[Riding In The Wet]

Even as far back as the late '80s, tyres had enough grip in the wet to allow scraping hard parts during cornering. That's with narrow sport-touring tyres of the day.

 

In other words, as long as you are smooth with your inputs, you can lean a far way in the wet. The biggest issue on public roads is that you simply cannot tell if there are rubber or oil or other slick stuff underneath the water. Especially intersections and roundabouts are danger zones. So pushing things in the wet is risky on public roads.

 

The best thing to do is to be smooth, relaxed and consistent with your inputs. I've ridden a lot on snow and ice, and it's the same thing as for wet roads where there could be hidden oil slicks; as long as you don't push things or get too tense, you should be good. And with time your confidence will increase, allowing you to relax and be smooth so you can go faster safer.

Today is good day to practice the smoother aproach as its belting down outside lol....I'm riding a Tlr so it's imporatant for me to get out of the habit of rolling off the throttle too quick in these conditions....

[Riding In The Wet]

 

Hi guys I hope this is a big subject for a few of you in the wetter regions of our lovely planet.

 

I ride all year on less than grippy roads in England and just wondered if any experts out there have got some tips for carrying a bit more speed in corners in the wet.....

 

I also live in a humid environment; we either street-ride in storms or we seldom ride.

 

Although not directed to push the limits (never a wise approach to street riding), here are some tips from an expert, David L. Hough, author of "Proficient Motorcycling" (highly recommended book):

 

http://www.soundrider.com/current/1310/6Secrets-RainRiding.aspx

 

Regarding available traction, I could add that there is a huge difference between the effects of a light rain on dirty pavement and of a heavy storm that washes grime away.

 

Rather than assuming and over-estimating lack of traction, you can safely test how much is available for a particular condition by front-braking on a straight line.

If you have been practicing emergency braking, you could compare how much less skidding/sliding load the front patch can take on a wet surface.

 

For a rough approximation, you can assume that a lean of 45 degrees demands about the same lateral load than lifting the rear tire during braking (about 1 G), while average emergency braking (about 0.85 G) is equivalent to 40 degrees of leaning in a turn.

 

Note however, that the angle of lean is not directly proportional to lateral grip of the tires.

The proportion goes like this:

 

10 degrees: 0.18 G

20 degrees: 0.36 G

30 degrees: 0.58 G

40 degrees: 0.84 G

50 degrees: 1.19 G

60 degrees: 1.73 G

 

At extreme angles, forces escalate quickly and things may go out of control soon; hence, proper throttle control there becomes more critical.

 

"A motorcycle becomes potentially less stable as lean-angle increases......as we have seen, throttle-control plays a huge part in stability; the steeper you go, the better throttle control must be." - K. Code in ATOTW2

 

Consider tire's temperature as well: when raining, you can safely deflate the tires some (80~90%), so they reach proper temperature despite the cooling effect of the splashing water (but don't forget to increase pressure for dry riding).

 

This video shows what is possible on clean wet asphalt with street tires (only ones legal in Motogymkhana).

 

............And yes, practice and competition of Motogymkhana is in full swing in UK:

http://www.motogymkhana.org/

 

 

Thats what I'm talking about cheers;-)

[When Are You At Maxmium Lean Angle]

You are at maximum lean angle when you are starting to feel uncomfortable end of story.

 

Positive throttle...never let it off....if you do at this point you will loose front end as too much weight will pass through the bike and your body.

 

Your maximum lean is different to mine as you are a different shape to me.

All this perfect position lark is nonesence it's about feel and practice.

 

You might invent a new way to get your bike over that beats anyone round a corner so practice and feel comfortable and relaxed and you will achieve more without thinking too hard mate.

[Riding In The Wet]

Hi guys I hope this is a big subject for a few of you in the wetter regions of our lovely planet.

 

I ride all year on less than grippy roads in England and just wondered if any experts out there have got some tips for carrying a bit more speed in corners in the wet.....I'm not looking at Guy Martin performance here just safe and relaxed riding as I hold that human fear of ditching the pride and joy on a greasy bit of london road and being poll axed by mrs miggins in her nissan micra as she drinks her costa coffee while applying her morning makeup.

 

I'm no amatuer on the roads but for all the nice dry knee down stuff grinding away the knee slaiders it all seem futile when you find yourself tiptoing round a roundabout all tense in the rain like a learner again because we don't get real wet riding tuition......

 

WOW that's a thought...WE DON'T GET WET RIDING TUITION EVER!!! there's none available that I know of.

You can do skid pan in a car or truck but has anyone been on a bike to learn lean angle limits etc??

 

I bet no-one has