Journey home..

I haven't come in to work today on the Blue Cow for MORE THAN a couple of reasons really.

Firstly: The weather at the moment is so unpredictable it's unreal.
And from this wet stuff, I didn't feel too comfortable last night on the standard Dunlops that are fitted to the SV.
So my question on this is: Is it me, or does the SV feel to others like it does to me, that she's gonna fall over on these tyres in the wet? or is it me just being paranoid, it's really hard to explain, but I tense up, and the bike feels as though she's going to slip out and wobble. Does anyone else have this?
Should I be riding the same as in the dry, but just less speed and cornering and so on??

Secondly: After cleaning the Blue girl on sunday, she is now Sooooo sh1ted up she looks like a quad bike that been ridden through a field of cow dung
That lovley can I fitted this week, which was lovely and clean and shiney, is now grey, and mucky.

Thirdly: I need a rest - I'm exhausted, in the same league as Ping.

I'd be interested to know anyone's opinoins on the first issue though.

edit: Lastly, I really do need a dark visor, I can't see a bloody thing coming to work East bound, and going home West bound...bugger!

Does anyone know where I can get a dark visor from other than The Visor shop and Race visors on the web, as the dark visor I am after for my lid , they can't get hold of for another 2 weeks ?????


Cheers - Mass

[BillyC]

Mass,

You're not alone.

The D220's that come as standard on teh K3's and onwards aren't a good beginners tyre. They take a long time to warm up, they're quite hard, they don't allow you to "feel" your way along the road as well as some other brands and models. They're just about bearable on dry warm roads.... but in the wet, I think they're just a liability.

They're only good for consistent motorway miles, and then only in the dry.

Some would disagree with me... but most would not. Everyone who's moved up to a Bridgestone or similar has been amazed at effectively discovering a new bike - just like I did.

Originally Posted by The Mass

I haven't come in to work today on the Blue Cow for a couple of reasons really.

Firstly: The weather at the moment is so unpredictable it's unreal.
And from this wet stuff, I didn't feel too comfortable last night on the standard Dunlops that are fitted to the SV.
So my question on this is: Is it me, or does the SV feel to others like it does to me, that she's gonna fall over on these tyres in the wet? or is it me just being paranoid, it's really hard to explain, but I tense up, and the bike feels as though she's going to slip out and wobble. Does anyone else have this?
Should I be riding the same as in the dry, but just less speed and cornering and so on??

Secondly: After cleaning the Blue girl on sunday, she is now Sooooo sh1ted up she looks like a quad bike that been ridden through a field of cow dung
That lovley can I fitted this week, which was lovely and clean and shiney, is now grey, and mucky.

Thirdly: I need a rest - I'm exhausted, in the same league as Ping.

I'd be interested to know anyone's opinoins on the first issue though.

Speak of the devil... I did my first wet weather commute on Tues. Not sure about Dunlops as I've got Metzelers on my bike. I did find that on one particular roundabout it felt so slick that my bike felt 'skiddy' underneath and I nearly sh*t myself. I was going to turn around and go home in preference of the safety of the train but I took the 'work' exit off the roundabout just so I could get back in a straight line and then ended up at work.

The problem with wet is the fact that you tense up if you're unsure. I did that and ended up taking the roundabout really slowly and wide. But the fact is, it didn't slip out from under me.

I just took things slowly and carefully and now I'm alot more confident in the wet.

My bike is also an absolute dirty mess but I'm kinda proud of that as it means I've weathered the weather.

The more u do the journey, the easier it gets. Last night's ride home and today's ride in went without a hitch no matter what the weather/traffic thew at me.

Keep at it dude. Just get over this hurdle and you're away!

Some folks don't like the Dunlops in the wet. But whatever you just need to be double careful about everything. Someone once posted an adage on here that 'there was no such thing as an emergency stop in the wet'. White line areas are bad as well and theres so much of that. But you know all this...
Tyre wise tho you are going to need something to soak up those high miles a bit, I suppose some of the better ones may be a little quick wearing. Rictus was posting about some wear on ones he was trying recently I think.

I used to find just a trip up the road if they were a bit wet used to instantly make the bike look ****ty. I guess this is where nonmetallic fully faired plastic comes into its own.

On the subject of the sun, the problem going the distances you do is if you get caught out so you do need to carry a clear visor too if you go for tinted. I wonder if a good pair of plastic very dark sunnies are a better option. Bloc do some good ones, cheap compared with Oakleys and impact resistant etc. Or if you fancy another lid (which I doubt) you can get some with a visor wich pulls down behind the main one. Caberg I think????

On the tirdness, TBH I always feel like Ive had a brisk outdoors day when Im on the bike and quite tired so doing your miles day in under motorway conditions is probably both physically and mentally tiring. Its probably the equivalent of intense mental concentration tasks.

Originally Posted by The Mass

I haven't come in to work today on the Blue Cow for MORE THAN a couple of reasons really.

Firstly: The weather at the moment is so unpredictable it's unreal.
And from this wet stuff, I didn't feel too comfortable last night on the standard Dunlops that are fitted to the SV.
So my question on this is: Is it me, or does the SV feel to others like it does to me, that she's gonna fall over on these tyres in the wet? or is it me just being paranoid, it's really hard to explain, but I tense up, and the bike feels as though she's going to slip out and wobble. Does anyone else have this?
Should I be riding the same as in the dry, but just less speed and cornering and so on??

I've got stock Dunlops on mine still and to begin with I was v. cautious in the wet. I've gotten better (did a lot of riding in the wet over winter) and my main point of advise would be that your speed/lean doesn't make as big a difference (so long as you're not haring round with you knee down ) as how smoothly you use the controls and how relaxed you are. The only times my bike has skidded/locked up/generally misbehaved in the wet, is when I've pulled the brakes on too hard, rolled off the throttle too quickly on corners, etc. The other thing if the bike feels like it's skipping around the road surface (although it'd also do it in the dry) is to check the tyres, I found being 2psi up above the recommended levels (faulty gauge on a pump) made huge differences to the handling.

In the wet one of the most important bits is to keep everything smooth. Something you should be striving towards in your normal riding (I know I am)

Stay relaxed on the bike, if you tense up you transmit more unwanted steering input through your arms.

All the normal rules of when and where you're most likely to lose traction apply even more so. Avoid drain covers, for example. Oh, and on motorway bridges, be very careful of those metal bands. They can cause the backend to step out quite dramatically at any real speed.

[fizzwheel]

1. Cant help on the Tyre front as I havent ridden on Dunlops.. I've got Bridgestone bt-020's on mind and they feel fine in the wet just as confidence inspiring as in the dry

2. My bike is dirty to, I dont care

3. Some of the bike shops sell a tinted insert that you can quickly insert or remove from your lid, have you thought about that ?

Originally Posted by fizzwheel

3. Some of the bike shops sell a tinted insert that you can quickly insert or remove from your lid, have you thought about that ?

I bought one of those and it seems to work fine, only Joe tells me it still illegal! However, it's easier to carry around then a second helmet.

Probably easiest is to get some polarised sunglasses. Helps a lot when it's wet and the sun is low.

Call yourself a biker?? Suck it up and get on with it!!

The visor inserts really work imho. They are really cheap to buy so you have nothing to lose.
I think they are legal on the basis that you can remove them when it gets dark.........although the police may not be happy if you dont and it is dark! Ive never had any trouble though.