Riding Skills Series: Slippery When Wet

[astrawala]

true enough. Good learning experience

[Soulraider]

I just want to share my experience to all new riders my near death experience on CTE.

 

I was riding along CTE at around 7.30 am in the morning rush hour. On the way,it started raining but I did not stop to put on a raincoat or anything.( Riding SP, no box to put raincoat) All I wanted to do was ride faster to get out of the rain.

 

I didn't like getting soaked so I rode faster on the most right lane hoping to get to work sooner. I was riding at 80km/hr when suddenly, the taxi in front of me braked. I was only 3 car lengths away from the taxi and I jam braked. In a split second, I smashed onto the floor and skidded over 10 meters, at 80 km/hr.

 

Though in pain and shock, I got up immediately and moved to the side. The car behind me was also traveling at the same speed, but LUCKILY it managed to stop in time. I could not have imagined what have happened if I had stayed on the floor and the driver ran over me because he was not alert. I managed to escape with only a few abrasions and a scratched fairing.

 

I know that it is my fault for keeping so close to the vehicle in front in the wet weather, but I just want to share these lessons with all new riders.

 

When it starts raining, you have to adopt a totally different riding style in terms of braking and speed. Your brakes are less effective and you skid easier. This can be so dangerous on expressways. Stick to the left or middle lane and stay away from vehicles as much as possible because they too have a more difficult time driving in the rain.

 

Get familiar with your brakes. Brake too hard,(like for my case) your tires will lock and you you will skid and fall. Brake too little and you might just hit the vehicle front. Keep a good distribution between front and back brakes would be most ideal.

 

When you fall, though you may be in pain. Always know that the danger comes after you fall - the vehicle traveling towards you from behind. So if you can, after you fall, first thing to do is to look behind. You never know if a vehicle is approaching you at high speeds. Only recover your bike when it is safe. You life is so much more important.

 

And with that, I hope all riders can ride well and rife safe. Because dying isn't funny.

[fmaorui]

plus rmb to brake early as the discs are wet too and they cant bite as hard. Moderated pressure on the brakes, especially the rear is really important if not skidding is sure to follow

[BlkeIover]

Sianz~ yesterday i skip my TA150 in the carpark.....

it was raining, but not heavy pour. I wan to warm up e bike so I go rd n rd the carpark. then, when entering e S-course rd, i yaya when cornering. i didnt notice there got branches n i go over. wobble liao but lucky i hold my tank tight tight so can balance. Alas... so suay, run over a drain cover n i do a power sping of 180 degree... i skip some 3 or 4 metre distance wif spark coming from e left signal light n footpad, gear 2 somemore. i injured my right arm as i try 2 support myself, left leg tio pancake by e tank, but not as bad as my arm. den my butt so shiok. painful since my butt land 1st but no physical injury. except tat my pant went torn apart, showing my wallet. lucky my metal plate on my wallet save my ass yesterday. last, i still can laugh at myself when i lay on e ground. asking myself "eh>am i doing some sort of moive filming?"

 

overall, no worry, juz replace my left signal light n put back e chain...

 

 

 

haha ups la.. lol.. jackie chan

[littlereddevil]

it's hard to store with you a raincoat if you're driving a sports bike cos we normally do not install a box and the rain stings when it hits down on you. naturally you wanna go faster to get to a dry spot faster but i think it's wiser to go slow instead. avoid the right lane too and go at a safe speed to avoid trouble and pain.

[Pandoras Kitten 3]

I made this video a long time ago when I was fed up seeing drivers take corners at 30kph. Till today I use this as a reference to demonstrate foresight (you need to look much further ahead in the wet, and you need to be gentle with the controls), and that you should ride so smoothly it's like playing a driving game on the PS3 with all the driver aids on.

 

Some people say there is 'nothing to see' in my videos. Yes, that's EXACTLY the point. You don't see me crash or cause road drama showing middle fingers at other motorists. I play GTA 3 for that.

 

Smooth control is proven to allow the suspension to remain at its most compliant middle range giving maximum traction, even when over slippery surfaces.

 

Note that the Phantom is reputed to be skid-prone but with good maintenence practices and smooth throttle control...

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkT6cvVr5iY

[Wormwood]

When engine braking before traffic lights, must you open the throttle when releasing the clutch after every downshift? Or does engine braking actually work if you just shift to a lower gear and then release the clutch to biting point without reopening the throttle at all?

[Pandoras Kitten 3]

must you open the throttle when releasing the clutch after every downshift?

This is a racing technique known as "blipping the throttle" and is intended to match the RPM with the lower gear while decelerating, to maintain optimal handling/balance of the vehicle and also to improve throttle response when the driver gets back on the power (normal downshifting creates a "slack" of say, a thousand or two RPMs creating a slight delay before you can get back to maximum torque). It's both an engine management technique and a crucial skill to maintain slick laptimes.

 

Cars with more advanced gearboxes can automatically blip the throttle when you downshift using the paddles.

 

For purposes of street riding/driving, blipping the throttle isn't necessary nor beneficial although it can make your bike sound VERY cool! Impress your friends with your 1337 lacer sound but in traffic, nah, concentrate on keeping track where those aggro drivers are.

[Wormwood]

I'm asking about this because I want to minimise brake use in rainy weather. My bike can skid even when braking at very low speeds and I find using engine braking is safer.

 

So, should I be opening the throttle after each downshift or leaving it closed? Which would lead to more effective engine braking?

[Pandoras Kitten 3]

No difference in effectiveness, smooth clutch and brake control (with more bias to front brake) should minimise skids. Failing which check the tyre pressure, some bikes are sensitive to overinflated tyres causing poor traction in the wet.

[firenace]

it's hard to store with you a raincoat if you're driving a sports bike cos we normally do not install a box and the rain stings when it hits down on you. naturally you wanna go faster to get to a dry spot faster but i think it's wiser to go slow instead. avoid the right lane too and go at a safe speed to avoid trouble and pain.

juz for info & my own exp, i used to ride sports bikes & i ALWAYS carry a bag with my raincoat in it to where i go. i can oso keep my gloves in it when i'm not riding.

juz pull over to the side to wear raincoat when it starts to rain. it wun takes u more than 5 mins. better be late than sorry.

 

I'm asking about this because I want to minimise brake use in rainy weather. My bike can skid even when braking at very low speeds and I find using engine braking is safer.

 

So, should I be opening the throttle after each downshift or leaving it closed? Which would lead to more effective engine braking?

in general, its better dat u close your throttle fully when comes to braking even u r shifting down your gears for engine brake.

juz rmb to keep the steps simple & u wun be confuse when comes to actual riding. the more steps u have, the more confuse u'll be. get use to which ever style u r comfortable with and only try new things when u gain more experience to see/compare which is even more better.

 

juz sharing my exp. safe riding guys ^_^

[superstylefactor]

good to check shelf life of tyres as well, they may be new but if it's 3 years old or more, the rubber would already have hardened and don't provide any traction at all. learnt the hard way when i lightly pulled on the front brakes at 60kph on a wet road and the front tyre skidded and my bike low-sided. did manage to slide to a stop at the stop line of the junction though =)

[Guest tantanxixi]

According to its material composition, some shoes to impose tariffs of up to 60%. A spokesman topnikestore.com http://www.topnikestore.com/ the higher price from the tariff protection for domestic footwear industry. The tariffs on clothing and handbags are often 10% to 20% floating; vary according to the product itself.Light wheat bags "amazing network operators General Assembly

After careful observation

Are you believed RMB?

Brands Of Sunglasses.

"Boots" to make it fly

The current market

 

Exchange rate is also cheap Jordan’s important reason: the larger the yen exchange rate fluctuations. In the past six months, the yen rose against the euro by about 17%, the dollar rose about 6 percentage points.Katsumi said Sang Ye, luxury brands are increasingly eager to Gilt in Japan by their products has not been sold hand, Gilt membership in Japan cheap nike dunks increased to 40 million people.

[barktasobebark15]

Well, I will be taking the motorcycle skills test within the week and i was wondering what should I expect.

 

 

IT profiles

[foxin]

Engine brake FTW!

What the driving school always like to say: "good tire does not save you from accident, only good practice and" yada yada yada...

BUT! I still believe a good tire will save some good shave. Heard of this "mor" something something brand, seems good.

[Pandoras Kitten 3]

Engine brake FTW!

What the driving school always like to say: "good tire does not save you from accident, only good practice and" yada yada yada...

BUT! I still believe a good tire will save some good shave. Heard of this "mor" something something brand, seems good.

 

I believe that engine braking, by connecting the full drivetrain to the rear wheel, increases the rotational inertia of the spinning wheel. So it's much harder to lock up the back wheel.

 

It's very easy to skid any bike, not just Phantoms, by coasting (clutching in) and applying the rear brakes firmly.

 

The other wet weather safety tip I will give is this

 

TYRE PRESSURE.

 

a lot of local mechanics love to -over- inflate tyres by as much as 70kpa giving very poor wet weather traction. In the dry, you can get away with it because Singapore roads are of a high quality and use high-friction asphalt composition. In the wet, all sorts of accidents start to appear thanks to over-inflation. It decreases the contact patch area of the tyre dramatically.

 

For off-road or wet weather riding, I always release some air from the tyre before venturing out, just for that added grip in adverse conditions. In Singapore, it's really easy to just pump the air back in at the next petrol station.

 

It's not just for bikes, it's for cars too.

 

I saw an Accord Euro driver the other day pump over 460kpa of air into his otherwise normal looking tyres. Wth. High speed evasive maneuver in the rain how?

[iproapps]

Nice tips again from this forum. Hope eveyone gains something out of it

[kenny0210]

Thanks for the information. almost skip a couple of time when raining...=X

[velocity325]

Thanks for the information. almost skip a couple of time when raining...=X

 

hahas, the feeling like you bike just slant a little and get back to line huh ?

[lesterlee90]

wonder whether u all came across this cruve road from BKE into KJE.. there're these saw-tooth drains across the road, 2 of them are on the straighter portion of the road, so no problem. but the last one is across quite a sharp curve, everytime i can sense my rear tire skid at bit going through it on raining days.. a bit of phobia liao....

 

bad weather nowadays, so i opened this thread.

didnt know this post was almost 8 years old but that thing is still there! i guess its to accommodate the expansion and contraction of the road.

 

i was on my way back past this road few hours back, it was raining, was going at ~90-100kph, when i hit that thing my rear wheel slipped and hopped, it then caught traction after it landed.

 

METZELER M5 potentially saved me. ups for metzeler in the wet. : )

[aswin]

just dont jam you front brakes if they are disc brakes. Apply rear brakes well enough to stabilize the bike

[philiprambo]

According to me you should always wear helmet when you ride. It helps you alot whenever you got accindent and it can protect you with that. Thanks for this info rmation. Keep it up.

[Idono]

1st time read this interesting thread. So just contribute a bit hopefully.

With regards to drivers in wet weather, keep in mind a few things

 

1. Yes, there's a lot of cuckoo drivers. But don't blame cuckoos, the rain will immediate identify a cuckoo driver.. ie, they drive at snail pace, forgot to on light, very hesitant to change lane etc.... usually cuckoo drivers are not bikers biggest risk in the wet

2. When it gets wet, cars take corners very slowly only for 1 reason. ie We REALLY cannot see well from our sides, the windows are peppered with rain drops, some possibly fogged up. Remember, cars only have wipers at the front. So drivers take corner slowly coz they want to be careful.

3. If rain really get heavy, we as riders, please KEEP IN MIND, drivers cannot see out of sides at all. When we split lane...... please tell yourself this.

4. For old bikes with weak lights, you are as effective as being invisible in heavy rain - Best advice, stop under bridge and wait for rain to stop.

5. Also, keep in mind, bikes have 2 tires, weight ~200kg, that's only 100kg on each tire. Cars although have 4 tires, weights at least 1.2ton, that's easily 400kg on each tire. Even accounting for flatter tire profile, cars generally exert greater pressure on their tires, hence this means they have much greater stopping power in the wet. Not to forget, bikes dive a lot under braking, so most stopping power is on the front tire only

6. Add to that, all modern cars have ABS and balanced braking with a rigid chasis to transfer braking to the back tires as well. No bikes can every hope to outbrake a car under any circumstances. (Although I kind of hear BMW bikes with their tele-lever achieve same stopping distance)

 

As for riders

1. Yes, when it starts to rain, we tend to try chiong for it, taking unnecessary risk. Learnt to cub this. Stop by the side for rain clothes if you have to.

2. If you have to brake hard, apply gentle brake and slowly increase the pressure, it is not advisable to skid.... rather err on side of caution. (of coz sometimes we have no choice)

 

Conclusion

Best not to ride in rain. If you must

[Idono]

Forgot to mention something. You see the Civic Euro over inflating, only 2 possible reason.

 

1. Driver is cuckoo / newbie and see pressure wrongly / dunno right pressure

2. Driver is going racing

[Elizabeth09]

Remembering a few pointers can make riding in the rain easier and safer than you think. And besides, who wants to garage their motorcycle for five months out of the year?

 

 

 

__________________

Buy hot dvd Movie with high quality for free shipping is available in our store!