Hi Guys. It's been bloody ages since I've been on (even got mail telling me I've not been on for a while. Made me feel wanted ). Anyway, on to the title of this thread. I've been thinking: What is wet? More precisely, what do you guys consider as a wet road? People say things like 'Those tyres are rubbish in the wet'; case in point, I've heard that the BT015's that are still on my blade are no good when the water is down (yes I need to change them - my next purchase) but how much water do you need for wet? So, as far as I see it there are several levels that we can consider: 1) Dew on the ground in the early morning. 2) Light shower earlier on in the day. No standing water. 3) Light shower recently. The odd puddle. 4) Rain at some point recently. Water obviously on the ground. More standing water. 5) Absolutely chucked it down recently. Deep puddles, some flooding. 6) Need a dingy. Then you've got all of the above WHILST it's raining. I have to admit that whilst I don't avoid going out in the wet (except if it's chucking it down) my riding is completely different and I tend not to enjoy it. I think it's because I've heard so many people mention the crappyness of my tyres and I get paranoid that she's going to slip from under me even on the most gentle of corners. When I get my new rubber (that's a whole new thread) I hope my idea of wet will change and I'll be happier to go out in more 'extreme' conditions. I was just wondering what you guys thought. TTFN.
In answer to the first part of your question i consider a road as wet when it ain't dry. Sorry but seems obvious. The reality of wet riding is simple, keep inputs softer, and the difference between wet and dry riding is just largely in the mind, when that bike is lent over you have a nice big fat contact patch, so you can go much harder than your brain is telling you that you cannot.
Haslam race school runs BT023 and T30 tyres all the time as they don't have time to swap tyres over on wet days - I know there is no oil / diesel (fingers crossed) on track like a road but shows how good modern tyres are in the wet. As Kentblade says, keep things smooth and you have more grip than you think you have
Fair points there. I wasn't trying to ask a stupid question, I was genuinely wondering if people had different opinions on where they drew the wet riding line. As I said, any level of wet get's me riding more gingerly. I know that I should trust the bike as it will grip far more than I give it credit for. Thanks for the answers.
Stu matey, it was not a stupid question, looking in from the outside, when you list that many points, it seems your head is cluttered mate. Press the delete button and get rid of all those thoughts. Of course you cannot loon around in the same way as you can on hot tarmac, but there is far more grip out there than many riders ever believe. Just keep the inputs softer, the upper body relaxed and just start to explore the handling characteristics. I posted up over the winter, I regularly make my first left sided bend a few hundred yards after setting out in cold wet temps, tip in at around 40 and it sticks and goes and that's what decent tyres today bring you, try it on the wrong tyre and you and your ass are starting to get a little hot with friction. Get out mate, and just start to experiment bit by bit, and it will come to you.
I'm the same, as being from more of a car background, I enjoy driving fast in the rain, even won car races in the wet, but on a bike is a completely different ball game !! Have Dunlop sportsmarts on mine and read they are good, but still ride very gingerly ?? Fine line between brave n stupid lol Planing on doing the Ron Haslam bike school to build up skill level.
I find its more slippery when it has only rained a little. If your throttle inputs are smoother then you cant go wrong. But yeah i feel the same, its not as fun in the wet, its about getting from a to b in those conditions.
this guy says 'Meh' echo all the above, there's loads of grip out there - if you're smooth. The things that screw it up are potholes, road markings, diesel, horse shit, road kill, litter, bricks, vomit (infact anything that causes a sudden change of grip) and numptys that pull out in front of you whilst trying to be smooth.
I had some of my best riding in the wet during our Scotland Tour last year. Before that I never went out in the rain if it looked if it as though it would rain. There is without doubt more grip out there than you ever think. As above its just a matter of getting used to the conditions and gradually building up the speed smoothly.
+1 Sounds like it's the tyres that are the issue, rather than the weather. Even the track day organisers say, if you don't have rain tyres then just chuck some road tyres on the bike instead.
i'm less worried about wet roads, As said I consider wet to be "not dry". What gets me is cold tarmac. Wen t out last wed. running trackday Dunlop D211's, not great for "wet" but also work better when warm/hotter weather. I went out and in the sun it was above 10 degrees but when hitting the fog was below 6 degrees and I was more considered with cold tarmac than it beinng a little damp in areas. So I went steady. but did forget myself a few times when swinging it around a few fast corners
I find I've less grip and confidence on damp roads but when it's proper wet I can crack on! All in the mind apparently.
If my tyres gripped the road like my arse does the seat in the wet, then no problem. I guess the lesson here is to get out on the bike in all conditions. Then we'd know for sure.
I know not road but I was always so cautious on road in the wet I wouldn't go out hated being caught out on rides out . Thought if I'm gonna go racing gotta get out so a very wet cadwell first time on second hand wets grew confidence in first 2 sessions and was really enjoying it had a knee down and started to get quicker ............. Until 2'3rd session I was on a 99 r6 lad racer on a new 675 we had been dicing 3 or 4 laps I tucked down inside of him blipped the throttle and that was it down but at least it was a massive mud slide and learnt me a lot cracking fun
cracking photo, who is this cool fast dude? He looks as fast as MM#93 I love racing in the wet, prefer it than the dry to be honest. the trick is to be smooth on the throttle, watch the white lines and only give it some when the bike it upright
I'll be at cadwell in may, come and show me some lines and I'll give you some tips, cold even do "hammertime" the night before
Seemingly damp roads are slipper and have that greasy feel because of the dirt,salt and oil etc accumulating and being distributed by traffic that's not getting washed or blown away forming a sort of paste! Full wet roads allow our tyres to disperse the water properly and grip to a cleaner contact patch! On dry roads the combination traffic and the wind disperse the dry dirt, salt and grime away! Normally this time of year is the worst because of low temp so roads not drying out properly and tyres not warming up enough I've commuted all year round for years in all sorts of conditions and this is what I've found.
Ha!, just watched your video of your problems with your Warrior stand and realised that was you Skippy!. How random, respect!! Great skill!
