticle around curves in the rain - no lean. I'll be glad when I can replace and get something stickier in the rain.

NOTE Per Hubs note: Maybe I just have to push it and trust it a bit more but I'm probably going to wait on that until I get something better on the wheels.

I hate riding in rain, but I live in Seattle so if I want to ride in Winter I have to be willing to get wet. :)
I have two weather apps on my iPhone and a desktop weather app that I run at work just to keep up with the weather.

Ride Safe!
-Dennis

We get the BIG TRUCKS up here(log trucks,utility trucks,semi's[bout every 10th car].When it's rainin,they're just like a mud car wash-even when ya get OVER onto the rightmost side of yer lane,and they're comin at ya-it's,well,A MESS.I REALLY try to avoid rain riding up here(but caught in some today)-yep,had to go to the car wash after the ride.If it was just rain,and no cars-it would definitely be okay.(but my bike still hates getting dirty).

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.

Your two cents is worth a few dollars. Thanks
My brother recently returned from japan and he wanted to take my girl for a spin. He not only taught me to ride a bicycle but also gave me a copy of the key to his first ninja. So i couldnt wimp out. With him coming home i took her out with rain threating. By the time i got to moms it was coming down. I did my creeping in the rain ride and was not too stressed. When my brotha got on her it was a totally different story.He rode in the rain like i ride when its dry. It was aww inspiring to watch and humbling too. My big brother tends to do that even to this day.
Starting to realize that almost everything about this bike has to do with the confidence of the rider. There's almost nothing it cant do. Yes, im partial as hell. Its the first bike i every paid for.
The ride back home pretty much was the same as on the way there, though. Figured that slow and steady wins the race and that it will be the first of many rainy days to come.

Your two cents is worth a few dollars. Thanks

Starting to realize that almost everything about this bike has to do with the confidence of the rider

* Last updated by: AussieNinja on 7/13/2009 @ 5:22 AM *

Hub posted this in another thread... I think its a amazing example of what our machines are capable of!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOERYdqx51A&feature=related

Personally I avoid rain at all costs... I hate it! I must visit weather.com ten times a day, and while on the go their free iphone app is awesome!

* Last updated by: IKeyes on 7/14/2009 @ 7:50 PM *

MotoGP style...

* Last updated by: AussieNinja on 7/14/2009 @ 7:58 PM *

All I can say is WOW!! Both those clips are incredible!

It is incredible to see them ride like that in the rain! We get quite a bit of rain here in Germany (actually, here in Europe). I tend to avoid riding in the rain, but there are plenty of folks here who do. I know some folks who ride all year, though they do admit to not riding when the roads get icy (understandably). One friend of mine said if he waited for dry days, he might as well sell his bikes since he'd only get a few days of riding a year. Longer trips would be out of the question, which he does often.

Rain riding is a way of life unfortunately, I'm not stopping the ride for a few rain drops though..