Novice in the rain
 

Total novice due to get SV back from garage tomorrow. Keen to ride as haven't touched it since test pass on July 14th. Weather forecast = heavy rain for the next 4 days. Ride or wait for dry weather? :?

ride it,just take it easy avoid the usual stuff(white lines /overbanding etc)and watch the engine braking ,dont go down 2 gears and let the clutch out fast :shock: it'll let you know how sticky i.e dry roads can b and vice versa .take it easy 8)

Yup, get out there! You don't want to become one of them fair weather bikers this early in your career!
As jim said watch out for white lines and also manhole covers - both can be very slippy if you're turning and/or accelerating/braking.
Go out and get wet!

Accelerating and braking across slippy stuff isnt a problem if you're going straight. Its the corners that'll catch you.

I was in the same situation last november. Had passed my test a month or two before getting the sv. Picked it up from the dealer and had a long wet, rainy ride home. I think that was one of the best confidence boosters possible.

Watch the lines and give your self all the space possible.

Good luck......

Of course if you hit diesel you are going down....

I didn't worry when I had an old CD175 and commuted all year round but nowadays my bikes are too expensive to insure and I can't fix them with scrap heap parts so I avoid the rain.

Plus I like them to stay clean and shiny so I am a fair weather rider.

Wait mate.

P.S. I assume the bike isn't brand new with brand new tyres? If it is then definitely stay out of the rain.

Toypop speaks words of wisdom ;-)

Being a self-confessed fair weather rider who's ended up riding in a lot of rain :roll: I'd say wait if your a total novice. Get a feel of things in the dry, get confy with the bike. THEN go out when its a little wet, and slow everything down and take more time especially with breaking and keep the throttle gentle.
Avoid stops on the white paint and metal, and heavy handed acceleration of the same. Same on wet bends.

You will very soon get used to it. When learning theres always a few freaky moments in the wet, but after a bit you realsie they happen.

And like Toypop says watch for oily stuff.

No shame in keeping dry. Just dont be afraid of the wet or get in a mindset where you worry too much about the wet. That would be the argument for getting stuck in. But for a total novice on an SV I'd say treat yourself to some dry miles first.

Nothing wrong with that so long as you're careful. Types will scrub in enough after a hundred miles or so, brakes at 150ish. If it is brand new, you'll be wearing the engine in and staying below 5,500rpm anyway.

T'is the way I did it, after a few days at 5,500 you get a bit bored, but it's well worth the wait. Esp as I know I'll probably be keeping the engine for most (if not all) of it's sane working life (120k+ miles). If the engine lasts longer than that, I'll be extremely chuffed.

End of the day, it's your ride, and your skin/bones. If you have trouble sleeping at night because you're just buying the bike (like me), then get some decent wet weather gear & get yourself out. If you're not that excited, it can wait, can't it? If you do find yourself singing in the rain, do as posted above, and ride safe :)

Edit: P.S. Due to my commute (namely the distance and the fact it's via mountains), I have little choice. I can set off with bright sunshine, get 20mins away from home and be a good few hundred feet higher up, and covered in rain. 5mins later, I can have the sun visor down in my lid. Fair weather? What's fair about it?

Further edit since Dr Rich posted at the same time: I consider myself to be a complete novice, only having spent a short time on a CG125 before the SV. The SV is having it's 600mile service tomorrow. Didn't stop me getting wet (but I have also ridden off-road a fair amount, and have a certain respect for tarmac).

I think I'm just going to ride round Leeds in circles and then if it buckets it down I can nip to the nearest family members' house. Just dying to get out and get familiar with the bike. Not scared of the wet being a downhill mountainbiker.

b.t.w. - it's a 99 curvy so no wearing in the engine, although the brakes and tyre will be new.

To be honest mate the only reason I don't ride in the rain is the cleaning issue. If I had a servant to wash and maintain my bike I'd use it all year round aside from bad icy days.

Riding in the wet is not as dangerous as people make out in terms of crashing on your own although cagers do go into dozy mode..

Top tip:

Don't read the Police Rider's Handbook and after reading the bit on ABS, decide to "test" the bit where it says something along the lines of "The main reason ABS helps you stop quicker is not that it is more effective at braking, but more it gives the confidence to brake harder than they would normally, particularly in the wet. The majority of riders do not brake anywhere near the limit of grip." I did, in the wet and added a fraction (and we are talking minute) more front brake than I would normally and the front locked up. Not fun. :D

Seriously though, I'd ride in the rain. Even a fair weather rider will get caught out in the rain at some point and I'd rather choose to learn to ride in the wet (not that it's as different to riding in the dry as some would suggest, so long as you have decent tyres and aren't absolutely hooning it), than have to do it for the first time when I was already tired from a ride. In the rain, particulary in longer rides, comfort is important. You won't ride as smoothly and your reaction times will be longer if you are soaked through and cold.

My advise would be to get some sort of waterproofs. Be skeptical about "waterproof" textiles; a lot of them aren't. Even some waterproof oversuits let water in. Buy one on recommendation from someone you trust, or that Ride magazine have given a "Best Buy" or "Recommended" award to. I've got a Spada 406 oversuit and it has never let a drop in, even during 4 hour runs in torrential downpours. After getting one set of "waterproof" textiles and realising they mean "waterproof (for up to half an hour)" I decided to get one that I'd actually read a review of, rather than buying on looks alone. :)

Just try and stay relaxed, remember to breathe :wink: take it slow and steady, Be gentle with throttle and brakes. Just take your time, as long as you dont try and ride like Leon Haslam at Croft last weekend you'll be OK.

As the others have said stay off, white lines and manhole covers. Pick up that head and look ahead plan your route through the obstacles before you get to them. Try and keep relaxed dont tense up as this will make your riding inputs hamfisted.

Top tip with Diesel is that normally you'll smell it before you see it and when you do see it it creates a rainbow effect similar to the one you get on soap bubbles on the road surface. You can ride over it and not fall off but I always try to avoid it. Be wary of entrances and exits to petrol stations and also roundabouts in towns can be slippy to.

Personally if I was you I'd get out there and get some wet miles under your belt. That way even if you do decide to only ride when its dry ( no shame in that ) you'll know what its like to ride in the rain so that if you do get caught out in it your riding wont go to pot.

Good luck

What they all said.Smoooothnes is the key to bad weather riding and indeed is the mark of a good rider in any weather.Gentle rolling on of throttle and brakes,and easy rolling into corners is the way.

it's early days, and I reserve the right to change my mind, but right now I refuse to wear any one piece clothing in order to not look like a giant hairy baby!

My GF refers to my oversuit as "your blue and white romper suit" :evil: :lol:

yeah, I'd rather get soaked anyday that wear THAT thing!! :lol:

I get called Oddjob as in Carry on Screaming :)

...and with the suit on? :wink: :lol:

I assume your bike is from a dealer and they have cleaned it up nicely. Take pictures of it before your first ride it in the rain, unless you are a serious scrubaholic it will never look that clean again! :)

Nah, it was old and dirty when I got it. 2000 curvy with 27k. Paid a monkey for it off a mate but looks like i've spent the same again on repairs!

PMSL!

Mogs: I'm not going to be at IAM the next 2 weeks mate (I've already told Nick); moving house and then off to the Leeds festival.

It's only water! Don't become someone who just rides in the dry as how many dry days are there in the UK? Just take it easy

One other thing to look out for.................drivers coming the other way who swerve onto your side of the road to avoid puddles :shock:

WHY DO THEY DO THAT!!! THEY'RE IN A CAR.................THEY AREN'T GONNA GET WET!!!! :evil: :evil: :evil:

Downhil Mountain biking rools!

Dude - just take it easy in the wet. Look out for diesel and watch the white lines. I've been caught out loads of times in the past month in torretial rain. Its scary at first but just stay calm and slow down.

They do it because cars can aqua plane(easier than bikes sometimes) and old diesels can stall. doesn't excuse them from being erse holes though.

hello, how did it go.

Its been sunny in leeds today, you been out again?

wet weather is fun when you get the hang of being smooth.


(and get used to having a bit of a slide)

Yeah I've been out, in fact I've ridden to work today. The roads were wet but it wasn't raining. No probs other than my ropey down shifts coming up to junctions. Will smooth it out in time.

left work yesterday and it was coming down in sheets as there was a thunderstorm nearby. Pulled away from the lights which are on a bend and felt my back wheel step out what felt like feet but was probably an inch or two. I guess it's a good experience but a little un-nerving on day 4 of riding!

Hope you checked you tyre pressures before you went out. Even though they were new, they will almost certainly have lost pressure. If you can afford it get a digital gauge, much more consistent and easier to read than a pencil type. Don't trust garage pump gauges at all.

And well done for getting out there and doing it. 8)

I checked the rear tyre pressure last week with a digital guage. I've assumed (perhaps wrongly) that the garage inflated my new front tyre to the correct pressure when they fitted it on saturday. I will check it soon.

Even otherwise good garages rarely get it right unless you tell them what PSI to pt in it when you take it in. Always check it yourself; when picking up tyres that have been fitted I take a guage with me.

Get out there mate. Don't listen to these fair weather riders :wink: . I think you should make a point to ride through rain, it really does improve your skills. I ride every day and have done for 3 years come snow, ice and hail and have never fallen off due to rain. Just be observant of the road surface (manhole covers on bends and roundabouts, diesel spills, white lines, white arrow markings etc) and you will be fine. Also make smaller inputs to your throttle and brakes and brake a lot sooner than you would normally. One more tip is keep a greater distance from vehicles in front, I see so many bikers sitting up the arses of other road users in the pouring rain. If you do filter in the rain stick your high beams on and be very cautious.
Good luck matey.

Also a lot of cars have the alternator quite low down (mk2 golf for instance) if that gets wet it can stall the car and they'd have to get the wd40 out. But mostly to avoid aqua planing as previously said. Just make sure you move in slightly if you can when there are large puddles on the other side of the road. It's all observation and thinking ahead see. :wink:

Never. ever assume a "professional" has done the job correctly. Everybody is human. Always check your pressures and oil at least every week. It could save your motor and maybe your life.