How To Rate A Tyre In The Wet

Originally Posted by Ashy

Did I join a racers forum?

Is it just me or does it seem totally insane to push your bike like you're riding in the dry when it's raining? The only two groups of people who need amazing grip at high speed in the wet are racers and police riders. I may not own an SV yet, but when I do I won't be trying to be the next Rossi down the A446 in the middle of November.


Good grip is important, but pushing yourself "to the limit" in the wet, or on public roads, makes you no more of a sensible road user than the BMW / Volvo driver not checking his mirrors, or the white van changing lanes as he wishes without looking or indicating.

Maybe I should get a moped instead...

EDIT: If your tyres can't cope with the road surface or conditions, it's not their fault. THEY'RE NOT CONTROLLING THE THROTTLE.

In your opinion....

In mine i would like to be able to determine if i need to use the tyres for any such reason at a progressive speed....

Never know when you might need to pick the pace up at a point for whatever reson IMO

[northwind]

And also, finding the limits doesn't mean finding how far you can lean, it also means finding how hard you can brake, which is a pretty handy thing to know... A lot of accidents are caused by overbraking, but I think just as many occur that could have been avoided had the rider not underbraked... Knowing how hard you can push your tyres could make that difference.

Originally Posted by northwind

And also, finding the limits doesn't mean finding how far you can lean, it also means finding how hard you can brake, which is a pretty handy thing to know... A lot of accidents are caused by overbraking, but I think just as many occur that could have been avoided had the rider not underbraked... Knowing how hard you can push your tyres could make that difference.

+1 on that

Originally Posted by plowsie

In your opinion....
In mine i would like to be able to determine if i need to use the tyres for any such reason at a progressive speed....
Never know when you might need to pick the pace up at a point for whatever reson IMO

+1!!!

You never know if a rabbit is going to run out in front of you on a straight road while in the wet, and it makes knowing the limits of your tyres in the wet a VERY good thing knowing whether you can swerve to avoid it without coming off in those split seconds you have.

I'd rather know that in advance than find out one day and end up sliding down the the road at 60mph on my ****, with a few hundred £'s of repairs afterwards!

Originally Posted by plowsie

In your opinion....

In mine i would like to be able to determine if i need to use the tyres for any such reason at a progressive speed....

Never know when you might need to pick the pace up at a point for whatever reson IMO

Agrreed. It is good to know just what you can do - emergency stops in the rain are scary, but if you have played and know your tyres can grip, then you have a bit more confidence if you need to emergency stop. Likewise, if you need to make a sudden turn, knowing that your tyres grip to X angle means you dont tense up, allowing you to make the emergency manouver and stay sunny side up.

There is nothing wrong with riding fast in the rain, so long as you build yourself up and learn to understand the feedback from the bike. Ashy, I can see what you mean and how you think we are all a bit egotistic with tales of riding fast in the wet, but many of the riders on here take time to learn about their motorcycle. Not many of us aspire to being racers, but we do aspire to having excellent control of our machines!

on topic now, my MEZ6's are great wet or dry. I can feel them moving about a bit, not enough to get scared but enough for me to know whats going on. They didnt even let go when i accidently ran over a wet manhole cover on a wet road a few months back - a little slide, then recovered. Bloomin' fantastic. Wet riding is all about confidence, understanding and being relaxed.

Bit like dry riding, really

Matt

Apologies, all. I did sound a little disparaging without understanding the full meaning of what was said.

Suffice to say my is safely tucked away in the cupboard now! Humility learned

Originally Posted by Ashy

Apologies, all. I did sound a little disparaging without understanding the full meaning of what was said.

Suffice to say my is safely tucked away in the cupboard now! Humility learned

We've all been there, so dont worry now go out in the wet, and ride like a loon

Matt

Lol i think that is taking it a bit far Matt

Ashy if you are thinking of going a bit quicker, testing yourself in wet, do it in stages. I am not saying go from riding very slowly to trying to ride as quick as ya do in dry, build yourself up, your tyres will give some notice before they are gonna give way, but if you take the Michael Jackson then they aren't gonna be nice. I have been riding very slowly in the rain, mainly due to a section of 2 inches across my back tyre is less than 1mm.

Stu

I currently ride a Chinese 125 cruiser with tyres like molded plastic.

Going fast at all is impossible for me


Still, it's fun to dream, and my dreams include a black SV

aha the fastest colour, you should have no probs in the wet then mate