Thoughts On Riding In The Rain
 

I know of may riders who prepare their motorcycles for the monsoons. By prepare, I mean they wash their motorcycle and put it some place safe till the rains go away. They don't ride their motorcycles in the rain for a number of reasons and I have absolutely no problem with that. It's their motorcycle bought using their hard earned money and they are free to do they want with it. Ride it, let it idle in a garage or throw it off a cliff. Not my problem.

However, I do have a problem with people who tell me that I shouldn't be riding a motorcycle in the rain. They proceed to impart wisdom on the topic, citing many reasons from "it will get dirty" to "you will die" and everything in between. As with most things I happen to have some thoughts about riding a motorcycle in the rain.

The presence or absence of rain doesn't make that huge a difference as some people made it out to be. If you respect the power of the motorcycle and have the adequate skill to negotiate it along a straight or curved path then I think you are good. All you need to do is factor for the road being wet or dry and ride accordingly. This is no different than how you would factor for the road being smooth or bumpy and ride accordingly. To me the safety issue of riding in the rain is of little significance. What is of huge significance to me is the reason why I ride in the rain. Or more generally, why I ride a motorcycle at all.

This past weekend I rode a rented Suzuki V-Strom 650 adventure motorcycle 1,500 kms across North Carolina and Virginia. Severe thunderstorms were predicted in the region I was about to pass and I stopped at roadside restaurant to grab a cup of coffee, because I still can't bring myself to drink what Americans call tea. :-)

The elderly man serving me the coffee noticed my riding gear and said to me, "<em>Son, you better find a place to hide. The weather's going to get pretty bad out there pretty soon</em>". I smiled back at him and proceeded sip on my coffee looking up at the dark clouds gathering above me.

http://www.deelipmenezes.com/wp-cont...727-Edited.jpg

After having the coffee I started riding and as expected it started to rain, first slowly and then everything that was up came down. All at once. In the distance I would see streaks of lightening followed by loud claps of thunder. Visibility reduced to a few meters and I had to slow down. I was wearing a water resistant riding gear. But the rain was just too much. To make it worse I was wearing a half face helmet and rain water started seeping through the collar of the jacket. For a while it stopped and then started all over again, almost mocking me. This went on for a hour, by the end of which I was drenched so many times, I lost count.

It was a little uncomfortable, to put it mildly. But I had a smile on my face all the time, much to the amazement of other riders who had stopped by the side of the road under whatever shelter they could find. I waved at them as I passed them by.

So why did I not stop riding and look for cover? The reason goes to the very heart of why I ride. I ride to experience Mother Nature. As with all mothers, she happens to have a good side as well as a bad side. I want to experience both. I want to experience her beauty as well as her fury. If I was only interested in her beauty I would have not parked my rental car, a comfortable Mitsubishi Lancer, at the motorcycle rental company and rented a motorcycle. I could have easily watched the beautiful sights from the comfort of my climate controlled car whose innards were guaranteed by the manufacturer to remain dry in a thunderstorm like the one i was riding through. I would not have spent good money on water resistant Harley-Davidson riding jacket, pant and gloves (their stuff is quite expensive, by the way) if I wanted to hide under a shed when the rain decided to show up. I would not have spent good money on Alpine Stars waterproof riding boots (I kept them in a bucket of water overnight to verify that they are indeed quite waterproof) if the first sight of rain made me look for cover. I guess I'm just not the kind of person who spends good money on things and then shies away from using them for their intended purpose.

This is not to say that I looked down on the other riders who stopped their motorcycles and stood under a shelter. It their choice to do so. It's their choice to sit tight at home and not ride at all. Similarly it's my choice as well to ride straight through a thunderstorm and live to tell the story. I know what I'm getting myself into. I know my threshold of pain and discomfort, and above all, I fully understand my mind and body and respect what they are both capable of doing.

I'm not suggesting that you do stuff you can't handle. There are people waiting for you at home. There is a line between adventure and stupidity and you need to know where that line is and you need to respect it.

Gore-Tex - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gore-Tex

I enjoy riding in the rain. Most people will delay their journey due to rain ... thus I have less traffic. With enough rain the roads are clean, with a little more my bike and my cloths are clean too.

Provided you have good wet weather gear and you are not cold things are fine. :mchappy: Do do draw the line at hail stones and lightening though. That stuff can hurt. :funmeterno:

I have ridden in the rain on many an occasion because for a long while my bike was my only mode of transport. I did not mind doing it but I would not go out of my way to to ride in it. My worst riding in bad weather was when I was in Her Majesty's Armed forces and I was going on leave from Osnabruck in Germany to get the ferry from Rotterdam to Hull. There was a snow blizzard all the way through Holland. I was on a R1100s with heated grips (which were about as much use as a chocolate fire guard) but I still stopped at every petrol station on route to warm up and have a brew. All my front was white with snow for the majority of the ride :rofl:
It was either that or not go home! :funmeterno:

Wayne

Great essay Deelip ... you've created some enticing images, very enjoyable read! Lovely photo too! :thumbup1:

As you say, if a rider is set up to ride rain with decent gear ... and has some experience with keeping his face shield de-fogged and keeping water ingress at a minimum, then rain riding is not too bad. A proper wind screen can help a lot too.

Best parts of rain riding are the sights and smells we ride through, especially our California Redwood forests and our incredible Deserts. Nothing like the smell of Desert Sage during an early season rain storm.

Good quality, properly inflated tires very important. It's amazing how fast one can do a twisty road on a good rain bike. As mentioned, once the roads are clean, traction is actually VERY good with modern tires. Not like the old days! doh

I don't like riding in a true deluge, where visibility is down to 10 or 20 meters. I pull over and wait it out. Snow, Ice and super cold are also tough. I've ridden plenty of it, some in dangerous conditions. Nearly froze several times. Not recommended to novices.

Hail? I was nearly knocked off my Triumph Tiger by BIG Hail stones on the Peage' in France. Took refuge in a Vineyard. It quickly passed. Painful! :rain:
Dented cars. Lasted only 10 minutes or less.

My longest rain ride in recent memory was returning from Mexico's Copper Canyon after a month's long trip. It rained the entire 1,500 miles back to San Francisco.

I was on my former Suzuki DL1000 V-Strom. Absolutely NO PROBLEM on this bike. I rode my normal 10 hour days at 70 to 80 mph. Rain was moderate but steady, with a few heavy downpours. Only issue was snow and ICE over the high passes. Tricky on a bike, you have to pay attention. Buy only 50 miles of that then back to rain.

Tea? You must be a tourist?
Most of USA (especially the Deep South) don't "do" tea. Just sweetened Ice tea (horrible) Unless you can get to a Starbucks or Peets or a "real" cafe, you normally won't get a "proper" cup of Tea.

I carry my own loose tea and pot. Earl Grey thanks. When I stop at a typical greasy spoon, I only need them to make boiling water ... another concept my fellow Americans are weak on. Lazy. Microwave everything.

But they can do milk and sugar ... and speciality Asian/Indian markets are everywhere in California, so good Tea is plentiful. Always carry your own!
(PS: Starbucks and Peets both sell quality imported Tea)

bier
http://patricksphotos.smugmug.com/ph...-qdqTtKJ-L.jpg
Best part of a Rain Ride ... a Rainbow!
http://patricksphotos.smugmug.com/ph...-Vtf35Mc-L.jpg
Don't stop here too long ... at 12,000 ft. in late November ... and snow on the way. Keep Moving! Rain is fine,
Snow? Not so much!

Good write up.

There is no such thing as bad weather only the wrong kit. For snow a sidecar is better although a light enough bike ( its like sand. ) on the right tyres will do. Three of the four above have no fear. Having Alpine or Northern tracks all to yourself with fresh snow is great fun.

Disagree about Goretex, its a nylon overrsuit for me, but that's been covered plenty of times elsewhere.

Andy

Nice pictures, mollydog.

Yes, I'm a tourist. I live in India and visit the US regularly for work. I try and squeeze our a day or two, rent a motorcycle and ride across this vast and beautiful country. You can say, I'm always trying to add some pleasure with my business. :-)

It's not like you've got a lot of choice if you live in the UK (or much of northern Europe). If you want to ride a motorcycle here you'll frequently ride in the rain unless you pick and chose the few weather patterns that come along at random and give a couple of days of predictable dry weather. But anyone with a biking life like that is unlikely to be frequenting these hallowed pages.

Set off with decent clothing, decent tyres, a reliable bike and a fatalistic attitude (in the sense of wet / dry, c'est la vie ) and take what comes. Shake your fist impotently at the rain gods and your biking career may be not be a long one.

I've been wet through more often than I can remember and been through rain storms so heavy it stripped the ink out of my passport and the paint from my front mudguard (on a Guzzi so probably not that hard :rofl:) One all day storm in France ruined a GPS supposed to be totally waterproof and another came close to doing the same to my marriage (she's not ridden pillion since).

I suppose the only good thing you can say is that the rain is warmer in the summer. Riding in the Eurowinter means multiple days of cold non stop rain so if it bothers you you'll be going nowhere.

I have wondered sometimes why I bother (usually when I'm soaked and 1000 miles from home) but that's bikes for you.

rain
 

being an english commuter rider, i see a lot of rain on my 40 mile round trip to work and back.
always carry my waterproofs with me, everyday.
any day that i dont put the waterproof bottoms on has to be very nice. otherwise its too much of a risk of wet underwear.
live in goretex hiking boots, or carry spare trainers with me.
all my waterproofs are hiking kit, so that i'm not restricted off the bike too; i can get off the bike and be ready for integrating with normal society, or going for a walk up the hills, rather than being stuck in bulky bike kit.

pretty much, the rain doesn't bother me, a long as it doesn't catch me out.
when all else fails. your skin is waterproof!

Does it ever stop raining in Cumbria? Even the sheep carry life vests don't they?


This (if I can do pictures) https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6...0/DSCF0002.JPG


Was taken in Bavaria one morning in January (2007). After I took this I rode 300 miles and fell off four times. P&O's over priced, watery, served in a plastic cup hot chocolate tasted good that day!


That is an overloaded Triumph Bonneville on semi-slick road tyres. As a complete idiot I believed a ten day weather forecast and went to the pub instead of fitting the knobblies.


I was actually wearing the wifes opera gloves at the time (that's during the ride, not in the pub, well, not that pub anyway...).


Andy

I have no problem with rain. I don't like snow or hail but have ridden in it a lot but I try to avoid it.

I hate thunderstorms. Not for the storm or rain but because of the danger of being hit by lightning. If you are on a piece of steel like your bike, out in the open, you are basically a lightning rod.

You can prepare for rain with good rain gear. You can ride in snow if you are careful but you can not avoid lightning and I don't like Russian roulette.

A lot of us here are British.

We are all wondering what it's like to ride in the dry. doh

Had to slow down - told tp
 

Riding my GSA last summer from Bristol to Stirling the heavens opened up as I got on the motorway, the rain was that heavy the gantry signs slowed all the traffic down to 30 MPH for over and hour, bone dry with the Gore-Tex suit and the big screen :thumbup1:

Come to Australia. There are some that will pay you to bring lots of rain with you. Mind you they have been getting a bit of a drink lately .. probably not enough.

On my last trip back from the UK the quarantine people checked my boots .. I had cleaned the tent etc but not the boots.. took them out and they were really clean .. washed by that UK rain.. you don't get clean like that in the OZie outback. Wet or dry .. you get dirty.

thoughts on riding in the rain
 

Too right, it rains all over the world but the uk seems to have its own particular type, nothing compares to the fine but consistant drizzel we get for days on end, it will get through anything including gortex suits etc. The krem de la krem is fine rain plus gale force winds which seem to be the norm in northern britain. The only plus point is it power washes the roads so any greasy residue is washed away in rural areas.:(

Like you Brits, riding in New Zealand often means doing so in rainy conditions. While I can't say I enjoy riding in wet weather, if I want to get out on one of my bikes, I'll need to prepare myself for that eventuality.

The worst I've had to deal with here was torrential rain and gale-force winds while crossing the centre of the North Island (a.k.a. the Desert Road) on my Vespa (yes, you read right - it's a 32 year-old, unrestored PX 200E) back in April.

Actually, the scooter handled the conditions better than the rider (it was fully loaded, so the trip was a slow 70-80 kph/45-50 mph in 3rd Gear over that stretch of highway).

I did feel sorry for the poor woman who had to mop up after me at the petrol station cafe I stopped at for a hot drink. Seems the conditions exceeded the design specs of my wet weather gear; even my flip-front Nolan was defeated by the wind and rain.

If nothing else, I now know I should be able to handle riding in monsoon conditions... :scooter:

A lot of my friends have become 'fine weather riders' in recent years, which means their motorcycles and scooters spend most of their time locked up in the garage.

Monsoons have started early this year in southern Arizona. Got caught in hail and rain mix on my new Fathers Day present from the wife and kids....VStrom 1000. Had to hit the dealer for rain gear on the way home.
The guys in the shop said I was crazy to ride in the stuff. I asked them who had ever ridden in the UK...end of story.
Oh yeah .....my wife and kids are the flipping BEST! Strom handled great in the deluge!:rain:

Congrats on the bike (and the generous family!) but the weather report worries me - I thought southern Arizona was bleached bones dry. Isn't there a song about it or something? (or maybe that was Southern California :confused2:).

When I'm there in Sept should I bring my full UK winter survival mode stuff or just stick with T shirt and shorts (decision depends on whether the rain is warm or not I suppose :rofl:)

It's nicer there in July…

http://chris-knight.smugmug.com/Moto...P1010250-L.jpg

Riding in malaysia ,we were able to stay dry by riding at the proper time,but when we returned to the west coast we, got caught in 2-3 hours by riding intermittently,the rain wasnt going to stop anyway so just pressed on. The best of all, was seeing the faces of the help at the resort,me a drowned rat(look like that often anyway),my wife just fine . Those stock chains will rust over night in places if not lubed well.

Hypothermia
 

Right there with you brother.
If you need to get somewhere or better still don't have to, then rain is just part of the ride.
My only exception would be when it is cold. The combination of the two factors will sap body heat in no time at all.

So far so good.

Sorry for the slow reply.............If you're riding, bring nothing more than 3 season gear. Where we are located, you never need much in insulation...maybe in Jan or Feb.

Touristing...a fleece and a light rain parka or windproof, just in case. Always shorts and fliflops!!!bier

AZ Summer is super hot but Thunder Showers and Flash Floods happen too. Like 2 inches of rain in an hour. (careful where you camp in the Desert)

But it's mostly brutal hot.

Sept. should still be very hot, short rain events possible. But weather will quickly switch come October/November. It was 27F at 7am when I rode out in late November of last year.

Had to ride slow, then finally pulled in after an hour for breakfast to let things warm up and let me thaw out. :freezing: I was not prepared for such cold having spent previous month in Mexico. No warm gloves, but put on several layers and turned on heated grips and Gerbing elec. jacket and did fine after that.

Southern AZ is fairly flat with foothills but head North and you'll run into some small mountain ranges. Temp can dip by maybe 30F up high. Even in Summer the Desert gets COLD at night in low areas. So lite 3 season jacket with Mesh/Vents is the right call. No Brit Winter wear required. bier

I've deleted a few off-topic posts and modified another. This thread addresses "riding in the rain." Thanks.

Yesterday I went out locally for a ride (Shenandoah Valley of Virginia) and foolishly left my rain gear behind (no *way* it was going to rain). Of course, you know what happened: I got drenched. No problem, there are much worse thing than a summer rain storm! But as I rode on in dry, warm weather, gradually drying out, and as a new adv rider wanna-be contemplating beginning longer rides soon, I had this thought: with the right, quick dry clothing (e.g. no cotton, thin layers, etc.), might it be okay at times to avoid rain gear if there's no chance of hypothermia? I'm a long-time backpacker and learned that I could hike miles and miles in wicking clothing and at least moderate rain without bothering with rainproof gear and without discomfort. I had the advantage of generating drying heat as I hiked, admittedly, but on a bike I can easily generate 40+ mph of wind.

So what say you who are much more experienced with moto adventuring than I: with the right (non-waterproof) clothing, can you easily weather light to moderate rain without all the extra layers? Can you just let yourself get soaked through and then dry out riding quickly enough to not be miserable (assuming it's not 45F out, of course)?

That wouldn't work if you want to wear a riding jacket with armor, like I always do.

unfortunately where the most rain is ,so is the humidity.In Malaysia the shirt(1) that was not cotton did dry throughly,the cotton shirts stayed damp and was to a point unuseble ,in the hot humid climate. I have a very breathable two layer mesh jacket that works great ,(except in the rain)especially after a little session of perspiration at a light, but too cool in the highlands during the morning, so was the only time I added a tee.
These conditions keep the adventure on many otherwise regular rides,building a kit that will meet the needs of all extremes. Beside taking one finger off the front lever.What would be a good rain suit in Asia ,the only ones I saw where suitable for the locals but unbreathable and would turn into a sauna similiar to a wet cotton shirt.?

You get very dirty in rain on a bike. Spray plus rubber dust from tyres and all the other crud that's otherwise in dust form gets stirred up. This stuff gets the outer layer of any breathable clothing to the point it stops breathing. It also becomes something you won't want to share a hotel room or tent with.


A basic plastic oversuit keeps you clean as much as dry.


Andy

Deelip, I don't see how that matters if you have armored mesh, for example.

I'm going to try it.

When I was in Laos (Jan 2015) I got caught in a downpour, I was meant to be going from Ban Chom Ong to Phongsaly but the rain was that bad it made the unpaved roads treacherous. I did 21km from BCO to the tarmac (didn't have any other option) and it took me over 3 hours....not good, the mud was super slippery, like walking on ice. So I ended up going straight to Luang Namtha. It rained for over 7 hours and I was only wearing motocross gear, talk about dripping, FFS, it was not fun. Made me laugh once I had found a hotel as one of the women from the hotel followed me about with a mop when I was unloading the bike as I was leaving a trail of water everywhere I walked. It took ages for my kit to dry properly. :(

Wayne

Indeed. I recently bought a Bilt armoured mesh riding jacket and matching riding pant to wear in the hot summers here in India. I continue to use my heavy water-resistant Harley-Davidson jacket when riding in the monsoons. But one of these days I'll try what you suggested.

As someone said earlier, if all fails, skin is water proof. :-)

Maybe I'm in the minority, but I do not like to ride in the rain. It has nothing to do with safety; I simply don't like being cold and wet. Oh sure, yes, yes, I can put on my rain gear and dress for it, but that's like saying walking in the rain is perfectly fine if you've got gum boots and an umbrella. No, you're still splashing through the puddles getting cold and wet.

I live in the Pacific Northwest - or NorthWet as some folks might say. I've rode many thousands of miles in abysmal weather. I can ride in it if I need to, I just prefer not to.

As a cyclist things are a bit different because you keep yourself warm. But yesterday I got caught I a heavy summer storm. Winds that nearly blew me off the road, rain that soaked everything, lighting struck a tree 300 meters away from and fell over the road. And the icing on the cake, my rear tyre blew out! And all this with the sun setting fast, and u have no lights on my bicycle.

An old lady have me shelter to fix the tyre and wrap my stuff in covers as much as possible. I checked in a hotel instead of the tent, much better.

I don't mind getting wet. Wet stuff however is terrible. I now have a stack of wet maps and a wet bag of cloths. That I hate.
Also, I should learn to not go with the 'nah, it won't rain today' attitude. Always, always wrap the stuff in plastic.

So today a rest day. Fixing tyres, drying stuff and drinking a lot of coffee.

Alex

I don't mind getting wet. But I can't bear my things getting wet. I recently bought a Wolfman expedition dry duffel bag and rode it through a proper thunderstorm. Everything inside was dry as a bone. Love it.

http://www.deelipmenezes.com/wp-cont...015/07/151.jpg

Setting up and pitching down and then doing a full days ride in rain is absolutely no fun at all no matter what equipment one has. It's days like those that almost make me wish I was on a bus. :mchappy:

Took the bus to the nearest main town yesterday when I was too tired to bother with the bike. It was great - every 20 mins so no waiting, comfy leather seats, wifi, mostly empty, no parking problems, quick(ish) - and free. What's not to like. I should use it more often. :rofl:

If I plan a bike trip in the winter I kind of expect it's going to be be wet and plan accordingly. If it turns out to be dry then that's a bonus and I'm grateful, but my mindset is that winter = wet (+ cold, dark etc).

The summer's a different matter though. If I've put up with near death experiences in the winter I expect some summer sunshine as payback. If we get the sort of weather we've had over the last few days I do feel a bit cheated. I really don't want to ride with a December mindset in July (or the other way round if you're from south of the border).

Despite a couple of weeks of great weather in France recently it means nothing for the week ahead which is forecast to be cold and damp. I've been planning a two day trip this coming week to an event a couple of hundred miles away for the last 12 months and it's looking wet so I'm less than pleased. In the winter though this would be great weather and I'd be very happy.