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It's time...motorcycling at its best - SAFELY
Steven Banks, Manager, BestRest Products - Jun 1, 2009



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Riding season is finally here! Some riders are blessed with year-round sunny skies, but most of us have some rain in our future... so let me share.

If you're on 2 wheels, you WILL ride in the rain. Whether you head out the door knowing it's already raining, or you unexpectedly get caught in it, it's going to happen. Death and taxes, rain and riding...inevitable!
 
When slippery conditions prevail, I use a method I've coined, "225." 2 = double and 25 = cutting back a quarter.
 
I double these things when riding in the rain:
  • The time it takes me to get my head straight before riding in the rain
  • The time to warm up my bike
  • The time I need to get somewhere
  • Distance between the car in front of me, and me
  • Distance I need for braking
 
Then I reduce these items by 25%:
  • Overall speed
  • Angle of bike in a turn
These are general guidelines. There are times when I change the above formulas.
 
Generally, these items don't pose an issue when riding on a dry day:
  • Pedestrian cross walk stripes (slicker than snot when wet)
  • Manhole covers (the coefficient of friction of wet steel is like... zero)
  • The large and small traffic "turtles" that make up the white and yellow lines in the roads (This is a West Coast thing)
  • Painted lines
  • Railroad mats (the black rubber mats with the raised dots that lie between the tracks and the pavement)
  • Railroad tracks themselves  
These items are already hazardous, but when they're wet they're doubly dangerous. Heads up!  I typically ride over these items slowly and with no lean angle, keeping the bike as straight-up as possible.
 
Also please remember that it's a lot safer riding during (or after) a downpour than a drizzle or light rain. A downpour will help wash away the oils from the road surface, a drizzle will just bring them to the top of the road surface and cause more problems.
 
Note from Maverick! Add to the above list of hazards, tar snakes and cattleguards (you will find cattleguards predominantly in the mid-western and western United States).  As Steven says; “slicker than snot when wet!” Do you know of hazards to share with others? Leave your comments here. 

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