Does this answer your question?
yezzir, that it does. while it is still a controlled situation with limited variables, it certainly does establish a baseline for what kind of traction is possible. street-like surface (in terms of material, as opposed to track surface), presumably street tires, a heavy sport touring bike, natural distribution of water, and way more lean that I would ever attempt in those conditions.
" I now take corners in the rain more upright than Mary Poppins." That's funny.
I suggest you attend as many FJR events as possible. Eventually you should get the
opportunity to follow some seasoned FJR owners in the rain like I did. It helped my
dry road riding as well. I do think extra care should be taken on roads that have not seen
rain for awhile. Some suggest a 10% decrease in traction during rain. Think I might pad
that a bit but that's just me. Had the rear step out on me right as a rain started a few tires ago.
I want to blame that damn tire but in truth I probably grab just a little more throttle than I should of.
Now I have this image of being passed in the rain by Mary Poppins, Thanks a bunch. :angry:
I was hoping someone would appreciate that.
I've never been extremely confident in the rain. Its not because I don't trust my bike. Its because I don't trust the roads. That picture above is cool, but was done either in a closed course or where the pavement was known.
The hardest I have ridden in the wet was EOM 2009 when I was following JamesK, MrTwisty, FUBAR, and WellsJ all around eastern Tennessee in nearly constant rain. I knew of they could stick in the turns, so could I.
What I'm saying is, if I am on a track that's known to have clean pavement, going fast isn't that hard. Out on the road where God only knows how much oil or antifreeze is coming up is a different story.
I'd rather run a little slower than eat shit. YMMV.
I'm with you, Zilla!
All it takes is one 18 wheeler with a loose or missing fuel cap to spread a bit of diesel in the corner and absolutely
RUIN your day.
A bit of common sense in the wet is a good survival instinct, plus at my age, I heal too slowly now!
Don
HRZ makes a great point. Even dry roads can give us nasty surprises. Imagine that oil patch on a freshly-moistened curve.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, you guys are missing the point. Nobody here is advocating trying to scrape pegs or ride 90% on the street in the rain, the goal is to find a happy medium where you are not all tensed up and riding like you are on ice. Of course treat wet roads with respect and restraint, but don't be afraid of them.
And I would hope than even the biggest idiot on a motorcycle would know that *fresh* rainfall is most dangerous and requires elevated levels of caution.
Thanks, Scoot, for getting the point exactly. Just looking to find a relaxing, comfortable, confident, and safe pace for cornering in the rain, and eliminating what seems to be a downward spiral in confidence which I think becomes more dangerous than anything else. Some basic knowledge of wet traction limits is just the foundation for adding in all the other variables and dynamics come in to play, which I have no desire to test. I certainly dont aim to ride twisties in the rain, but sometimes you end up there, and I'd like to at least feel safe and confident in carrying on with my day. At this point I definitely feel like I'm riding on ice, but that is likely due to the 'trauma' of the oil slick, rather than the rain, but it's hard to separate the two mentally.
I think I had the 'Total Control' book way back when I started to ride, and lent it out to a buddy and never got it back. (He ended up dumping his bike into a curb in his neighborhood within his first month, not wearing any gear, thrashing up his leg and arm, and decided bikes were too dangerous for him. Probably a good move, but I dont think he cracked the book.) I'll have to order up another copy. I think I'll definitely take one of the Total Control ARC courses coming up this fall too.
