[Blindstitch]

Wind and Rain have to be the biggest uncontrollable elements that make riding a challenge.

Share your tips. Maybe someone will learn something they don't already know so they will be ready for when it happens.



This is mostly coming from my experiences and dislikes but every major ride I have been on this year has been affected by wind and some rain. Today was it's own interesting challenge at times. 15mph winds seem to be able to throw around a bike decently but the picture below is what I face in the last 100 miles of my ride from Minneapolis today. I'm still dealing with this hate relationship but some helpful tips from experienced riders is helping.

Here's an interesting article.

http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/howto/122_0604_motorcycle_riding_tips_wind_gusts/index.html



And some advice from another forum.

http://www.pashnit.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6314



Add what you can.

 

[SteveinPA]

I try to ride smaller roads when it is windy, big wide roads seem to amplify the wind a lot. I also try to keep a light hand on the bike and let it have its head so to speak when it is gusty. The bike tends to go in a straight line even though it will lean into the wind. If I try to hold a straight line with the bars my bike gets blown off course.



I don't like riding in the rain much either but with good rain gear it can be tolerable. I use a frog togs suit that does a fair job keeping me dry. I try to ride slower when the roads are wet.

 

[Billrod]

Those are all good tips and you also mentioned rain. My tips when riding rain is to avoid the white and yellow lines. They get so slippery that you will swear they have turned into ICE.

 

[Spring Brook Rider]

Rain hurts. Even at moderate speeds unless you have a good vented faceguard or a tall enough windshield. Gusty side winds can be spooky when in double laned high speed traffic. Big trucks makes it even more confusingly turbulant. Best plan is to slow down and give yourself plenty of space. When in open country you can often anticipate blasts and lulls depending on tree groves even when they're quite a ways off. Lastly and yes, the nicely painted lines are twice as slippery than the regular pavement and be especially careful of new rain on the center of your lane due to engine and transmission drippings. Hunkering down will also help.

 

[DakotaMK]

Went through the MSF class again this weekend. The whole weekend it was wet, windy, and downright COLD!



Here's the rundown of the weekend



Saturday was lots of fun- and with the confidence I have now after riding some, I was not as afraid to brake firmly on the course. Wet slicked up pavement (it've never driven on, it's not plowed in the winter, it's ONLY used for the motorcycle course...) + firm braking- I had a rear tire skid for the first time.



This pavement was so slippery the range aid was having a difficult time walking on it back and forth to set up cones, etc.



One of the girls got blasted with a gust of wind while at a stop and she fell over, unable to keep firm footing on slick pavement. I opted to sit out when we were a little while into the second day because two of the girls were too timid and unsure. One wasn't so bad, but the other downright scared me! So other highway users for sure- basically if I have to sit and think about it for more than a few seconds, I drive on the side of caution.

 

[Reg in Bristol]

Wind you cant really do much about except wrap up warm

and ride at a speed where you stay in control

If its not a steady strong wind but one of those gusty days

Say alert, watch traffic and terrain and take extra underpants.



When its pissing down with rain I use those gloves you get at

deisel pumps and put them on under my riding gloves

when my hands are dry.

This has a slight warmng affect but mainly enables me to take my gloves

off and put them back on again at say filling stations.

Trying to remove and refit wet gloves on wet hands is a nightmare.



Plastic carrier bags from stores like Kwik-E-Mart

put over your socks help keep your feet dry and warm

inside your boots.

Wet feet and hands get very cold very quickly



I find layers more effective at keeping warm than any one make of bike wear

In the winter I'll have thermals and maybe jeans too under my leather pants

and I use my filthy old yellow Hi-Viz jacket on top

I usualy feel quite hot and stuffy all dressed up as I stand beside the bike

but after I've been under way for half an hour I really appreciate the layers.



A balaclava can help keep your head warm



Visibilty in rain is often tricky on a naked bike

visor up is painful at speed, visor closed can cause misting up

Part open is the usual compromise.

A helmet with breath blocker helps

a clean visor is essential of course and there are various sprays and old

recipes like smearing them with pototoes for helping keep it clear



Now I have fairings and screens with flip ups its much easier

for me to see and I can ride with visor open or up in all but

the worst weather.

 

[CXSarnia]

When it's crappy, windy, and rainy, I simply slump down against the tank, and bring her up to full throttle.

Buckle down, and hang on. The faster I get home, the dryer I'll be.



Besides - physics would agree. The stronger the forward velocity and higher rpm of the wheels, the less affect upon the vehicle from side winds.

a nice addition to my gloves is these little 'wiper' elements on the thumbs - makes it nice to squeegee the rain from the visor.

 

[Reg in Bristol]

Squeegees

good idea

Low tech and simple



I do recall drunk discussion at a rally camp fire

about fitting a peizo resonator and pulsing a visor

at 30-40Khz to remove the rain

The ideas still there at the campfire and I'm still using the back of

my glove

 

[redcloud]

As a new rider, only 130 or so road miles under my belt, I found that down shifting a bit in head on wind while hugging the tank with my knees helped satabilize the bike a bit...also found that putting a little more pressure on the foot pegs as though I were standing on them helped to lower the CG a bit--if anything I could feel what the bike was doing a bit more. I plan to go out again tonight in the rain...seems that is all it does around here lately, and it is good practice.



I was nervous in the wind for sure, especially going over some large, highly elevated overpasses. I tucked in behind two HD Electraglides in the wind and there were spots where their draft helped out.



I did have gortex lined boots on, and ripstop nylon pants to keep the legs dry, leather Jacket, mechanics gloves, and full face helmet that was cracked at 1/4" to keep from fogging.

 

[redcloud]

Squeegees

good idea

Low tech and simple



I do recall drunk discussion at a rally camp fire

about fitting a peizo resonator and pulsing a visor

at 30-40Khz to remove the rain

The ideas still there at the campfire and I'm still using the back of

my glove

Rain-EX might work well...not sure how it works on Plastic/Polycarbonate...anyone ever try it? I sware by the stuff for my Autos.

 

[CXSarnia]

Joe Rocket Radiant gloves' neatest features is the faceshield wipers on the back of each thumb,

 

[Jay Little buffalo]

Some basic turtle wax on the visor of my helmet does wonders for rain removal. along with a slip on thumb wiper makes cleaning the visor with left hand a snap. wind always tricky.

hunkering down a bit helps but those strong side winds are a mother.before they moved me closer to my home i had to drive 30 minutes each way everyday and here in Pa even when the corn fields are filled in with rows that wid that gust through suck big time go to fast and your in a ditch or oncomming traffic best bet on windy days slow down and release the death grip hold LOL. When going through windy spots i have found that if i shift my weight a bit to the windy side help keep the bike heading straight. it may just be a mind thing but i do feel the difference.

 

[Reg in Bristol]

Anyone remember these from waaaaaaay back ?

39/6 ??

( thirty nine shillings and six pence in pre decimal coinage)

thats sixpence under 2 pounds



A lot of dosh in those days

 

[redcloud]

Anyone remember these from waaaaaaay back ?

39/6 ??

( thirty nine shillings and six pence in pre decimal coinage)

thats sixpence under 2 pounds



A lot of dosh in those days

they have similar in concept on shipping vessels in the Captain's Bridge...neat idea--haha.

 

[Horton]

I find that the expedition joint on the ramps to x-way are slippery anytime. They are the joints that

are filled with black tar.

 

[kingston73]

I had the joy of discovering last week what riding in hail feels like. The day started off sunny and warm, but I noticed some evil black clouds building up about an hour from home, and within about 10 minutes the sky opened up, poured rain, and hail the size of marbles started falling. Hurt a bit, never want to do that ever again.

 

[gusbratz]

i like to wear a thin pullover hat under my helmate. a hankerchief wrapped aaround my face like a cowboy and the bottom tucked into my coller helps to keep wind and rain from driveing down my coller and up my helmate. (i think everybody knows that trick). I wear welding gloves over my regular warm gloves, the large gauntlets up over my sleevs of my rain jacket keep wind and water from up my sleevs. I always had a windjammer fairing till this year. now i have a street shield from national. one trick i developed with the windjammer to clear my visor was to lean foward and stand up a little every so often. the wind comeing up off the windsheild will cut sharpley across your helmate visor and wipe/clear all water right off it. rain driveing through the laces of my boots is lessened by my wearing steel toe boots with metatarsal gaurds. but if i start rideing a lot in the rain again I may wear muck boots. they have a tight fitting neoprene top and rubber bottom that looks like it would be great.

 

[Teacher Tim]

I started commuting on my bike two weeks ago, and today was my first rain ride, on the way home. Before leaving, I took the towel I keep in my tank bag and layered it across my chest inside my riding jacket. Worked pretty good; by the time I got home 17 miles later, my belly was a little damp where water worked through the zippers, but I didn't get really cold. Ambient air temps in the low 50's.



Wind...I just deal with it as best I can. We had a really gusty day two weeks ago; worked my tail off riding home!

 

[Trickster]

Like mentioned above, in the wind I try not to fight it, but more or less flow with it. Watching for windblockers like



stands of trees that shield the wind then the opening after that usually blasts you one way or another. Rain is usually



a given in the summer with the afternoon thunderstorms being so common, thats why I always carry a full rainsuit. Cold



here in the north is my biggest evil in riding, being wet and cold many times, and being close to hypothermia, has ruined



many rides in the past. So dressing for the elements is essential to me now, even if I am overdressed I can unzip and pack



away when I have too.

 

[bear351c]

You forgot about the third evil of nature



....women